Question: What Is Depression?
It might seem surprising how many people ask the simple question, "What is depression?" Yet tens of thousands of people search for answers to this question on the internet every month. They probably want to know things like whether what they're feeling is serious enough for treatment or if their sadness is going to last a long time. Here are the answers you need.
Answer:
Depression Isn't Just Feeling Sad
Everybody has low moods on occasion. A bad grade in school, a lower raise than you expected, a fight with a loved one, the death of a beloved pet - there are countless reasons why a person will feel sad for awhile because of something that has happened. This is often when people say, "I'm depressed" - and others understand what they mean. But as long as the feeling never interferes with your ability to function in daily life and goes away within no more than, say, a couple of weeks, it's not medical depression.
Situational Depression
The term situational depression is sometimes used to describe depression brought on by a significant event in your life. The death of a loved one, losing your job, a divorce and similar major life events can cause depression symptoms. If they continue for some time, cause you to have difficulty performing necessary everyday tasks like doing your job, paying bills or taking care of your family, and if you have other symptoms of depression such as crying frequently, sleeping too much or too little, increased or decreased appetite to the point of weight gain or loss, you may need treatment for your symptoms. This could potentially be short-term to help you cope with the stressful life event, and may include treatment to manage your depressive symptoms.
Major Depression
When specific depression symptoms last more than two weeks and meet other specific criteria such as inability to concentrate, sleep problems, feelings of guilt or worthlessness, severe or total loss of pleasure in activities, and impairment of daily functioning, the symptoms may well be diagnosed as Major Depression or a depressive episode of bipolar disorder. Only a qualified medical professional can make this diagnosis. Some other illnesses of the body that can cause some of these symptoms need to be ruled out. Once a diagnosis of major depression or bipolar depression is made, appropriate treatment is the next step.
What If It Is Depression?
It's very unlikely that the people who search the internet asking "what is depression" have just been feeling sad for a few days. Take a look at the comments of people who have searched for what is wrong with me and see just how many of them are describing symptoms of persistent depression. Some say they have already been diagnosed with depression or bipolar disorder.So if you found this page by typing that question into a search engine, and you see yourself in these brief descriptions of situational or major depression, check out the resources below to find out more - and seek help! Medical depression is a biological illness: it's not your fault, and it's not something you can wish away. Treatment is available for depression and depressive episodes. It may take time and experimentation to find out the best treatment for your depression, but don't give up. Whether you need medications, therapy, lifestyle changes or a combination of these, with time it's likely your symptoms can be better controlled than they are now.
