Is your Depression Real? Or is it just Sadness?

Is your Depression Real? Or is it just Sadness?

Almost 30 million people around the world are depressed according to World Health Organization and it affects children and elderly alike causing severe damages to victims’ personal and occupational lives.

 

People around us don’t take the diagnosis of most of the psychological problems very seriously and simply label mood variations, sadness, confusion and fear with either depression or anxiety.

This common practice has created a chaos in the generation of the 21st century who is considered to be the digital generation due to their lack of interpersonal interaction and reduced communication skills.

 

But before you label yourself or someone you know with depression, understand the consequences of this action. Depression is not the regular headache you can ask someone to take painkillers for. It is a registered medical condition which needs proper consultation and treatment. Do not let yourself be engulfed by just the idea of depression.

What is Depression Actually if not Feeling Sad all the Time?

Depression is a severe mental disorder with different types such as Major Depressive Disorder which generally can be mild, moderate, severe with other variations, Persistent Depressive Disorder also called Dysthymia, Premenstrual Dysphoric Disorder, Substance-Induced Depressive Disorder, Depressive Disorder due to other medical condition and other specified and unspecified depressive disorders according to the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders 5^th Edition (DSM-V).

The basic requirement of the diagnosis of major depression, the most common type of depression, demands its basic symptoms (at least 5 of them with depressed mood and loss of interest as a must) to occur continuously for more than 2 weeks with completely changed functioning.

 

Symptoms are: Sleepless nights (insomnia or hypersomnia), loss of interest, loss of appetite, feeling sad almost every day, weight loss, observable psychomotor agitation (restlessness, inability to stay put), feeling guilty all the time, fatigue, irritation, lack of concentration, feelings of worthlessness, suicidal ideation and inability to socially interact.

 

Until you don’t see these situations persistently happening, you CANNOT label someone with DEPRESSION.

What is not Depression?

If you have had a major loss in your life prior to exhibiting these symptoms, your symptoms can be the natural reaction to your loss with no right for medical diagnosis. The time period between your loss, the onset of your symptoms and their persistence is considered before diagnosis and if it doesn’t cross the threshold of two weeks, it is not diagnosed. Plus, it is also observed if your symptoms are due to external substances such as drugs or medicines or if you have been showing the symptoms of mania and hypomania. In these cases, you are not diagnosed with depression.

 

On and off sad feelings, occasional irritation and desire to stay alone, loss of sleep due to changed routine, time zone or general stressful events such as an exam or interview and change in moods due to varying physical and environmental conditions DO NOT REPRESENT CLINICAL DEPRESSION.

 

Do not tell yourself that you’re mentally sick; don’t tell this to anybody else and give each other emotional strength to decrease the prevalence of disorders like depression.