Understanding Depression
Depression is best viewed on a spectrum. On one end, there is normal depression. Grief is a good example of normal depression. For instance, if you lose a loved one, it’s appropriate to have depressive thoughts, loss of interest in things around you and a pessimistic view of the future. You feel empty and are convinced that the person can never be replaced in your life.
Everybody feels depressed now and then. The first question to ask is: How long has this depressed mood been going on? If you’ve been depressed for more than two weeks, you may need help. Another danger signal is if you are drinking too much or using “recreational” drugs regularly. Both alcoholism and drug abuse — forms of self-administered “antidepressants” — can represent attempts to escape the psychological pain of depression.
Finally, the appearances of the physiological symptoms of depression are danger signals: Difficulty sleeping; anxiety and nervousness, particularly early in the morning; loss of appetite; loss of energy; difficulty concentrating. Since suicide can sometimes be the outcome of untreated depression, helping the person to find help can be lifesaving.
Some grief or depression should be expected with any major loss — and this could certainly include losses associated with a business recession. This depression is temporary. When the grief reaction deepens and goes on too long - more than several weeks - you may be suffering from more-severe depression. Beyond just feeling down, people with severe depression have physiological symptoms, such as sleep disturbances where they can’t stay asleep or they awaken early in the morning. There is often a loss of appetite with consequent weight loss, or sometimes the opposite - excessive eating.
As the syndrome progresses, there is a real slowing down of cognitive functioning. People have difficulty thinking and remembering. They can’t seem to get their thoughts together. Some people also suffer great anxiety as part of their depression. In the most serious form of depression, a person might feel intense psychic pain, which is described as almost physical.
Major depression is a recurrent illness. If you have a period of major depression, the chances of a recurrence at some time in your life are over 80 percent.
Some people who are quite successful in life have a mild form of manic-depressive illness. They function well when they’re in a mild high. In cases of severe mania, however, the individual may become psychotic. What usually happens is that the mania escalates out of control and then there is a crash, figuratively speaking. After the manic episode, the person is often in financial ruin because of reckless spending.
What constitutes the best treatment for depression depends on the nature of the symptoms, their severity and duration. For many, depression is primarily a psychological state involving persistent sadness, loss of interest, inability to enjoy, hopeless feelings and so forth. For this kind of depression, some form of psychotherapy is often quite helpful. However, when a depression is severe enough to disturb sleep, to decrease appetite and physical energy, and to interfere with normal functioning, then antidepressant medication will generally be required.
For many, a combination approach using drugs and psychological therapy is successful.
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