How You Feel With Depression   Frank Barnhill M.D.
 

When these processes are normal, you feel good and have few if any signs of depression. When there aren't enough neurotransmitters to go around, guess what? You become depressed.

It's true that having a lot of "outside problems" can weigh a person down, but these neurotransmitters are really at the base of depression and it's many symptoms. Counseling and medications can help the brain start making "feel good" chemicals again, even when stress is on going. However, the first step in treatment of depression is the same in as in any disease: you must realize that something is wrong and seek help.

There are many scales used to help individuals assess or grade depression. Most allow you to assign numbers to your responses to determine if your symptoms are suggestive of mild, moderate or severe depression.

In general, these rating scales are probably more useful in evaluating how you are doing after starting treatment for depression. A lot of doctors feel that if you have any symptoms of depression and can tell that these symptoms are having a negative impact on your way of life, you should be evaluated and possibly treated for depression.

The following list of depression signs and symptoms is provided to allow you to evaluate your well being and not to determine the severity of a disease. Let me caution you that a lot of people initially deny they have symptoms of depression and if you are to benefit from this little self-test, you must be honest in your answers. After all, if you can't be honest with yourself, then whom are you kidding?

• Feeling blue, sad or down more than usual
• Crying for no reason or over little things
• Feeling just as tired when you get up as when you went to bed
• Having problems getting to sleep, awakening early, going back to sleep
• Sleeping too much and frequently tired during the day
• A change in appetite, either weight gain or weight loss without really trying
• Can't concentrate or focus well; your mind seems foggy now
• Can't seem to complete things because you lose interest or get bored easily
• Everything seems to be on your shoulders and it makes you irritable Can't make decisions easily and avoid taking responsibility Don't enjoy being around other people, socializing or doing things like you used to Don't have fun or do your hobbies anymore
• Don't like yourself or what you have become Often feel useless, un-needed, or in others way Often think about death or dying whether it's about others or yourself

If you answered yes to more than 5 of these symptoms or signs, then you probably have some level of depression. If you have either of the last three symptoms of worthlessness or thoughts of death, then most doctors would agree you are moderately or severely depressed and should see a doctor very soon.

Depression and the communication problems that go with depression are probably the third or fourth most common causes of divorce. Just being depressed saps your energy and keeps you from performing at your peak level. Millionaires with "rags to riches stories" often tell of how they had to defeat their depression before they could get a grip on their economic problems. When they were successful at beating depression, most went on to be very successful in life.

From the experience of treating thousands of depressed persons, I know it's hard for anyone to be successful in life and constantly try to fight off depression. If you have the symptoms, please visit your doctor soon and consider treatment. Have a happy life!

drhuggiebear, drhuggiebear.com and contained materials are the copyrighted and/or registered properties of Frank Barnhill, M.D. and may not be reproduced for profit without the express written permission of the author.  All materials may be photocopied in whole for educational use.  For information please contact us at drfrank@drhuggiebear.com.