Depression

Everyone gets sad at times. But for those with depression, bad feelings come often. And these feelings get in the way of every day life.

About 12% of women in the U.S. suffer from depression. (That's almost 2 times as many as men.) Many people don't know the signs of depression. So they suffer when they do not need to. The good news is that almost 80% of depressed people get better with treatment.

What is clinical depression?

• Clinical depression is a common form of mental illness. Depression can get in the way of caring about things, getting tasks done, or enjoying life.

What are the three main types of clinical depression?

• Major depression is a mood or loss of interest that lasts most of the day, and every day for at least 2 weeks or longer. It often comes back many times over the person's lifetime.

• Dysthymia (dis-THY-me-uh) is mild, and constant. It last 2 years or longer and it has the same signs as depression, but is milder. It doesn't interfere with daily life.

• Bipolar or manic depression involves mood swings between depression and mania. (See below for more about what these terms mean.)

What causes depression?

• Medical illness

• Losing someone you love

• Stressful event

• Drugs or alcohol

• Family history of depression

• Environmental factors

• Chemical imbalance in the brain

What are the signs of depression?

• Sadness, feeling "empty" a lot of the time

• Loss of interest or pleasure in every day life

• No interest in eating and losing weight; or overeating and gaining weight

• Sleeping too much or too little, waking very early in the morning

• Low energy, tired, feeling "slowed down"

• Feeling restless, easily irritated, or crying a lot

• Feeling guilty, worthless, helpless, hopeless, expecting the worst

• Trouble staying focused, remembering, or making decisions

• Thinking of death or suicide or trying to commit suicide

How can I tell if I am depressed?

A person is clinically depressed if he or she has five or more of these symptoms and has not been acting normal for most days during the same two-week period.

If a person is bipolar or has manic depression, they may have signs of depression which may also include signs of mania.

What are the signs of mania?

• Unusually "high" mood

• Easily irritated

• Unable to go to sleep night after night

• Grand notions (wild plans or ideas- Grandiose)

• Talking too much

• Racing thoughts

• Increased activity, including sexual activity

• Much more energy than usual

• Poor judgment that leads to taking risks

• Doing things that are not appropriate with or around other people

How is depression treated?

Depression is usually treated with both medicine (antidepressants) and counseling (talk therapy).