Depression

Downswings, despair and unhappiness in mood are most times normal life reactions arising from struggles, setbacks, and disappointments. It is common to see people use the word “depression” to refer to these kinds of mood or feelings, However, depression is much more than just sadness or unhappiness.

We very much understand that life is very challenging. It's not always easy for one to have all he desired at a time. You might, on top of these challenges have one or two debilitating health condition.

With all these, you don't have to be unhappy all the time. You can develop the ability to deal with all these problem. In this series, you learn the thing you need to know  to identify, comprehend, and solve the challenges of depression. In later series, we will look at how to Diagnose (Depression test) and how you can cope with it.

Depression can cause you to feel despairing, helpless, or empty and numb, but there is a lot you are able to do to transform the way you're feeling. With support and help, you can get yourself back and beat depression.

Take things one day at a time, that is the key for recovery.

Are you experiencing an issue with depression?

Check if you have any of these features, if yes, then it could be you are having clinical depression.

1. Sleeping difficulty: you sleep too much or you can't even sleep.
2. Lack of concentration or you find that previously easy tasks have now become difficult
3. Feeling of helplessness and hopelessness
4. Always having stream of negative thoughts, no matter how much you try to stop them
5. Persistence lost of appetite for no just reason or you can’t stop eating
6. Becoming much more short-tempered,irritable or aggressive than usual.
7. Sudden high volume alcohol and tobacco consumption than normal or engaging in other reckless behaviour
8. Have you of late, start to feel that life is no longer worth living, begin to feel worthless. Friend, you need help at this point.

Depressive illnesses are more common in the presence of:

1. Physical conditions, particularly if chronic, stigmatizing or distressing
2. Too much and chronic alcohol use probably the most depressing drug humans use
3. Social stresses, especially loss events, such as separation, redundancy and bereavement
4. Interpersonal challenges with those close to the patient, especially when socially embarrassed
5. Lack of social support, with no confiding relationship.

Depressed persons with another bodily disease view themselves as being more ill  and such visit their doctors pretty much four times as often as the non-depressed physically ill, stay in hospital longer, comply less with medical advice and medication, and undergo more medical and surgical treatments. Depressive illness may be associated with increased death rate (excluding suicide) in patients with physical disease, such as myocardial infarct.

What's Depression?

Clinical depression is a kind of Mood (affective) disorder.

Mood is best looked upon in terms of a continuum ranging from severe depression at one extreme to severe mania at the other, with the normal, stable mood at the centre. Mood disorders are divided into bipolar and unipolar affective disorders.

In bipolar affective disorder (which is known as manic-depressive disorder patients do suffer from bouts of both depression and mania. In unipolar affective disorder patients suffer from depressive mood swings alone, though with frequent recurrence.

Although mania can rarely occur by itself without depressive mood swings (as such it's classified as unipolar) it is far more commonly found in association with depressive swings, even if sometimes it takes several years for the first depressive illness to appear.

A lot of people utilize the word "depression" to describe such feelings, but depression is a lot more than misery.

Do you know symptoms and the signs of depression?

There are a few common signs and symptoms, although depression changes from person to person. It is vital that you keep in mind these symptoms may be a part of the ordinary lows of life.

But the more symptoms you might have, the more powerful they are, and also the longer they have survived--the much more probable it's the fact that you are coping with depression. When these symptoms are disabling and overwhelming, that is when it is time to get help.

Depressive Mood

Signs and Symptoms of depression include:

• Feelings of hopelessness and helplessness. A gloomy prognosis-- there is nothing you can do to enhance your position and you feel that your situation will never improve.
• Lack of interest in daily tasks. No interest in social activities, pastimes, former hobbies, or sex. You have lost your ability to feel happiness and delight.
• Weight or desire changes.
• Sleep disorder.
• Fury or irritability. Feeling agitated, restless, as well as violent. Your tolerance level become reduced, your temper short, and everyone and everything gets in your nerves.
• Reduction of energy. Feeling poor, fatigued, and drained. You might begin to feel heavy, and little jobs are exhausting or take more to finish.
• Self-loathing. Powerful feelings of guilt or worthlessness. You severely criticize yourself for errors and perceived errors.
• Dangerous conduct. You take part in escapist behaviour including compulsive gambling, substance abuse, reckless driving, or sports that are dangerous.
• Attention difficulties. Problem remembering things, making choices, or focusing.
• Unexplained pains and aches. A rise in physical ailments like back pain, headaches, aching muscles, and stomach pain.
• Depression and suicide danger

Take any suicidal conversation or conduct seriously for those who have a loved one with depression and learn how to understand the warning signs. This is because depression is a major risk factor for suicide.

Check for the continuation: Depression Test and How to Cope with Depression late.