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Is Someone You Love Depressed: Symptoms of Depression

Many times someone will know they are not sick, but will not feel “right,” and wonder what the problem is. If they understood the symptoms of depression they would realize they had a serious problem that needed to be addressed. It’s important to recognize depression because it is a serious medical illness that won’t go away if only you would “snap out of it.” It’s a little more serious that just having a case of the blues.

According to the National Institute for Mental Health, in any given one year period, 9.5 percent of the population or approximately 20.9 million adults in the United States suffer from a depressive illness. The condition is often hereditary, running in families, and can be triggered by stressful incidents, such as relationship problems or financial difficulties as well as physiological conditions. Unfortunately the symptoms of depression are very similar to those caused by other illnesses, which can prevent or delay much-needed medical treatment.

Some of the most commonly known symptoms of depression include feelings of emptiness or sadness, helplessness and hopelessness and feeling tired or fatigued. Other symptoms include difficulty concentrating on the task at hand, trouble making decisions, irritability or a lack of interest in former hobbies.

Some of the symptoms can also be confusing or contradictory. For example, the disruption of sleep patterns can result in difficulty falling asleep, difficulty in sleeping through the entire night or waking up too early in the morning. During depression, it is also common to experience unexplained changes in appetite that can result in either too much weight gain or too much weight loss.

One fact of depression that often surprises people is that symptoms of depression do not solely include mental issues, such as suicidal thoughts, but can also include physical symptoms such as chronic pain, headaches or digestive problems not due to another illness. As different as all these symptoms appear, they could all be a sign that you are depressed.

Because the condition will vary among individuals, not everyone will experience all of the symptoms of depression or the same severity of the symptoms. Depression does seem to run in families, according to many medical studies. Some differences exist, however. Women are twice as likely as men to experience depression, particularly around significant life changes such as pregnancy, the postpartum period and menopause.

Though most people believe that older people are more susceptible to experiencing the symptoms of depression as they age, this is not true. Depression in not a normal part of aging, but certain illnesses that are more common among senior citizens can lead to depression. Among these are heart disease, cancer, stroke, Parkinson’s disease and diabetes. As a result, the symptoms of depression among seniors can be overlooked and untreated.

Depression is treatable with effective medications now on the market, such as selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRI). The medications are believed to work best when they are combined with psychological therapies. While these medications have been effective in treating depression among adults, there are some recent medical studies that suggest these drugs could lead to suicidal behavior in children. The Food and Drug Administration recent required pharmaceutical companies to place a warning label on these drugs, and health care experts recommend close consultation with a doctor for patients, especially children, taking these medications.

Because all patients experience depression differently, doctors make a diagnosis of depression based on an individual’s medical history and current health issues. Generally, however, many medical professionals become concerned in symptoms are present for more than two weeks and if no other medical explanations are apparent. Then a doctor may consider a diagnosis of depression. It is important for anyone suffering symptoms of depression depression to seek medical attention immediately.