The Signs Of Clinical Depression: What You Need To Know
Before considering the signs of clinical depression, it's worth getting an overall picture of this condition. Clinical depression is a major problem all over the world, and the number one psychological disorder in the western world. It affects all ages, all genders, with no regard to financial standing and demographics. Professionals are estimating that by the year 2020, clinical depression will be the second most disabling condition members of the population will suffer. Medication alone will soon not be enough to combat depression and medical professionals are trying to find ways to deal with what is really causing the depression in their patients.
What criterion is used to diagnose clinical depression?
Clinical depression can only be diagnosed by a trained professional. Of course, if you are feeling any of the following symptoms, it is highly advisable that you seek out medical attention. The following criterion is what doctors use to see if you are suffering from clinical depression. Keep in mind that some of these may not apply to you.
- Depressed mood or loss of interest in things that normally give you pleasure
- Significant weight loss or gain
- Insomnia or hypersomnia almost every day
- Fatigue
- Inability to concentrate or indecisiveness
- Recurrent thoughts of death and suicide
- Impairment in social situations
- The symptoms are not caused by the effects of substance abuse, medical conditions or bereavement
Is depression a natural response by our bodies to some factor?
Up until recently it was believed that depression was caused by a chemical imbalance in our bodies. Researchers have discovered that this is not the case. We feel physical symptoms of depression which anti-depressants treat, but as soon as most people stop taking the medication, they often fall back into the depression. There is deeper underlying problem that is causing an individual to be depressed.
Doctors and scientists have still not come to any agreement on what causes depression, especially clinical depression where many people are in this consistent state. It is not a disease even though it has physical symptoms. Could the way a person thinks be causing their depression? Perhaps. Trauma, sadness over an event, and general upheaval in a person's life can all cause episodes of depression, but most people overcome it in time. Others do not.
When all three of these are considered together, however, doctors can often see that clinical depression comes down to how each individual explains events and their lives to themselves. If they think 'down', they will become 'down'. A person has to learn how to break this thinking style before it is too late.
How is clinical depression treated?
Clinical depression should be treated by a licensed medical practitioner who will recommend a therapy of medication in combination with counselling sessions or psychotherapy. It has been found that individuals suffering from clinical depression respond better if both treatments are used together instead of just one or the other.