by: Dr. Isaac Schumann
Curiously easily diagnosable and treatable medical problem, depression happens to at least 20 million American adults every year. As we discussed earlier, although everyone has experienced sadness and feelings of being depressed, people that are suffering from true depression have many frequent and recurring long-term symptoms, making them view life as something not worth living.
How would you know if you have a depression problem? Here are more depression symptoms. These symptoms vary in each person, although if these happen to you, it might be wise to consult a doctor.
- Sadness that is prolonged
- Crying spells that are unexplained
- Significant and abrupt changes in sleep patterns and appetite
- Anger, irritability, anxiety, worry, agitation
- Pessimism, indifference
- Energy loss
- Persistent lethargy
- Guilt feelings and unexplained sense of worthlessness
- Difficulty in concentrating and indecisiveness
- Inability in taking pleasure in interests you previously enjoy
- Social withdrawal
- Unexplained pains and aches
- Extreme fatigue when you have not done much
- Recurring and frequent thoughts of suicide or death
If you are experiencing at least five of the symptoms listed above and have begun interfering with family activities or work for more than a week, ask your doctor for a thorough checkup. This would most likely include having a comprehensive physical exam (although some symptoms might be caused by other health problems that you have) and a detailed clinical history. Just be honest and open on what and how you are feeling.
Do not even think of diagnosing yourself. Likewise, you cannot rely to a friend or a member of your family for diagnosis. Only a doctor that is properly trained to check illnesses is the only one that can fully determine if you are having a depression episode.
If you want, you could try self-evaluation tests available on the Internet that could help you gauge the symptoms that you have, or at least, can prepare you when you visit your doctor. Think of these tests as a way of communicating your symptoms better to a healthcare professional when you go in for a visit. Of course, online tests prove no match to an actual consultation.
For other people, depression is recurrent, which simply means that they experience depression episodes often - once or twice in a month, at least once a year, or many times throughout their lifetimes.
Do not feel embarrassed, shy, or ashamed of your depression problem. People of various ages, ethnic groups, races, and social classes get this problem. Although depression can happen at any given age, depression commonly develops in people whose ages lie between 25 and 44. If you have a depression problem, you're not the only one. Every day, there are more than 20 million American adults that are experiencing depression problems.
Be persistent and patient and you will find the method that suits you best for determining depression.
About The Author
Dr. Isaac Schumann brings to you a life time of experience in the mental health field. http://www.depressionhelpguides.com
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Managing Your Fears And Anxieties Takes Practice
Managing Your Fears And Anxieties Takes Practice
by: Stan Popovich
Like everything in life, managing your fears and anxieties takes practice. The more you do it, the better you will become. Here are a few reminders on how you can become better at dealing with your fears, depression, and anxieties.
Take advantage of the help that is available around you. If possible, talk to a professional who can help you manage your fears and anxieties. They will be able to provide you with additional advice and insights on how to deal with your current problem. By talking to a professional, a person will be helping themselves in the long run because they will become better able to deal with their problems in the future.
In every anxiety related situation you experience, begin to learn what works, what doesn?t work and what you need to improve on in managing your fears and anxieties. As an author of a managing fear book, there were times that I didn...
Managing Your Fears And Anxieties Takes Practice
Depression > Managing Your Fears And Anxieties Takes Practice
A Simple Cure For Anxiety And Depression
A Simple Cure For Anxiety And Depression
by: Saleem Rana
Our innate desire is to be happy, and when we move away from it, we experience fear.
This fear is actually millions of years old, for it arises from the biological programming of our species.
While we may not have to contend with a sabre-toothed tiger on any given day, we still use those very reactions to deal with events looming ahead.
We think, ?Will I be fired for making that mistake at work?? or ?Will I be able to meet the mortgage after I fix the car?? or ?Will my health continue to decline?? or ?Will my relationship fall apart after that argument we just fell into??
Running questions with this type of urgency and helplessness trains our brains to prepare now for future danger by loading our bodies up with the stress hormone cortisol.
Anxiety is our anticipation of a dangerous future. We imagine having even less of the little that we have today.
This...
A Simple Cure For Anxiety And Depression
Depression > A Simple Cure For Anxiety And Depression
Never Lose Hope In Dealing With Your Fears And Depression
Never Lose Hope In Dealing With Your Fears And Depression
by: Stan Popovich
When your fears and depression have the best of you, it is easy to feel that things will not get any better. This is not true. There is much help available in today?s society and the best way to deal with your fears is to find effective ways to overcome them. As a result, here are some techniques a person can use to help manage their fears and anxieties.
You never know when the answers your looking for will come to your doorstep. Even if the thing that you feared does happen, there are circumstances and factors that you can?t predict which can be used to your advantage. These factors can change everything. Remember: we may be ninety-nine percent correct in predicting the future, but all it takes is for that one percent to make a world of difference.
Challenge your negative thinking with positive statements and realistic thinking. When encountering thoughts that...
Never Lose Hope In Dealing With Your Fears And Depression
Depression > Never Lose Hope In Dealing With Your Fears And Depression
The Invisible Disease: Depression
The Invisible Disease: Depression
by: Arthur Buchanan
The Invisible Disease: Depression
Introduction
Depression is a serious medical condition. In contrast to the normal emotional experiences of sadness, loss, or passing mood states, clinical depression is persistent and can interfere significantly with an individual's ability to function. There are three main types of depressive disorders: major depressive disorder, dysthymic disorder, and bipolar disorder (manic-depressive illness).
Symptoms and Types of Depression
Symptoms of depression include sad mood, loss of interest or pleasure in activities that were once enjoyed, change in appetite or weight, difficulty sleeping or oversleeping, physical slowing or agitation, energy loss, feelings of worthlessness or inappropriate guilt, difficulty thinking or concentrating, and recurrent thoughts of death or suicide. A diagnosis of major depressive disorder is made if a person...
The Invisible Disease: Depression
Depression > The Invisible Disease: Depression
The Truth About Depression
The Truth About Depression
by: Graeme Notega
You?ve probably seen the commercials on television talking about the ?you? you used to be before depression set in. Such commercials are generally aired by drug companies promoting an anti-depressant. But what these commercials fail to tell you is depression is common, and not everyone who feels down or blue is suffering from depression. You need to know the facts about depression before you and your doctor determine you are indeed suffering from this illness.
That?s right. Depression is a real mental illness that often requires anti-depressants or therapy to relieve symptoms. You can?t fix depression by yourself, and without treatment, you?ll likely face an uphill battle you probably aren?t going to win. More than 18 million people a year?or nine and a half percent of adults in America?are diagnosed with some sort of depressive illness such as depression.
The first thing you need to know are...
The Truth About Depression
Depression > The Truth About Depression
FDA Approves New Therapy for Depression
FDA Approves New Therapy for Depression
by: Charles E. Donovan
On July 18, 2005, the FDA approved vagus nerve stimulation therapy as a treatment for chronic depression. This is the first ever FDA-approved long term treatment option for sufferers of treatment-resistant depression(TRD). Over four million Americans suffer from TRD.
I was a study patient in the investigational clinical trial of vagus nerve stimulation and depression.
Just over four years ago, I sat in the Psychiatrist's office at the study site (there were 20 different sites around the United States) that was conducting the investigational clinical trial for vagus nerve stimulation as a therapy for chronic or treatment-resistant depression. I had found about the study completely by accident. I was desperate (not suicidal). I had gone through the merry-go-around of all available antidepressants/antidepressants combinations, ECT, psychotherapy, etc. I was tired and worn out...
FDA Approves New Therapy for Depression
Depression > FDA Approves New Therapy for Depression