What You Should Know About Depression

More than just a case of the “blues”, depression is a serious health condition that is becoming more and more recognized as awareness about its symptoms, origins, and treatments is increased.  Until the last decade or so, people who were depressed were often dealt with under the mindset of “snap out of it”, mainly because we have only just begun to understand and acknowledge depression as a medical condition.

Depression can affect your life in many ways – and can range from mild depression to more severe types, such as bipolar depression.  Depression can cause impairments in everyday life not only for the sufferer, but also for those friends and family members who often don’t understand the condition or do not know how they can help.

Fortunately, treatment for depression is available.

Symptoms of Depression

Depression symptoms vary from sufferer to sufferer, but usually include:

• sadness, anxiety, and feelings of hopelessness or despair
• decreased energy, or feeling as if even small tasks are insurmountable
• loss of interest in activities that were once appealing
• decreased sex drive or loss of interest in sex
• appetite changes – including overeating or not eating normally
• difficulty with concentration and memory
• restlessness and irritability
• bouts of excessive crying
• chronic pain or other physical ailments that are unresponsive to treatment
• thoughts of suicide

Risk Factors for Depression

While those who suffer from depression can develop depression without an apparent cause, there are indicators that point to a greater risk for depression, including:

• living alone, feeling lonely, or lack of social support
• undergoing abundant stress
• history of family members that suffered from depression
• relationship problems, including marital problems
• being abused as a child, either physically, mentally, or sexually
• drug use or alcohol abuse
• undergoing a major loss – such as divorce or death

Types of Depression

There are different types of depression – which makes getting a professional diagnosis important in order to receive the appropriate treatment for the condition. Each type of depression has its own level of severity and expected duration. Let’s look at the most common types of depression in greater depth:

• Major Depression, also known as clinical depression may be the very most common type of depression.  Sufferers of major depression will be symptomatic for most of the day, every day, for at least fourteen days. To be clinically diagnosed with major depression, the sufferer must present with either a depressed mood or a marked decrease in pleasure or interest in all or many of the activities that they enjoy.  In addition, those who are clinically diagnosed with major depression will experience at least four other atypical signs of depression.
• Dysthymic Disorder or dysthymia is more severe than major depression.  A clinical diagnosis of dysthymic disorder is found in sufferers who have been in a nearly constant mood of depression for at least two years and presents with at least two other common signs of depression (even if the symptoms are less severe than those of a sufferer of major depression).
• Manic depression, also called bipolar disorder occurs when the depression sufferer cycles between the states of mania and depression.  When in manic mode, the bipolar sufferer will experience an elevated or extremely irritable mood for at least a week before “cycling” into a depressed state. Bipolar disorder or manic depression can be a very dangerous medical condition because the sufferer may experience hallucinations or present harm to others or even themselves; many manic depressives often require hospitalization for the condition periodically.

These are just three of the types of depression that are clinically recognized by the American Psychiatric Association.  Other common types of depression may include postpartum depression (following birth), seasonal affective disorder or SAD (occurs at specific times during the year, such as winter), chronic depression, double depression, situational depression, reactive depression, and agitated depression.

A mental health professional should be consulted for proper diagnosis to determine the type of depression that you have and the treatment plan that is most viable for your situation.