Depression is a clinical term that describes overwhelming feelings of sadness for long periods of time. Although there are diagnostic requirements for depression, depression is often used so colloquially that we might not even realize the beast that is depression. Depression is more than just random feelings of sadness because you’ve had a bad day. It goes way beyond anything you can imagine, and unfortunately, you might not realize how much it can overtake your life until it’s too late.

You cannot run from depression because it will find you and take the joy out of everything you enjoy doing. It’s a real and difficult hurdle to overcome, especially when trying to do it alone. This is why you have to fight for your life when depression is lurking in the back corner. We are going to talk about what depression is and why it’s so important that you stand up for yourself!

What is depression?

Depression, also known as major depressive disorder, is a very common and serious medical illness that negatively impacts how you think, feel and act. It is treatable and can cause feelings of loss of interest and overwhelming feelings of sadness. As your depressive symptoms increase, it can overwhelm your ability to function at work and at home.

Symptoms of depression can vary from mild to severe and can consist of:

  • Feeling sad or having a depressed mood
  • Loss of interest in activities
  • Changes in appetite leading to unintentional weight loss
  • Trouble sleeping or sleeping too much
  • Loss of energy or increased fatigue
  • Feeling worthless or guilty

These are just a few of the common symptoms of major depressive disorder. In order to be considered depressed, you must experience these symptoms for more than two weeks and it can’t be in the window of grief, or some other event that could be the underlying cause.It’s also important to rule out other causes of depression including thyroid problems, brain tumor or vitamin deficiency which can have similar symptoms.

Depression affects about 7% of adults in any year and about 16% of individuals will experience depression at some time in their life. It can appear at any age, but most of the time appears during late teens to mid-20s. Women are more likely than men to experience depression and there is a high degree of inheritability, meaning that it can be genetic.

Risk Factors and Causes

Anyone can get depression, even someone who seems to “have it all together”. There are several factors that can play a role in depression including biochemistry, genetics, personality, and environmental factors. Differences in certain brain chemicals, having low self-esteem or being overwhelmed by stress, or continuous exposure to violence, neglect, abuse or poverty can make some people more vulnerable to depression.

How can depression overtake my life?

Depression is like a dark cloud that keeps following you everywhere and rains on everything. At first, it may start as a very little amount of precipitation or mist. But then, it transforms into this great big thunderstorm that doesn’t allow you to enjoy anything. You’re so wet and miserable all the time you just want to stay home and do nothing. And the worst part about this cloud is that sometimes you can pop out an umbrella and be “okay” but then as soon as you put it away, the rain is back.

I’m using this metaphor to show how depression can manifest itself into this state of life where it’s very difficult to experience any joy. You may, unknowingly, have one or two events that trigger a depressive episode, but they may just feel like a couple of days of “not being in the mood” or extra tired and irritable. However, before you know it, this “couple of days” turns into weeks and months of having this unshakeable feeling of sadness and feeling as if you have no purpose.

These feelings can make it very difficult to get out of the bed, feel like doing anything or seeing anyone, and completely change who you are as a person. The worst part is you know that you want to get up and go back to your old self, but you just feel like you can’t. You feel hopeless, apathetic, and like you always have no gas in the tank.

This absolutely is no way to live life! Life is so short, that we have to find some joy in it everyday and continue enjoying and fellowshiping with those around us. If we stop doing all of the things that make us, us, then we are not living our life to its full potential.

What are the best ways for me to overcome depression?

The positive thing about depression is that it is treatable. It may not be curable as there are always risks for a wave of depression to come back through, but it is at least manageable. The first thing to realize is that you are not by yourself. As we mentioned earlier, depression is so common that whether people are getting diagnosed, or not, you are both going through a similar battle.

The second thing to know is that it can be really difficult to deal with depression alone. In fact it’s counterproductive because the mind is a very strong thing, and if it’s telling you all things negative, then you’re going to at least start believing some of them. By reaching out to a professional, spiritual leader, or mentor, you can begin the steps of sharing your thoughts and feelings with someone else so they can help to uncouple your negative false thoughts from the truth.

There are medicinal treatments that are available, especially if the cause of your depression is genetic/biological. It’s going to be very hard to begin working through depression with continuous rogue neurotransmitters and hormones working in a counterproductive manner. You can work with a psychiatrist to make sure that your dosage and medication works for you. If you’re having negative side effects, then you can let your physician know and you can work to find something that truly can help you without giving you additional problems.

There are various other therapies that can be used to treat depression, but the important thing is that you choose the one that is going to work for you. Whatever it is that you decide to do, act early, because the sooner you work through depressive episodes, the better it will be for you in the long run so you can get back to doing everything that makes you, you!

 

Source:

https://www.psychiatry.org/patients-families/depression/what-is-depression