What is Depression

Mental disorders come in many different forms and affect people differently. Depression is an illness that is mainly in the brain, but it can also have control over the body. There are several names for it like major depression and clinical depression. It affects the mind, body and behavior. It can cause many problems in your day to day life. The cause of depression is unknown but it is believed to be the result of a chemical imbalance in the brain

For some people these symptoms can be terribly obvious

• Feeling sad or unhappy
• Irritability or frustration, even over small matters
• Loss of interest in normal activities
• Reduced sex drive
• Insomnia or excessive sleeping
• Changes in appetite
• Agitation or restlessness
• Slowed thinking, speaking or body movements
• Indecisiveness, distractibility and decreased concentration
• Fatigue, tiredness and loss of energy
• Feelings of worthlessness or guilt
• Trouble thinking, concentrating, making decisions and remembering things
• Frequent thoughts of death, dying or suicide
• Crying spells for no apparent reason
• Unexplained physical problems, such as back pain or headaches

Atypical Depression

This type of depression is rather common and is to believed to be under-diagnosed. Unlike major depression, people with atypical depression have mood elevations when positive things happen.

• sadness
• loss of energy
• feeling of hopeless or worthless
• loss of enjoyment
• difficulty concentrating
• uncontrollable crying
• difficulty making decisions
• irritability
• insomnia or excessive sleep
• unexplained aches and pains
• decreased sex drive
• headache
• a change in appetite that causes weight loss or gain
• thoughts of death or suicide
• attempting suicide

Dysthymia

It's known as chronic depression. Though it may sound really bad, dysthymia is a less sever form of depression. The depression symptoms can stay for a long time before they go away. This person can function but they may seem very unhappy.

• Persistent sad or empty feeling
• Difficulty sleeping
• Insomnia
• Feeling helpless, hopeless, and worthless
• Feelings of guilt
• Loss of interest
• Loss of energy
• Difficulty concentrating, thinking or making decisions
• Changes in appetite
• Observable mental and physical sluggishness
• Persistent aches or pains, headaches, cramps, or digestive problems that do not ease even with treatment
• Thoughts of death or suicide

Seasonal affective disorder

Seasonal affective disorder (SAD) is a type of depression that affects a person during the same season every year.

• Feel sad, grumpy, moody, or anxious.
• Lose interest in your usual activities.
• Eat more and crave carbs, such as bread and pasta.
• Gain weight
• Sleep more and feel drowsy during the daytime.

 Nearly 2/3 of the people with depression are not correctly treated.

• Psychotherapy

Therapy isn't for everyone but some people really benefit from it.

• Medication

Antidepressants don't cure your disorder but it will control your symptoms.

• Lifestyle Changes

Sometimes spending more time with people that love you and taking better care of yourself can raise your mood.

• Acupuncture

Sometimes having a doctor stick you with sharp needles is all you need to feel better.

• It's a weakness
• You can get rid of it if you wanted to
• Medication will make you kill yourself
• Ignoring it will make it go away
• It's not an illness
• There is nothing that can be done about it
• Depression is exactly the same as being a little sad
• People with depression only feel sorry for themselves
• It means your crazy
• It's a disease
• It only affects women and losers

None of this is true!! Do not believe the lies that uninformed people spread.