Friday, October 18, 2013

The Importance in Knowing the Signs of Depression


When the signs of depression are identified, families of individuals afflicted with this mental health disease can seek treatment as soon as possible.

According to the National Institute of Mental Health, "in any given 1-year period, 9.5 percent of the population, or about 20.9 million American adults, suffer from a depressive illness".

Dealing with this mental illness can cause a person to hit rock bottom and perform drastic acts that can greatly hurt their lives. If the signs of depression are found early on in the illness, a person can recover and become a better individual because of their ordeal.

Knowing the signs of this mental illness can help a person seek treatment early. One of the first indication of this illness is a persistent sad, anxious, or "empty" mood. This constant state of mood can lead to feelings of hopelessness or pessimism and this is another one of the warning for this illness.

Other indications of this mental illness may include loss of interest in things that make that person happy, decreased levels of energy, constant fatigue, and even certain persistent physical signs such as a headache that will not go away or digestive disorders that become chronic.

Of course, several other signs are common, and not every person will experience the same signs. Some may only feel a few signs and others may experience all.

Just as different signs of depression exist, different types of depressive disorders also exist. With manic depression, also known as bipolar depression, the signs can be different than when dealing with "normal" clinical depression.

With mania, a person has tremendous highs and lows that bring on severe symptoms. Some of these symptoms include unusual irritability, poor judgment, racing thoughts, and inappropriate social and sexual behavior. These symptoms require seeing a doctor as soon as possible.

No matter if a person is dealing with clinical or manic mental illness, the signs of depression are very evident if a person is paying attention. Dealing with this mental illness not only includes the person with the illness, but also the family and friends that surround that individual.

Depression can annihilate a family as well as the person that is sick. However, treatment is available if someone will only take the first step in admitting something is wrong.

Mental illnesses are real illnesses and the person that has one is just as sick as if they had a physical ailment such as cancer. Knowing the signs of this mental illness can help a person to get better with the aide of trained professionals.

No comments:

Post a Comment