Depression
The Lowdown On Depression
Nearly all of us have said "I'm depressed" at some time in our life but "depression" is a word that is used loosely and it can mean different things to different people. We all experience sadness which can be brief or prolonged, perhaps following bereavement, perhaps when our children grow up and leave home, or when a relationship sours or ends.
Sometimes, however, this sadness doesn't go away and it grows deeper and more overwhelming. This is when it becomes the illness of depression, sometimes called "clinical depression". The good news is that depression is treatable.
Depression: Common & Misunderstood
Depression shows itself as sadness but also as self-blaming, guilt, poor concentration, sleep disturbance, poor memory, inability to enjoy things, hopelessness, low energy, irritability, appetite changes, increased alcohol or drug use, self isolation and often suicidal thoughts or plans. None of these symptoms is enough on its own to make a diagnosis of depression but the more that are present, the likelier it is that depression is the problem.
People seem to inherit a tendency to become depressed. Actual episodes of depression seem to be triggered by life events such as those mentioned above.
It is important to stress what depression is not. It is not some kind of moral "weakness" or something a person can "just snap out of". We have known for some time that there are some changes in the chemistry of the brain in depression. The levels of certain brain chemicals called "neurotransmitters" are reduced in depression. Recent research using a form of brain scan called "functional magnetic resonance imaging" ("functional MRI") shows that parts of the brain that are involved in the control of moods are less active in depression and also that these areas return to normal with successful treatment.
Depression is Treatable
Untreated, an episode of depression lasts from about nine to eighteen months and then in most cases it goes away. The good news is that depression is treatable. There are two main ways to treat depression, one is psychotherapy (counselling) and the other is medication.
Antidepressant medications have received some bad press over recent years but when they are used appropriately they are very effective in treating depression and although they take a few weeks to work, they generally act faster than psychotherapy.
Broken Legs Don't Fix Themselves
Finally, try to think of depression in the same way you would think of any other illness, like a broken leg or pneumonia. Most of us wouldn't try to wait out those illnesses or to fix them on our own. If you feel you have several symptoms of depression, seek help from your SOURCE LINE counsellor or your doctor: the sooner you do, the sooner you can feel better.
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