Signs of Depression

There are times in just about everyone's life when the question, "Am I suffering from depression?" emerges. The mere fact that you are asking yourself this question though isn't necessarily a reason to seek out a prescription for an antidepressant.

Clinical depression can be distinguished from simply feeling unhappy or out of sorts. There are certain objectively identifiable symptoms that come forward when a person is clinically depressed:

How badly and continually has your mood changed your sleep patterns? Are you suffering from insomnia or are you forever sleeping?

Do things that you once liked - counting your family and friends - no longer bring you any pleasure?

Are you touchy and cantankerous, flared into argument with hardly any provokation?

Do you have frequent thoughts of death or suicide. Do these often become devastating and all-consuming?

Everyone will feel upset and grieve from time to time. This is a normal part of life. However, clinical depression is constant and stubbornly resilient. Friends can tell you to snap out your unhappy mood, but if you are sincerely in a depressive state, it is not within your power to comply. Often too it is challenging for you to determine a specific reason for your angst. You know that you are deeply anxious, irritated or angry, and can give a hundred good reasons to justify your mood, but you're not truly sure about what the source of the pain is!

So are you suffering from depression or just going through some hard times?

Life changing events and misadvetures, like a death in the family or a divorce, can cast you into a dark chasm of anxiety and gloom. This is to be expected. This type of pain is not to be diagnosed as an illness, as there is good reason for the negative emotions and feelings of dread. Not all pain and fear is a sign of illness. Healthy persons get anxious and fearful too. The difference is that their fears are realistic.

Grieving over the loss of someone you cherished or over the failure of a relationship is also normal and healthy, and should not be avoided. Indeed, geninue depression is sometimes the consequence of when the grieving process has been cut short and not allowed to run its course!

So how do we know when mental suffering has become a depression that calls for treatment? It's when the painful emotions carrys on beyond the normal grieving period, or when they become all consuming, or when there is no obvious reason for the pain, that it is time to search for professional help.

If you are hunting to give yourself a self-diagnosis, ask yourself if your state of mind is interfering with your ability to persevere normally. Are you able to complete your regular tasks agreeably, in spite of your current outlook? Are you able to keep healthy relationships with co-workers, peers and family?

These sorts of questions are never easy to answer, more than ever if you are in the emotional throws of a life changing event. If in doubt though, always err on the side of caution, and speak to a professional.