Down and Out

At this time of year it is hard to look outside at the brown and lifeless vegetation and the never ending gray and gloomy skies and find the joy that we can find in the spring and summer.  After all, the chances of feeling the warmth of the sun on our face are as good as our chances to win the lottery.  It is no wonder the majority of the population retreat to warmth of their homes and hide until spring and the warmth of life return.  However, that warmth never comes for those who are suffering with depression and their skies stay gray even during the warmest and most joyful of times.

Currently, depression is one of the leading causes of disability worldwide with more than 350 million people of all ages suffering from it.  At its best, depression is a short lived inconvenience caused by a traumatic event.  The person affected may have trouble functioning at school or work and if it goes on long enough they could even have some health issues.  Moderate to severe depression that is left untreated or improperly treated can lead to serious health problems.  These health problems range from obesity and sleep disorder to heart disease and stroke.  At its worse, depression can lead to suicide with over one million reported deaths a year and that number continues to rise even though there is effective treatments available.  It is estimated that 80% of those that show signs of clinical depression are not receiving help.

So, how do we know if we are showing signs of clinical depression or just having a rough go at a tough situation?  In order to answer that question we have to first understand what the difference between your garden variety of sadness and your major depressive disorder.  Major depression is a period of severe depressed mood that last for two weeks or more and interferes a person’s daily functions.  If you are suffering from persistent sadness or “empty” feelings, feel hopeless guilty or worthless, have a low to no interest in things you normally like doing, have little to no energy, cannot concentrate or make daily decisions, are have trouble sleeping, eat too much or have no appetite at all, or are having suicidal thoughts you should seek a professional evaluation.  However, major depression is not the only form of depression that affects us or that needs treatment.  Some other form of depression are:

• Dysthymia. A minor but chronic depression that lasts two years or longer. Dysthymia affects about 1.5 percent of American adults.
• Postpartum depression.  10 to 15 percent of women develop this shortly after childbirth.
• Seasonal affective disorder (SAD). This type of depression usually occurs during winter months and is probably caused by lack of natural sunlight.  SAD affects 4 to 6 percent of Americans and is more common the farther north you live.
• Bipolar disorder. This condition involves moods that cycle between depression and extreme excitability, called mania.  This disorder is widely misunderstood by the community and is said to affects about 2.6 percent of American adults.
• Psychotic depression. This is the most severe form of depression and includes breaks with reality, such as hallucinations or delusions.  It is less common than other forms of depression; according to one study, psychotic depression occurs in about 5 percent of people who suffer from major depression.

Now that we have a better understanding of depression and what to look for, how do we go about getting treatment if we think we have it?  The first step should always be to get evaluated by a professional so that we know for sure that we have depression and not the blues.  This can be your primary care physician or a licensed counselor/social worker, not the latest quiz in your favorite magazine.  Once you have the diagnosis, you need to find a counselor to talk to and work through the process of getting better.  Be sure to explore all your options before you jump on any one treatment. Medication does not have to be the first option you explore in the process to getting better.  You can add to and take away from your diet, vitamins and supplements, exercise, routine changes and talk therapy that can all be done before you start taking medications for depression.  A good counselor will work with you to ensure that you have tried everything you can before recommending medication, or they will be able to tell you that medication might be a good fit to help you move forward in recovery.

Remember that being depressed and seeking help for it does not make you weak or powerless.  Realizing that you need help and asking for it is always the first step to getting your life back and putting the blues behind you.