Depression
Most people have experienced a low mood at some time in their lives. It is a normal reaction to disappointment or loss and lasts for hours, or a few days, and gradually disappears. The line between a low mood and depression is crossed when the person suffers symptoms of depression for more than two weeks; the symptoms are more severe, and they impair the person’s ability to function.
Causes
The exact cause is not known. Most researchers feel some causes are obviously due to chemical imbalance or genetics. Other factors involved in depression appear to be either reactions to environmental events and stress and/or psychological factors.
Helping with Depression
The best way to help a person with depression is to encourage them to seek professional help. Assisting them to get to a doctor or mental health professional may make a great difference, as the support of family and friends can help shorten the time span of the illness and could make professional help more effective. One should always take talk of suicide or self-harm seriously.
Warning Signs
Some possible warning signs of depression are:
- sleep problems
- extreme fatigue
- rapid unintentional weight loss
- lack of motivation
- despair
- feeling blue or down
- hopelessness
- crying for no apparent reason
- loss of self-esteem
- thoughts of self-harm
- lack of interest or loss of pleasure in things that used to be enjoyed.
Depression (PDF, 140KB)
Depression and Low Mood (PDF, 229KB)
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