About Depression

Symptoms Of Depression

• Persistent sad, anxious or `empty’ mood
• Feelings of hopelessness, pessimism
• Feelings of guilt, worthlessness, helplessness
• Loss of interest or pleasure in hobbies and activities that you once enjoyed, including sex
• Insomnia, early-morning awakening or oversleeping
• Appetite and/or weight loss or overeating and weight gain
• Decreased energy, fatigue, being `slowed down’
• Thoughts of death or suicide, suicide attempts
• Restlessness, irritability
• Difficulty concentrating, remembering, making decisions
• Persistent physical symptoms that do not respond to treatment, such as headaches, digestive disorders and chronic pain

If several of these apply to you, you could be suffering from depression and need medical help.

What Is Depression?

Depression is the common cold of the psychiatric illnesses. This can be quite reassuring because when you are depressed you feel that there cannot possibly be anyone else in the world that feels as terrible as you do. The figure a few years ago was that 3 out of 10 people would experience clinical depression in their lifetime. That’s nearly one of every three people. Next time you go to the shops count off every third person and mentally note that that person could be part of the 3 out of 10 people statistic. You’re not alone. Also you will note that the people that you have counted off, don’t look different, in fact they look quite together and competent. You might feel that the whole world can read a label on your forehead announcing to the world that you’re ‘worthless’ or ‘guilty’ (common feelings when depressed) but it’s just not true- nobody would know just by looking at you. You are not alone. In fact, depression is on the increase because of the increased stress that we are experiencing these days.

Ups and downs are part of normal living. It is normal to feel down when you experience a loss, whether it is losing your job, losing your spouse to divorce or death, a loss of self-esteem through rejection or one of the many other life events that can cause us to feel down. However a clinical depression is different from a normal ‘blue’ mood. The person feels down for much longer than is regarded as normal. It affects the way you eat and sleep, the way you feel about yourself, the way you see the world, and your thoughts become very negative and out of touch with reality. It is very important to accept that your thoughts are negative and out of touch with reality and probably don’t represent the ‘truth’. Changing how you think and examining the truth in your thinking is not easy but it is worth it and is covered in the section PSYCHOLOGICAL ASPECTS.

Is Depression A Personal Weakness?

The answer to this is a definite no, despite how you or others may view the illness. The lack of acceptance that people with depression feel often confirms their inner feelings that it is a personal weakness. Just remember that it is a physical illness caused by stress. Many very competent people suffer from depression and stress and it is possibly the very high standards that they place on themselves that cause the stress. Also perfectionists tend to be prone to depression because of the stress of striving to be perfect which in reality is impossible.

Does Pretending You’re Not Depressed Make it go away?

There is a lot to be said on not dwelling on your negative thoughts all the time because it is our thoughts that determine how we feel. If your thoughts are down and negative, it will cause you to feel down and unhappy. On the other hand if you get out with a friend or get involved in an activity that you enjoy, you will feel better. However, the depression will not just go away by pretending that it is not there, by wearing a happy ‘mask’ to the world. This will also make you feel isolated as you will have the feeling that nobody knows the real you. You cannot just ‘pull yourself together’ as people might tell you to do. Try not to let a comment like this pull you down into the ‘pit’ but rather have pity on the person who makes such a comment, pity them for their lack of knowledge. Accept that you have an illness and don’t deprive yourself of the treatment that is available and the opportunity to get better. I do know of someone who silently suffered with depression, never told her husband or friends, always pretending to be coping well until one day the strain became too much and she took her life, leaving a devastated husband and children behind. If you try to ignore it, it won’t just go away, so rather accept it, go with the flow and use the experience as a time for self-examination and growth. Don’t pretend - get treatment!

Depression Is A Warning System?

Our bodies are wonderfully made with all sorts of warning systems. We know that hunger pangs tell us that our bodies need food and we respond to this need if we want to stay healthy. If you place your hand on a hot stove, your nervous system will very quickly get you to remove your hand - it would certainly be in your best interests if you value your hand!

In a like manner depression is the warning system that tells you that all is not well in your emotional life and you had better respond to this warning if you want to be healthy.

There is pain involved as change is not easy, but in the end it is worth it. Just as going for surgery is painful you usually make the decision because you know that in the long run it’s in your best interests.

You need to acknowledge your monsters. It takes a lot of energy to keep these monsters hidden. Rather acknowledge their presence, deal with them and direct them to the door marked EXIT and give them marching orders! Recently I heard a very good analogy. ‘You can pretend that the depression is not there but it’s like keeping a beach ball hidden under the water - it takes so much energy! Rather let the ball come up to the surface and use your energy to pop the ball or throw it away!’.

How Do Our Body, Mind And Spirite Interrelate?

The three parts of man that make up our whole person is our body, mind and spirit. These parts cannot be separated. If one of these parts is ill, the illness can be manifested in any of the other parts. It is known that 80% of doctor’s consultations for a physical problem stem from an emotional problem. For example a spastic colon is usually the result of anxiety, but the ill person will usually insist that they have a physical illness and go from one doctor to the next insisting that the problem is physical. Often when the emotional side is treated, the physical side heals.

From a spiritual perspective (Christian) it is acknowledged that a lack of forgiveness and bitterness can lead to depression, which affects the body and mind. Although all three parts are interrelated I have loosely separated the information into three sections under the headings of PHYSICAL ASPECTS (body), PSYCHOLOGICAL ASPECTS (mind) and SPIRITUAL ASPECTS (Christian). At times they will overlap.

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