An Insight Into Depression

Either directly or indirectly, depression affects almost everyone on the surface of the planet today. Popularly referred to as the common cold of the brain, there has been confusions concerning what depression actually is and what it is not. Many can still not distinguish between depression and when an individual is just feeling down. Also, the different types of depression have raised a number of confusion for those trying to describe what they, or the persons around them, are feeling. Right now, we just have to set the record straight by enlightening everyone about this mental condition.

Symptoms of Depression

Highlighted below are the common depression symptoms experienced by its patients:

• An obstinate anxious, sad, or 'empty' mood


• Hopeless and pessimistic feelings


• Feelings of worthlessness


• Feelings of guilt


• Feeling helpless


• Lack of interest or pleasure in the hobbies and activities they once love to engage in.


• Waking-up very early in the morning


• Insomnia


• Oversleeping


• Inability to concentrate, remember and make decisions


• Restlessness

Apart from the ones listed above, some other depression symptoms may include loss of appetite with or without loss of weight. On the other hand, some depressed individuals notable experience overeating causing a drastic weight gain. Meanwhile, others experience fatigue, lack of energy and a feeling of incompetency and sluggishness. As for people with severe depression, they can also have the thought of suicide or death in their mind at times. Apart from these, there are some stubborn physical symptoms that normally fail to respond to anxiety treatment. These include digestive disorders, headaches, and chronic pain.

Am I just feeling down or has depression sets in?

In the present fast-paced society we live in, a lot of people engage in strenuous activities more than before with less pay. Therefore, it is absolutely normal for an individual not to be in his full state of mind at times.

The major things that differentiate occasional feeling down from depression are:

(i) How severe is the individual experiencing any of the symptoms above, and
(ii) For how long have you been experiencing the symptoms?

Normally, in order to establish a depression attack in an individual, the person must have been facing some of the symptoms listed above for a period not less than two weeks. Also, such symptoms must have been causing a reasonable amount of distress in the sufferer's life, and must have been interfering with the person's ability to go about their normal daily routine.

Depression could be very creepy and could go undetected in people's lives for a long period of time. It is a severe disorder that may not strike fully at once. It could cause a slowly and unnoticeable pull out from your active and enjoyable lifestyle.

Although there are different depression types being experienced by different people. Apart from the slow-onset depressions described above, most of these disorders are triggered by clear events such as a divorce, relationship breakup, family issues, and so on. Meanwhile, as important as it is to know the cause of this problem, it is more important to undergo a depression test to estimate your level of your depression, and also to find an appropriate and operative treatment for it.

Nevertheless, individuals grieving the loss of their loved ones are regarded to be undergoing a normal state and are not considered to be among the sufferers of depression. Also, clinical depression is not associated with teenagers that are undergoing the normal mood swings associated to their age. Following its normal cause, the disorder basically attacks adults. However, depression is more common in women than men.