What You Need to Know about Depression to Control Your Destiny

Almost everyone gets the blues from time to time - that feeling of sadness or grief that usually results from unpleasant life experiences. 

While many people refer to the blues as depression, however, true clinical depression is as different from the blues as pneumonia is from a head cold.

Blues and Sadness

Blues is a temporary and usually normal reaction to stressful life situations. Most cases don't involve physical symptoms, loss of self-esteem, or suicidal thoughts, and the negative state usually passes within a few hours or days. 

Similarly, sadness is an appropriate reaction to bereavement, financial and personal problems, the realization that life is finite, and the symptoms of serious disease. But sadness becomes depression when it continues for weeks or months and interferes with everyday living.

Symptoms of Depression

To be clear, depression is an intense, pervasive and long-lasting disorder of mood that attacks the body as well as the mind, often resulting in serious problems in work, social, and physical functioning. Symptoms of depression often include disturbances with sleep, appetite and body weight, energy, concentration, and sexual functioning. 

There is frequently excessive guilt, feelings of worthlessness, loss of interest or pleasure in activities, and, in severe cases, thoughts of, or attempts, at suicide. Unfortunately, some people don't recognize depression for the serious illness it is. They think of it as a personality flaw, a sign of weakness, a character defect, or, perhaps, a temporary blue mood.

Clinical Depression is an Illness

The fact is, clinical depression is an illness, not a weakness or a passing blue mood. Depressed people cannot simply "snap out of it" or just "pull themselves together," any more than a diabetic can merely snap out of a blood sugar imbalance. And, without appropriate treatment, symptoms can last for months or even years. 

Some depressions are the result of a chemical imbalance and may only be treated by anti-depressant medication. Some require psychotherapy, and still others a combination of methods.

  

Treating Clinical Depression

The good news is that more than eighty percent of depression sufferers can be treated successfully. If you or someone you care about is depressed, seek help now by contacting your family doctor or a qualified mental health specialist at (773) 614-3201

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