Depression: Common Symptoms

Depression is definitely an equal opportunity illness. It is a fact that not everyone is prone to depression, and that some people become more severely depressed than others – both of these facts have researchers busy trying to determine what makes some folks appear to be 'immune' to feelings of depression.
It's important to remember that we are all individuals and as such we experience depression differently. This is extremely important when considering treatment for depressed clients – there is no one-size fits all drug or counselling treatment. Each course of treatment, whether it is with anti-depressants or with counselling, requires that the individual client's needs be taken into account. This is one of the reasons I favour cognitive behavioural counselling when working with depressed client – cognitive behavioural involves working with the client to reach an understanding of the root cause of the problem and also to understand the behaviours this might cause and, in recognising why the client behaves in certain ways, to learn new ways of behaving or coping.
Not only do we all experience depression differently, but the causes and triggers are often different from person to person.
However, there are a number of symptoms that occur in depressed people, although not all symptoms occur in all people! But if you are experiencing two or more of the symptoms on this list, it is probably a good idea to check in with your doctor. I always recommend that a client has a health check up to determine if there is any underlying physical health problem that may be causing the symptoms before action is taken by way of anti-depressants, etc.
 Here's the list:
 A general feeling of sadness or loneliness that pervades daily life without any real reason, sometimes including sudden crying bouts.
 Getting overly annoyed or frustrated over small details or incidents.
 Not being able to sleep – or sleeping too much
 Constant fatigue without an identifiable cause
 Loss of appetite – or increased appetite, particularly when these lead to either unintended weight loss or gain
• Feeling bored or disinterested in hobbies or activities that are usually pleasurable
 Loss of interest in sex
 Feeling unable to relax even when there is no apparent reason for tension.
 Inability to concentrate, even on usually relaxing pastimes such as reading.
 Not wishing to participate in social events
 Feeling indecisive, unable to 'think straight'. This is sometimes shadowed in one's physical actions being slowed or indecisive.
 Feelings of worthlessness or guilt, fixating on past failures or losses and blaming oneself for things that go wrong.
 Frequent thoughts of death, dying or suicide
 A sense of lack of physical wellbeing, aches and pains and vague illness.
While for many people depression is a dullness or greyness in life which they try to struggle through, for many it can become so severe that they become unable to function. Just getting out of bed in the morning feels too much, looking after personal hygiene, family needs, cooking a meal or going to work become obstacles that are insurmountable.
But the key to remember is that if you, or a loved one, experience depression there is help available. Consider the available treatments and decide whether counselling or anit-depressant medication may be best for you.
For many people, a short course of anti-depressants coupled with a longer period of supportive counselling and will offer long-term relief from depression.

Ends…

Look Your Fears in the Eye!

One of the things about being depressed is that sense of feeling alone, of being the only one experiencing these feelings. It's hard to believe that anyone else could feel like you do - and frankly, you probably feel too down to care.
But depressed people are very vulnerable to fear. Places, things, events that may make a non-depressed person a little nervous can be sources of full blown anxiety attacks for someone experiencing depression.
And, conversely, some of the things we fear may actually be depression triggers. Have you ever gone to a family get together, for example, and become depressed because you maybe once again had a fight with your brother or cousin, or perhaps your dad made one of his sarcastic 'jokes' that made you feel really humiliated?You came away feeling depressed because these experiences were a depression trigger.
Family events are one of the biggest sources of conflict or emotionally based depression triggers.
So, what to do? Avoiding all events like this sounds like a good plan, but that can mean you become even more isolated from the people who could offer you the best support. Feeling part of a family group is in itself a defence against depression - unless yours is a totally dysfunctional family, that is!
So the best thing may well be to face your fears, acknowledge the problem, and do something about it. Being pro-active is difficult if you're depressed, but it can be done. It works best before the situation becomes charged.
So, if cousin Susie is always on your case at family dinners, give her a call before the event. Say you find it upsetting that she behaves the way she does, and ask her why? She may well be shocked to hear you feel this way. Whatever she says, tell her that you want the behaviour to stop. Then tell other family members that this behaviour has been a problem for you and that you've talked to Cousin Susie about it and expect that she will behave better towards you so everyone can have a fun time at the get together.
This puts Cousin Susie on notice that her behaviour is being watched not just by you but by other family members. Peer pressure is great!
What about dealing with other fears?
1) Acknowledge the problem, what the fear is.
2) Do something about it if you can. Action is a great fear-buster.
3) If you can't do anything about it, laugh at it. Tell yourself you are not going to let this spoil your life.
4) Talk about your fears with someone else - your counsellor, or a close friend you can trust.
5) establish some control. Accept that you are in control of how you feel and that you can either take some action to prevent the trigger event, or you can choose to ignore it as not worth your attention.
6) Have a chat with yourself, lay out what it is that frightens or depresses you about any particular trigger.Then talk it out with yourself - is it really that bad? What can you do to chase it away?
Now you understand your fear, you understand that you can either take some action or learn to ignore or take the sting out of the fear or depression trigger.