It's important for you to differentiate between feeling low or having a depressive disorder. The reason for this being that you can receive the best possible treatment and support depending on your situation.
Sadness is a normal human emotion. We’ve all experienced it, just like we've all experienced being happy. Sadness is usually triggered by a difficult, hurtful, challenging, or disappointing event or experience. In other words, there is usually something causing the sadness. When this situation gets dealt with or as some time goes by, our sadness usually fades.
When we experience sadness and low mood we often are affected by three types of symptoms:
1. Unhelpful Thoughts:
Feeling helpless or hopeless about yourself or your future, self-criticism and lack of concentration.
2. Physical Symptoms:
Changes in appetite and sleep, feeling lethargic and moving more slowly.
3. Changes in Behaviour:
Avoiding people and activities you enjoyed prior to the sadness, loss of motivation and becoming more irritable.
In contrast to sadness, depression is a mental illness that affects your mood, the way you understand yourself, and the way you understand and relate to things around you. About 1 million Australians will experience depression each year, many having symptoms that increase and decrease over time.
Sometimes depression can form for no apparent reason, and it lasts a long time. Depression usually doesn’t go away on its own and lasts longer than two weeks. Depression is more severe than sadness or low mood and can evoke feelings of worthlessness, hopelessness and guilt.
According to the DSM-IV, to find out if you could be depressed, you must have experienced as least five of the symptoms listed below everyday, for a period longer than two weeks.
It’s important to see a health care professional before you diagnose yourself. The following symptoms should be used a guide only. Each person with depression may experience it differently.
In general, depression symptoms include:
Feeling helpless or hopeless, like giving up – Nothing makes life feel better, there is no hope things will improve; a sense of emptiness makes it hard to get through each day.
Irritability – Men, in general, often experience depression by having a short fuse or feeling angry. Women may tend to feel mentally exhausted and driven to tears. Both may feel more agitated, annoyed and easily triggered into anger.
Little or no interest in activities or others – The things that brought you pleasure before, feel dull and not enjoyable, you feel few good feelings when around loving friends and family.
Trouble with sleeping and eating habits – You are over or under sleeping or having trouble falling asleep or staying asleep; you find you always want to eat, even when you’re not hungry or you may lost your appetite all together. Your weight changes by more than 5% each month, higher or lower.
Feeling worthless, self-loathing – Inability to see your own good points, critisizing yourself as “dumb, ugly, stupid; ” feeling others only judge you; difficulty taking advice and care from loved ones.
Unexplained physical pain - Body aches, headaches or stomachaches may occur without clear cause.
Being absent-minded – You may feel forgetful, distractible or indecisive and have troubles concentrating. Symptoms similar to ADHD, inattentive type could also be felt.
Risk factors for depression
Depression can occur in both men and woman of any age and across all ethnic groups and socioeconomic backgrounds.
Having one or more risk factors doesn’t mean you’ll become depressed. Risk factors include:
early childhood or teenage trauma
lack of: family or community acceptance for identifying as lesbian, gay, bisexual, or transgender (LGBT), a support system, such as friends, family, or coworkers.
inability to cope with a devastating life event, such as the death of a child or spouse, or any situation that causes extreme levels of pain
low self-esteem
history of: substance abuse, including drugs and alcohol, prior mental health disorders, including anorexia, bulimia, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), or anxiety disorder
family history of: mental illness, including bipolar disorder or depression
trouble adjusting to: body changes due to catastrophic injury, such as loss of limbs, or paralysisa medical condition, such as cancer, stroke, chronic pain, or heart disease.
Depression and sadness are both treatable with the right therapy. It’s important to seek help if you’re concerned about depression or a persisting low mood and at Empower You Counselling we are happy to offer that support.
If you or anyone you know is depressed and have thoughts of hurting themselves or of ending their life please urgently contact Lifeline (13 11 14). If you require immediate assistance, dial 000. Remember, depression can be treated.
With love,
Jacqui Zdravkovski