Mental health. Signs and symptoms of depression. How might counselling help someone with Depression?

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DEPRESSION

What is depression?

Depression is different from feeling down or sad. Unhappiness is something which everyone feels at some time or another, usually due to a particular cause. A person suffering from depression will experience intense emotions of anxiety, hopelessness, negativity, and helplessness, and the feelings stay with them instead of going away.


Depression can happen to anyone. Many famous people, who seem to have everything going for them, battle with this health problem. Depression isn’t fussy it can affect anyone, doesn’t discriminated!

Some depression runs in families. Researchers believe that it is possible to inherit a tendency to get depression. This seems to be especially true for bipolar and major depression disorders, but it can also develop in people who have no family history of depression. Due to stresses at work, home or at school. Either way major depressive disorder is often associated with changes in brain structures or brain function  

Half of the people who suffer with depression will only experience it once but for the other half they will suffer with it again. The length of time that it takes to recover ranges from around 6 months to a year or even more.

Signs and symptoms of depression

The following are the most common symptoms of depression.

 

  • Tiredness and loss of energy 
  • Sadness
  • Loss of self-confidence
  • Difficulty concentrating 
  • Feeling anxious
  • Avoiding other people
  • Feelings of helplessness and hopelessness 
  • Sleeping problems
  • feelings of guilt or worthlessness 
  • hard to function at work/college/school 
  • Loss of appetite 
  • Loss of sex drive
  • Physical symptoms 
  • Suicidal feelings
  • Self-harm

Impacts of Depression:

  • Causes tremendous emotional pain
  • Disrupts the lives of millions of people
  • Adversely affects the lives of families and friends
  • Reduces work productivity and absenteeism
  • Has a significant negative impact on the economy, costing an estimated £44 billion a year

Depression is a psychological condition that changes how you think and feel, and also affects your social behaviour and sense of physical well-being. We have all felt sad at one time or another, but that is not depression. Sometimes we feel tired from working hard, or discouraged when faced with serious problems. This too, is not depression. These feelings usually pass within a few days or weeks, once we adjust to the stress. But, if these feelings linger, intensify, and begin to interfere with work, school, or family responsibilities, it may be depression.

Depression can affect anyone. Once identified, most people diagnosed with depression are successfully treated. Unfortunately, depression is not always diagnosed, because many of the symptoms mimic physical illness, such as sleep and appetite disturbances. Recognizing depression is the first step in treating it.

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Nearly two-thirds of depressed people do not get proper treatment clinical depression is a very common psychological problem, and most people never seek proper treatment, or seek treatment but they are misdiagnosed with physical illness. This is extremely unfortunate because, with proper treatment, nearly 80% of those with depression can make significant improvement in their mood and life adjustment

How Depression can affect the family

Concern

  1. Initially, the family becomes concerned about their loved one who is exhibiting signs of depression. They might attempt to cheer up the depressed person at first, try to get her to ...

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