Depression

What Is Depression?

Depression (major depressive disorder) is a common and serious medical illness that negatively affects how you feel, the way you think and how you act. Fortunately, it is also treatable. Depression causes feelings of sadness and/or a loss of interest in activities once enjoyed. It can lead to a variety of emotional and physical problems and can decrease a person’s ability to function at work and at home.

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.

Depression Is Different From Sadness or Grief/Bereavement

The death of a loved one, loss of a job or the ending of a relationship are difficult experiences for a person to endure. It is normal for feelings of sadness or grief to develop in response to such situations. Those experiencing loss often might describe themselves as being “depressed.”

But being sad is not the same as having depression. The grieving process is natural and unique to each individual and shares some of the same features of depression. Both grief and depression may involve intense sadness and withdrawal from usual activities. 

 I outline a series of actions people can take to fight depression. These include:

• Recognizing and challenging your critical inner voice
• Identifying and feeling your anger
• Engaging in aerobic activity
• Putting yourself in social or non-isolated situations
• Doing activities you once enjoyed, even when you don’t feel like it
• Watching a funny movie or show
• Refusing to punish yourself for feeling bad
• Seeing a therapist

For people struggling with depression, it’s important to have compassion for yourself and to take actions to overcome this state, including seeking help. Remember that no matter what your critical inner voice may be telling you, the situation is far from hopeless. There is good help available and many active ways to treat your condition.