Are You Sad or Depressed?
It is normal to feel sad at a given point of time due to a normal reaction to life’s struggles, injuries, low self-esteem, and even loss. To feel down and blue once in a while can affect one’s daily activities, but when there’s an intense feeling of this sadness spell, coupled with a feeling of being hopeless and helpless that lasts for weeks – it is time for you to seek help for a curable medical condition known as Depression.
To make it clearer, sadness is considered a normal mood and depression is something abnormal. Sadness can bring tears which have the ability to heal and make us feel better afterward. With depression, you don’t feel better even after all those tears. It can totally interfere with your daily activities. Depression can also be a part of other conditions like drug abuse, an adverse effect of certain prescription pills, bipolar disorder, dementia, and other medical conditions. It is a fact that millions of adults in the U.S. suffer from a certain type of depression, namely:
1. Major Depression
This type affects an estimated 15 million adults, which is more common in women than in men. This interrupts a person’s ability to sleep, eat, work, or enjoy daily activities. It can occur once in a lifetime, but won’t recur that as much. When one is having an onset of major depression, there is just an intense feeling of sadness lasting from days to weeks. There is also a difficulty in sleeping or getting too much sleep. Insomnia often accompanies this type.
2. Dysthymia
This type is considered as a chronic mood disorder with symptoms similar to that of a major depressive disorder, but which are less intense. It also lasts longer, where patients can suffer it from two years and more. People suffering this type of depression can still work and care for themselves, although they may feel lethargic or unhappy at most times.
3. Bipolar Disorder
This is one of the most serious type of depression where there are episodes of mania involved, which alternates with a feeling of extreme bliss and productivity.
Depression is one condition that is tough to diagnose since patients may not acknowledge the fact that they need medical help. Also, some people think it’s all in their heads and fears being labeled as ‘mentally ill’ if they try to get help for their depression. In fact, depression is one of the major causes of disability and sickness in the world. When you don’t feel happy, your body resonates this feeling through illnesses which can be cured with a dose of laughter and a placebo pill.
Here are Seven Important Things You Should Know About Depression:
1. Depression can give your body chronic pain due to sleep disturbances, headaches, and back aches. A Harvard Medical Center report found that chronic pain can both be a physical and emotional condition.
2. Medications for depression can take several weeks to have its full effect on the person taking it. Symptoms doesn’t usually fade overnight and it takes time for your body to adapt to the pills. This time can be between 4-8 weeks.
3. Pills cannot cure depression alone. To have counseling and talk will help more. For this, psychotherapy is combined with antidepressant medicines, specially for people with recurring or severe forms of depression.
4. If you have a relapse, doctors may resume your previous medication or may consider other treatment solutions. Know that depression can run in families as well.
5. You simply can’t tell if a person is depressed by just looking at them. Depression is considered as a medical illness like heart disease or arthritis. The only difference is that depression don’t show physical signs.
6. Anti-depressant pills balances the chemicals in your brains, relieving you of depression and regulating your mood. If you feel better and want to stop the pills, talk to your doctor about it since there can be a relapse like withdrawal symptoms similar to those of drug addiction ( headaches, nausea, body chills, insomnia ).
7. Depression is not the same for everyone. Not all people experience the same symptoms.
In the end, you can take care of yourself by living a healthy lifestyle and making healthier choices. You are the key to your physical and emotional wellness and only you have the power to reduce the amount of stress in your life. Chill out, worry not, and keep on moving! Endorphins are good for the body, making you happy with each exercise move you make. You can also find a shoulder to lean on and have the comforts of sharing your feelings with your family and friends. A one-on-one session with a therapist can help release all those negative feelings from within, or you can find comfort in many self-help books, e-books, and audio books in the market. Whatever your choice is, be truly happy and healthy!
Difference between Sadness and Depression from Dr. Robert Puff:
