Depression
What is Depression?
Depression is a mood disorder that affects the thoughts, moods, feelings, behavior and physical health. Almost 1 in 4 women and 1 in 8 men suffer from depression at any given point in their lives. It can cause persistent feeling of sadness and loss of interest.
You may have trouble doing normal day-to-day activities, and sometimes you may feel as if life isn’t worth living.
More than just a bout of the blues, depression isn’t a weakness and you can’t simply “snap out” of it. Some forms of depression may require long-term treatment. But don’t get discouraged. Most people with depression feel better with medication, mental health counselling or both.
Signs of depression:
Emotional Symptoms of depression:
Sadness, Anxiety, Guilt, Anger, Mood swings, Lack of emotion, Helplessness, Hopelessness and worthlessness.
Physical symptoms of depression:
Sleeping issues, Eating disorders, Weight loss or gain, Constipation, Chronic tiredness or fatigue, Headaches and body-aches, Irregular menstrual cycle, Loss of sexual desire.
Behavioural changes observed by family members of the patient:
Crying spells, Withdrawal from others, Worrying, Neglect of responsibilities, Loss of interest in personal appearance, Loss of motivation.
Thoughts and perceptions experienced by a patient of depression:
Frequent self-criticism, self-blame, impaired memory, concentration and confusion, tendency to believe or see others in a negative light, Thoughts of death and suicide. A person may also turn to drinking alcohol excessively or smoking to help cope with these thoughts and for them, deaddiction is also needed.
