Sadness is a normal reaction to difficult times in life, and we all experience it at some point in our lives. But depression problem is something a majority of people takes lightly. Depression often interferes with daily life and normal functioning and pain for both the person with depression and as well as those who care for him/her. Experts often call this condition as clinical depression.
About Depression and its Symptoms
Depression is a health condition that affects mood, body, and thoughts. It can have a negative impact on an individual’s self-confidence, sleeping patterns, eating habits, and physical well being. It’s more than just feeling blue and doesn’t just go away. If left untreated, this illness can last for weeks, months, or even years. According to data, it is estimated that about 9.5% of Americans experience a major depressive illness every year. Around 15% of all people commit suicide because of their depressive disorder. Moreover, around 80% of people with depression are not seeking medical help. Studies have shown that depression is responsible for causing coronary disease, that is likely to be the second largest cause of death after heart disease.
Everyone at some point in their lives, experience depression, they either affected by their own or someone else’s depression. One can easily manage his/her depressive condition by reaching out for help.
Furthermore, it is important to understand that it is not possible that everyone with depression exhibit all of the following symptoms. The number and severity of these depression symptoms vary from one person to another. An individual suffering a from a depressive illness may experience:
- Insomnia or excessive sleeping
- Persistent feelings of sadness or anxiety
- Crying
- Agitation
- Lost of interest in pleasurable activities
- Withdrawal from friends and family
- Unexplained irritability
- Fatigue
- Feeling of guilt, hopelessness, worthlessness, and helplessness
- Sudden increase or decrease in appetite
- Thoughts of suicide or suicide attempts
- Trouble concentrating or remembering things
- Physical depression symptoms include chronic pain, digestive system disorders, and headache Most people do not give importance to mental health as it should, and that needs to change. Recently, many big celebrities including Bollywood actress Deepika Padukone opened up her battle with depression problem though depression meditation and treatment, which is incredibly strong on her part. We need more people like her to take a step forward and talk about the severity of the condition.
Important things that everyone with depression should know
Here are a few things that a person with depression should know and need to educate himself/herself regarding the illness.
- It’s more than just sadness
An individual suffering from depression constantly feels hopeless, helpless, worthless, angry, anxious and sad to a level that he/she starts having suicidal thoughts. The condition affects more than 100 people all over the world. It is a lot more than just feeling sad.
- The illness is not just about the state of mind; it can even affect you physically
Among things like feeling sad, anxious, angry, hopeless, and angry, a depressed person can also have increased or decreased appetite, fatigues, headaches, chronic pain, high blood pressure, stomach problems, and feeling of constant tiredness.
- People of any age can experience depressive illness
A common myth many have is that the depression problem can only affect aged people who are not right. According to research studies, 1 out of 10 adolescents is likely to develop depression problems at the age of 18 years. Moreover, depressive illness among young girls and boys is very prevalent.
- The problem ranges from mild to severe
There are different kinds of depression that affect people differently. Some people have mild depression that normally affects an individual after a sudden big change in their lives and after it could turn into a major depression over a period. It is very important to take medical help and undergo depression treatment to completely get rid of the illness.
- Keep an eye on simple depression symptoms.
Depressive illness is a big deal, but the symptoms experienced by a depressed person are as simple as they are like lack of concentration, irritation, forgetting simple things, wanting to eat all the time or never, having negative thoughts all the time, loss of energy or loss of interest in hobbies.