What you need to know about depression

Written by: Seada

Depression is a common and serious medical concern that negatively impacts the way you feel, the way you think, and the way you behave.  Depression hurts everyone, not just the sufferer. Fortunately, depression is treatable with the right tools and support.

Depression symptoms can vary from mild to severe and can include:

• Feeling sad or having a depressed mood
• Loss of interest or pleasure in activities once enjoyed
• Changes in appetite — weight loss or gain unrelated to dieting
• Trouble sleeping or sleeping too much
• Loss of energy or increased fatigue
• Increase in purposeless physical activity (e.g., hand-wringing or pacing) or slowed movements and speech (actions observable by others)
• Feeling worthless or guilty
• Difficulty thinking, concentrating, or making decisions
• Thoughts of death or suicide
• Note: Symptoms must last at least two weeks for a diagnosis of depression. Please do not self-diagnose. We often confuse general feelings of sadness for  depression. Ideally, it is best to consult with a professional if you feel that you or someone you know appears to depressed.

Facts about depression

Depression affects an estimated one in 15 adults (6.7%) in any given year. And one in six people (16.6%) will experience depression at some time in their life. Depression can strike at any time; it does not always hit at predictable times. Women are more likely than men to experience depression.

What you can do about depression

Depression is among the most treatable of all mental disorders. Between 80 percent and 90 percent of people with depression eventually respond well to treatment. Nearly all patients gain some relief from their symptoms.

Therapy may be used alone for treatment of mild depression; for moderate to severe depression, therapy is accompanied by antidepressant medication. Various methodologies of therapy are effective to cure depression. However, the client must be willing to consider an alternative means to examining a situation. Without the willingness to persevere, therapy may be ineffective, unfortunately.

Take the appropriate steps today to learn about depression.  Help save a life.

With love,

Seada

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