DEAL WITH DEPRESSION
You've got the blues, you're down in the dumps, you're under the weather. These are a few of the expressions people use to describe people whose mood is depressed. Short periods of sadness or anxiety are normal - not everyone is happy 100 percent of the time. But when low feelings become the norm and start interfering with a person's life, a diagnosis of depression may be made.
QUICK FACT:
Major depression often begins between ages 15-30 or even earlier.What is Depression?
Depression is a serious medical illness. In contrast to the normal emotional experiences of sadness, loss, or passing mood states, clinical depression is ongoing and can interfere with an individual's ability to lead a regular life.
Depression can affect every area of a person's life, including family relationships, friendships, and the ability to work or go to school. Many people still believe that the emotional symptoms caused by depression are "not real," and that a person should be able to shake off the symptoms if only she tried hard enough. Because of these inaccurate beliefs, people with depression either may not recognize that they have a treatable disorder or may be ashamed to seek treatment. Too often, untreated or inadequately treated depression leads to suicide.
Who Gets Depression?
Depression affects almost 10 percent of adult Americans ages 18 and over every year (that's more than 19 million people). Nearly twice as many women as men get depression. Depression can happen "all of a sudden" without warning, or it can be triggered in some people by stress caused by a loss, especially death of family members or friends.
What Are the Symptoms of Depression?
Symptoms of depression include:
-sad mood
-loss of interest or pleasure in activities that were once enjoyed
-change in appetite or weight
-difficulty sleeping or oversleeping
-physical slowing or agitation
-energy loss
-feelings of worthlessness or inappropriate guilt
-difficulty thinking or concentrating
-irritability
-recurrent thoughts of death or suicide.
If a person has 5 or more of these symptoms, they could be suffering from depression. A doctor can diagnose someone with these symptoms to rule out other causes (certain physical diseases have symptoms similar to those of depression).
Is There a Cure?
Depression is a difficult disease for the person suffering from it. It is unlikely to get better without treatment. Depression is often something that occurs a few times in a person's life before they seek treatment. Some people have a chronic but less severe form of depression, called "dysthymia" (also called "low grade depression").
Treatment for depression takes a variety of forms. Antidepressant medications, prescribed by medical doctors, are widely used and highly effective treatments for depression. Psychotherapy is also effective for relieving some of the symptoms of depression by looking into its causes in each individual. More than 80 percent of people with depression improve when they receive appropriate treatment with medication, psychotherapy, or the combination.
What to Do if You or Someone You Know Is Depressed
If you or someone you know is dealing with depression or you suspect they might be depressed, talk to a responsible adult. Seek out help from a parent or other relative, or a teacher, youth leader or other trusted adult. You can also get immediate, confidential help from the free teen hotlines listed on the Myjellybean Hotlines Page.