Being depressed is not a great feeling -- feeling alone is even worse.

Don't take depression lightly. If you know someone going through this disorder get them help A.S.A.P.

Depression

Have you ever felt frustrated and don’t know why? Has there been a time when you were feeling distress and weren’t in your happiest times? Maybe you’re depressed -- now don’t be scared -- you’re not alone; there are millions of people in the U.S. who suffer from depression each year. Depression, often called the blues, for those who don’t know, is the psychotic or neurotic condition characterized by an inability to concentrate, insomnia, and feelings of sadness, dejection, and hopelessness. Stress is something that may cause depression, like stress during a test or trying to please someone just to fit in with a crowd, but if stress is not dealt with that is when depression comes into play.

An estimated 17.6 million Americans suffer from depression each year. Men often keep their feelings to themselves and see it as a sign of weakness if they express their feelings.

Depression is a chronic mood disorder characterized by persistent feelings of sadness, hopelessness, and irritibility. People of all agaes races and sexes can suffer from depression. Women out number men in clinical depression.Just like cancer, depression is a medical disorder. It is an actual disease. Depression doesn't only affect a person emotionally it also can affect them physically; and can lead to death if not attended to.

Emotional Symptoms of depression are:

• Fatigue

• Difficulty in concentrating

• Recurring thoughts of death or suicide

• Loss of pleasure and interest

Physical Symptoms:

• Headache

• Backache

• Stomachache

Depression may be new to some of you but it has been around since the beginning of recorded history. Even people in the Bible suffered from depression but the term used then was "black bile", like Saul, who became the first king of Israel, who suffered from severe mood swings. It is also portrayed in literature and arts for the way an artist wants to express the way he or she is feeling. In the 1950's and 60's, depression was separated into two types; endogenous and neurotic. Endogenous means that the depression comes within the body, maybe of genetics or of nowhere. Neurotic or reactive depression has to do with an environmental reason such as a loss of someone, a job etc...

Other types of depression:

1. Manic-depression

   also known as bipolar disorder, is a form of depression that includes mood swings of extreme happiness and despair. It was described in the early 1990s by a German psychiatrist Emil Kraepelin.

2. Seasonal affective disorder(SAD)

   a form of depression that occurs usually during the fall and winter months when there is decreased sunlight.

There are ways to treat depression:

1. Antidepressants

   titled Mood-Altering Drugs, a medicated drug to relieve clinical depression. Some of the famous antidepressants are:

   • Fluoxerine(Prozac)

   • Monamine Oxide Inhibitors(MAOIs)

     the bad part of taking this is that patients would have to avoid foods rich in amino acid tyramine,(i.e:aged cheese, process meats, wine, and beer)

2. Psychotherapy

   at times called "the talking cure" which treats mood disorders

   • Insightoriented theraphy

   • Cognitive therapy

   • Interpersonal theraphy

   • Family theraphy

   • Behavioral theraphy

3. Alternative treatments

   • Light theraphy

     is a method of treatment for SAD patients in which "light boxes" are used to provide enough light to relieve their depression

For more information on depression, you can contact these sources:

• American Association
  1400 K Street, N.W.
  Suite 1101
  Washington, DC 20005
  (800) 368-5777

• DEPRESSION Awareness,Recognition, and Treatment (D/ART),NIMH
  5600 Fishers Lane, Room 10-85
  Rockville, MD 20857
  (301)443-4140; (800)421-4211
  NIMH publications by fax:(301)443-5158
  

  To find out more about the writer of depression and eating disorder, link up to my bio page.

  To learn more about eating disorder,you can read: Alvin and Virginia Silverstein and Laura Silverstein Depression