The Corners of Depression

People at times, get sad or feel blue when thoughts or feelings, even the reality of their livelihood isn’t right.  Yet all of this passes on within a couple or even a few days.  If you’re depressed, it gets in the way of your everyday life and causes pain not only for yourself, but also for those who care about you.  Depression is not only a common illness, but a very serious one as well.

There are several types of depression.  There is major depression, which disables a person from functioning normally, yet with clinical help can be overcome.  There is dysthymia, of which a person can have symptoms of depression for many years.  Minor depression leaves you with symptoms up to 2 weeks or longer, but there is no criteria for major depression, yet without treatment,  people with minor depression can develop major depression if a person with such goes without treatment.

There are other types of depression such as psychotic depression, postpartum, Seasonal affective disorder (SAD) and Bi-polar or manic-depression.  People who suffer from depression do not have the same symptoms or go through life having the same experiences.  They may have signs of depression such as being sad or anxious, they may feel hopeless and there can be guilt or low-self esteem.  A loss of interest or of things which give a person pleasure can exist as well as fatigue, loss of memory or an inability to concentrate, insomnia, even thoughts of suicide.

Depression can be caused by a myriad of factors, which can be genetic, biological, environmental or psychological.  Depression is an illness which is a disorder of the brain and what is important to know is that depression is about the brains ability to communicate and when there is no balance there is no communication.

Stress can also trigger depression within a person and this can be any stressful situation such as, trauma or a difficult relationship of any kind.  When I am experiencing a manic episode, and become depressed, I get tired and am often irritable and late at night I have trouble sleeping.  I used to fill myself up with alcohol or drugs, yet it took some time for me to realize this was only due to frustration and anger.  Psychotherapy groups and medications helped me to find a better way to respond to the world around me and today I have a different attitude due to such treatments.

A person under the duress of depression may not want to find a way in the beginning to get away from the pain of this illness and though it may take weeks even years to overcome this illness’ hold over a person, they and others should bare no shame in seeking professional help to stand up against depression.  Do not wait to seek help, try to remain active, set goals for yourself, do not isolate and most of all think positive and you will begin to smile again with feeling.\

Written by Donald S.