What is Depression and Its Common Symptoms

Depression is a medical condition in which the sufferer goes into an extended period of sadness which results into emotional instability. An individual suffering from depression needs to have a loving and warm atmosphere of recovery. This is because depression is a very serious illness that can have repercussions for a very long period of time. It is important to note that depression tends to affect women more than men but generally, it affects people of every age, children included.

It is very important to maintain the illness, with friends and family providing an ample atmosphere for the patient to be free of any stresses and also to be able to express their feelings. You should consult a psychiatrist if you suspect suffering from depression in order to get the correct medication of coping up with depression and eventually alleviating it all together.

Depression has 3 main stages – mild, moderate, and severe depression. Mild depression as the name would suggest is the onset of the condition but it can be easily curable without any outside external help through reading of positive books. In the moderate depression stage, talking to family and close friends as well as some mild depression can cure the condition. Severe depression is the worst of all stages of depression as it takes a lot of time to get cured and involves a lot of medical processes. As is with any other kind of medical condition, it is recommended that you treat and cure depression at its onset.

It is at the severe depression stage that patients try to commit suicide hence concerned relatives should consult a psychiatrist as soon as they notice their loved one is sinking more and more into severe depression. When someone has most of the below-mentioned symptoms, it means that the case is severe and needs urgent medical attention.

Symptoms of depression

-          Lack of energy

-          Feeling tired

-          Loss of appetite

-          Loss of interest in the things that someone used to love and enjoy

-          Low self-esteem issues

-          Feeling helpless and guilty with no cause

-          And in women changes in the menstrual cycle.

Depression can further be categorized into two:- Bipolar and manic depression. The bipolar depression is a condition that tends to target the moods of an individual hence results in mood swings. People suffering from the bipolar category of depression tend to have episodes of feeling high and low.

As for manic depression, it is somewhat similar to bipolar in that the patient feels very high and excited at times and at other times very sad and low.

The best thing about depression is that it is curable, particularly if diagnosed early and treated through psychiatric counseling as soon as possible.