| The difficulty with many mental disorders, | | | | - Feeling frustrated or overwhelmed - When |
| it's hard to tell when you need more than | | | | life begins to become burdensome, you can |
| just a positive attitude to manage your | | | | begin to have troubles dealing with the |
| feelings. Depression is a common problem that | | | | emotions that come along with this anxiety |
| many people simply think they need to live | | | | |
| with, something they need to 'tough out' in | | | | - Sense of sadness at the way things are - |
| order to come out better for it. But this is | | | | Feeling like everything is out of control, |
| not necessarily the best treatment plan for | | | | you begin to feel sad and despondent. |
| this mental illness. Here's what you should | | | | |
| know. | | | | - Loss of interest in things you enjoy - You |
| | | | begin to isolate yourself from others and |
| Defining Depression | | | | from the things you love to do. |
| | | | |
| What's difficult about dealing with | | | | - Changes in eating and sleeping - You might |
| depression is that it can manifest itself in | | | | begin to change the way you eat and the way |
| a number of different ways. For some people, | | | | you sleep as a way to cope with the burdens |
| depression is merely a short bout of sadness | | | | of your feelings. |
| that resolves on its own. But for others, | | | | |
| it's a long running presence that makes them | | | | - Feelings of hopelessness - As you continue |
| feel ineffective, as well as hopeless. Some | | | | to feel bad, you might begin to see things as |
| of the more common symptoms of depression | | | | hopeless and beyond your control. You begin |
| include: | | | | to not care about anything. You might stop |
| | | | bathing or handling even mundane tasks. |
| - Feeling sad | | | | |
| | | | - Feelings of death and suicide - Those who |
| - Feeling hopeless | | | | feel like they are completely alone and have |
| | | | no one to turn to will often begin to have |
| - Becoming irritated for no reason | | | | thoughts of death and finally 'ending' it |
| | | | all. |
| - Anger and frustration | | | | |
| | | | When You Should Seek Help |
| - Loss of interest in favorite activities | | | | |
| | | | Ideally, depression is best treated when you |
| - Change in eating habits | | | | identify the symptoms early and begin |
| | | | treatment in the beginning stages. When you |
| - Change in sleeping habits | | | | first notice that you are having troubles |
| | | | being happy, you might want to start talking |
| - Thoughts about suicide | | | | to someone about how to handle these |
| | | | emotions. |
| Diagnosing depression is tricky because it | | | | |
| requires that you have these symptoms for | | | | However, if you don't get help at that point, |
| extended periods of time - normally for at | | | | you will want to certainly begin to seek help |
| least two weeks continuously. And while some | | | | if you have any feelings about suicide. This |
| people can easily identify their down times, | | | | is the lowest point that you can hit and |
| others might not recognize symptoms like | | | | while you might not feel you are serious |
| anger as being consistent with depression. | | | | about following through on the feeling, it |
| | | | does warrant some additional counseling and |
| The Stages of Depression | | | | guidance. When you may become harmful to |
| | | | yourself or even to someone else, you will |
| While the American Psychological Association | | | | need to get professional help. |
| doesn't define clear stages of depression, | | | | |
| there does seem to be a pattern among the way | | | | Depression isn't always a cloud that passes |
| that depression progresses among people. Here | | | | over quickly, so instead of having to feel |
| are the basic issues that may lead to | | | | alone and isolated, you should try to get |
| depression in many people: | | | | help. |
| | | | |