Depression

Introduction

Depression is an illness that affects over seventeen million Americans each year. Just feeling sad or down doesn't mean that someone is depressed, but when the mood lasts more than a week or two, it may be depression. Depression can affect anyone of any age, race, or economic group; however, women are twice as likely to be diagnosed with it as men. Approximately twenty-five percent of all women and only twelve percent of all men suffer from depression at some point in their life. This may possibly be linked to female hormones.(Musselman,580)

Forms Of Depression

There are many different forms of depression. Clinical depression simply means the depression is severe enough to require treatment. Another type of depression is seasonal affective disorder, or SAD. This is when clinical depression follows a seasonal pattern, affecting people in the fall or winter and leaving in spring. It is apparently caused by a decreased amount of sunlight that is available in the winter as a result of the days becoming shorter. Ten million Americans are inflicted with SAD. Dysthymia is another form of depression that gives a person a low mood that is milder and has fewer symptoms than clinical depression, but it lasts at least a year or two. Only three percent of Americans are affected by dysthymia. Bipolar disorder, or manic depression, is characterized by mood swings from major depression, to the opposite known as mania with normal periods in between. Mania can be recognized by a person seeming unusually happy, silly, or irritable. They may have a great burst of energy and go with little or no sleep for days. They talk too much or too fast and their attention jumps constantly from one thing to another.(Ballard,287)

Symptoms Of Depression

Symptoms of depression are many, such as feelings of worthlessness, feeling sad most of the time, crankiness, and thoughts of death. People can also experience changes in thinking, eating, sleeping, and energy levels. People may overeat or have a loss of appetite. Similarly, they may sleep a lot or have trouble sleeping. Some people appear restless, while others may seem slowed down and sluggish. They may have trouble concentrating, thinking clearly, or remembering things. Sometimes, people lose interest in activities they used to enjoy. For example, someone who loves to play guitar may suddenly have no interest in playing anymore. Some depressed teens may have aches and pains with no apparent physical cause. The more severe the depression, the worse the physical symptoms, including dizziness, upset stomach, back pain, stomachache, vomiting, and menstrual problems.(Chimowitz,747)

A lot of times, depressed teenagers abuse drugs and/or alcohol. Sometimes the depression causes the substance abuse and other times the abuse can cause the depression. Some depressed teenagers act out, harming or threatening others or breaking serious rules. This is called conduct disorder. This can be linked in with substance abuse since many teens that have conduct disorder also begin to drink, smoke, take drugs, or have casual sex.(Carney,562)

Suicide And Depression

Suicide is the third leading cause of death for people ages ...