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DEPRESSION
What is Depression?
Depression is a Mood Disorder
Also called major depressive disorder or clinical depression, it affects how you feel, think, and behave. Depression can lead to a variety of emotional, cognitive, behavioral, and physical problems. Some will have trouble performing simple daily tasks, while others lose the will to live.
Depression isn't a sign of Weakness
Depression is more than just feeling down or a bout of the blues. Depression isn't something you can just "snap out of". Depression may require longterm treatment, and sometimes several treatments must be tried before finding the right one. Most people with depression will feel better with medication, therapy, or a combination of both.
Depression is usually chronic
While some people may experience only one depressive episode during their lifetime, most people will typically have multiple or chronic episodes. During these episodes, symptoms occur most of the day and nearly every day. For many people, symptoms are severe enough to cause noticable problems in their day-to-day lives.
Symptoms
Feelings of sadness, tearfulness, emptiness, or hopelessness
Loss of interest or pleasure in most or all normal activities, including hobbies and sex
Irritability, frustration, or angry outbursts, even over small issues
Sleep disturbances, including insomnia or sleeping too much
Feelings of lethargy and a lack of energy, making even small tasks seem like they take extra effort
Reduced appetite and weight loss or increased cravings for food and weight gain
Slowed thinking, speaking, or body movements
Feelings of worthlessness or guilt, fixating on past failures or self-blame
Trouble thinking, concentrating, making decisions, and remembering things
Unexplained physical issues, such as back pain or frequent headaches
Frequent or recurring thoughts of death, suicidal thoughts, suicide attempts, or suicide
Diagnosis
Your healthcare provider may determine a diagnosis of depression based on:
- A Psychiatric or Mental Health Evaluation. Your mental health professional will ask you about your symptoms, thoughts, feelings, and behavior patterns. You may be asked to fill out questionnaires to help answer these questions.
- The DSM-5. The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5), published by the American Psychiatric Association, outlines criteria for professionals to use when diagnosis mental health disorders.
- A Physical Exam. Your healthcare provider may do a physical eam and ask questions about your physical health. In some instances, depression may be linked to an underlying physical health problem, such as an underactive thyroid or anemia.
- Lab Tests. Lab testing can be useful in ruling out possible physical etiologies. For example, if your healthcare provider feels that your symptoms may be influenced by an underactive thyroid, thyroid lab tests can be performed to confirm or rule out this suspicion.