Depression Overview

            Depression (aka Clinical Depression) is a mental disorder that affects how people think, feel and act on the daily basis. In order for an individual to be diagnosed with the disorder the symptoms must be displayed most of the day, almost every day, for at least two weeks. The symptoms that a person with depression experiences are the following: persistent sad or empty mood, feeling of hopelessness, feelings of guilt or worthlessness, loss of interest, fatigue, difficulty concentrating, difficulty sleeping, appetite or weight changes, thoughts of death/suicide, suicide attempts, and irritability. Not all of the signs and symptoms need to be present to diagnose someone with depression, the individual needs to display some of these symptoms almost every day for two weeks. They’re different types of depressions which are: Major Depression, Persistent Depressive Disorder, Perinatal Depression, Seasonal Affective Disorder, Psychotic Depression and Bipolar Depression. There are different types of ways to try to treat depression, there is medication, psychotherapy and Brain Stimulation Therapy. This topic is important because so many people struggle with depression; people who have depression are hurting themselves and the people around them. This mental disorder is dangerous because people would kill themselves, push away their loved ones by isolating themselves, harming people (i.e. mothers not showing their kids any love), etc. It’s especially dangerous because there are people who have depression but not even knowing, which puts their lives even more at risk. This applies to everyone because it’s important that everyone knows how to spot an individual who might have depression, and to help someone with depression. This will also help someone who thinks they might have depression because they could go and get the help that they need so it won’t affect them long term.