Definition:

Nearly 7% of U.S. adults -- 15 million Americans -- suffer depression each year. Suicide will claim some of these lives - learn to recognize depression symptoms, how to get the right tests and treatments, and how to support people suffering depression.

Everyone at one time or another has felt depressed, sad, or blue. Being depressed is a normal reaction to loss, life's struggles, or an injured self-esteem. But sometimes the feeling of sadness becomes intense, lasting for long periods of time and preventing a person from leading a normal life. Depression that has these characteristics is a treatable medical condition called major depressive disorder, one of a number of depressive illnesses.

Symptoms:

• Persistently sad or irritable mood
• Difficulty thinking, concentrating, and remembering
• Lack of interest in or pleasure from previous activities
• Recurrent thoughts of death or suicide
• Pronounced changes in sleep, appetite, and energy
• Physical slowing or agitation
• Feelings of guilt, worthlessness, hopelessness, and emptiness
• Self destructive choices, self-harm threats or behaviors
• Persistent physical symptoms that do not respond to treatment, such as headaches, digestive disorders, and chronic pain

Self-Assessments:

• Psych Central Depressin Quiz

Treatment Options:

Interpersonal therapy focuses on the patient's disturbed personal relationships that both cause and exacerbate (or increase) the depression. Cognitive/behavioral therapy helps patients change the negative styles of thinking and behaving often associated with depression.

Links:

• OSF Depression Webpage
• National Institute of Mental Illness & Depression

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