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Thursday, May 21, 2015

Depression: Not a Checklist

I'm so tired of people saying that something's 'not depression' just because it doesn't match their exact symptoms or symptom list. Here's the exact definition from Google:
Depression (noun): feelings of severe despondency and dejection.

From the Mayo Clinic: 
A mood disorder that causes a persistent feeling of sadness and loss of interest. Also called major depression, major depressive disorder, or clinical depression, it affects how you feel, think, and behave and can lead to a variety of emotional and physical problems. You may have trouble doing normal day-to-day activities, and depression may make you feel as if life isn't worth living.

From medicinenet.com:
Depression: An illness that involves the body, mood, and thoughts and that affects the way a person eats, sleeps, feels about himself or herself, and thinks about things. Depression is not the same as a passing blue mood. It is not a sign of personal weakness or a condition that can be wished away. People with depression cannot merely 'pull themselves together' and get better. Without treatment, symptoms can last for weeks, months, or years. Appropriate treatment, however, can help most people with depression. The signs and symptoms of depression include loss of interest in activities that were once interesting or enjoyable, including sex; loss of appetite, with weight loss, or overeating, with weight gain; loss of emotional expression (flat affect); a persistently sad, anxious, or empty mood; feelings of hopelessness, pessimism, guilt, worthlessness, or helplessness; social withdrawal; unusualfatigue, low energy level, a feeling of being slowed down; sleep disturbance and insomnia, early-morning awakening or oversleeping; trouble concentrating, remembering, or making decisions; unusual restlessness or irritability; persistent physical problems such as headaches, digestive disorders, or chronic pain that do not respond to treatment, and thoughts of death or suicide or suicide attempts. The principal types of depression are called major depressiondysthymia, and bipolar disease (manic-depressive disease).

Depression is something that is different for everyone who suffers 

from it. So don't treat it like some checklist. It's not something that's 

obvious all the time to everyone. You have to really look for it, 

because it will be hidden. Just pay attention. And don't say it's not 

depression unless it's something like someone being 'depressed' 

because they got a low grade or didn't get the job they wanted.

                                                                ~The Blogging Fangirl

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