Let's Talk About Depression

What is Depression?

Depression is another one of the words that we hear about often, but may not truly know what it means. Some people throw it around like candy. Others find it as something sinful that needs to be prayed away. And others aren't entirely sure what it means but are ready to learn!

Depression is a significantly lower mood or a loss of interest in tasks. The lowered mood is often described as feelings of sadness, hopelessness, and despair. It also occurs with other symptoms such as changes in sleeping and eating patterns. For it to be considered clinical depression, these symptoms have to last for most of the day for multiple days. 

Depression is not someone just being “lazy” or “rude”. People with depression are genuinely experiencing a disorder that is impacting their mood and functioning.

Who Does Depression Affect?

Depression can affect everyone, even children. According to the World Health Organization, 3.8% of the population has been affected by depression. Women are almost twice as likely as men to experience depression. Depression is also more likely to be diagnosed in white people than in people of color. Like many other mental health diagnoses, the symptoms may show up differently from person to person.

Depression can be caused by a variety of things. Some may experience an imbalance in their hormones or brain chemistry. For others, it may have been brought on by a series of negative events occurring in their lives. Family history can also be another cause of depression. Medical conditions and substance use can also bring about depression. 

What Does Depression Affect?

Depression can affect you mentally, emotionally, physically, and socially.

Mental symptoms of depression include a lower ability to think or concentrate, indecisiveness, brain fog, frequent thoughts of death (not just fear of dying), a desire to commit suicide, or active plans to commit suicide.

In addition to the feelings of sadness, hopelessness, and despair that were mentioned previously, there are other ways you could be impacted emotionally. There can be an increased sense of worthlessness, irrational levels of guilt, and higher levels of irritability, especially in children.

Depression has a lot of physical symptoms. Insomnia or hypersomnia is one of the most common physical symptoms and is a big indicator of clinical depression. Unintentional weight loss and changes in appetite also happen frequently. Fatigue, loss of energy, and slower movement can also occur

Social changes include withdrawing from others. Inability to engage in activities you previously enjoyed. You may find it hard to commit to plans, and relationships may begin to deteriorate.

Depression has a range of severity that is dependent on the number of symptoms that are being expressed. You don’t need to experience every symptom at all times to have depression

How Long Does Depression Last

Depressive episodes can vary in length, but symptoms need to have lasted for at least two weeks. Some people may experience something akin to flare-ups and have episodes that go away and come back from time to time. Others may experience chronic depression that lasts for months. It is also possible to have a single episode and then not experience another one again.

What Happens If Depression Is Left Untreated

Depression has a very high rate of suicide behavior and is always something to be mindful of. Men with depression are more likely than women to die by suicide. When depression is left untreated, the symptoms will continue to increase in intensity. Not all people with depression will attempt to commit suicide, but it is very prevalent.

There will also be an increase in the severity of your symptoms. This can result in an impact on your daily living skills and ability to work or go to school.

How Can Depression Be Treated

Therapy and medication are incredibly useful ways to treat depression. Virtual options make getting support much more accessible. Talk to your doctor to rule out any medical causes for your depression. Schedule a consultation with a therapist. They can help you to come up with some coping skills, elevate your depressed mood, and identify some of the roots that may be causing your depression.

Where To Start

Contact your healthcare provider. It is very important to determine if there are any medical causes of your depression.

Identify safe people in your life that can check in on you. Experiencing a depressive episode can make it very hard to initiate contact with others. Find people who are willing and able to check up on you when they notice a change.

Try to do one small thing a day. You may not feel like you can do much when you're in an episode, but try to think of some small things. Maybe it’s taking a few minutes to brush your teeth or prepare a snack. One small thing a day can make a huge impact in the long run.

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Depression can be very hard to navigate, and you’re not meant to do it alone. If you’d like to learn more about depression and mental health, be sure to subscribe to my emails or follow me on social media @BloomingWithBisi. If you’re a Florida resident and are interested in booking a free 15-minute consultation call, email me at bloomingwithbisi@gmail.com or use the link below: https://calendly.com/bloomingwithbisi/15min