Understanding Depression and Self Help
Friday, October 31st, 2008When I was a teen and reading everything from novels to Reader’s Digests to Mom or Dad’s encyclopedias and self-help books, I was fascinated with a particular malaise that I had felt for years but had no words to articulate. I had most of the symptoms of depression; therefore, I was bent on reading articles about depression. That was about thirty years ago, so while the info then was more limited than it is now, I have a better understanding of an illness (or syndrome) that severely impacts those with it and those who live with persons who have it: such statistics that hold that in any given year, some 13 to 14 million people will suffer some degree of depressive disorder (according to www.add-adhd-help-center.com).
I cannot remember the title, but one of the very first articles I read, contained information regarding depression that still remains true today.
The clinically depressed person is restless, sleepless, sleeps too much, and/or is irritable.
There is no interest in pleasurable distractions, food and taking care of personal hygiene.
The person suffering from depression also consistently feels tired, or is constantly exhausted, and feels they never have enough energy to get through the day.
More studies have revealed the numbers of people suffering from depressive disorders and you are able to find out more about this on www.add-adhd-help-center.com. Where you will see that other symptoms include:
Persistent, ongoing sadness, an attitude of futility and feelings of worthlessness;
Constant weight change, either gain or loss;
Both under and overeating;
Persistent physical manifestations of (but not limited to) depression-such as headache, pain, stomach and digestion problems-all of which may be resistant to treatment
Recurring thought of or obsession with suicide/death.
I found out-in my forties-I have ADD (Attention Deficit Disorder). A sister disorder is depression. It makes sense that I was fascinated with, intrigued by, or made it imperative to study the disorder of depression, as wherever I went, ADD went, and wherever ADD went, depression went. If you have ADD, depression, and/or experience symptoms of one or both, please know there are many, many books, articles, people, treatments, and solutions. You are not alone and you are not hopeless. You can get that refrigerator you are carrying around off your back. You can stop eating everything in that refrigerator, can wake up from heavy-boned sleep and escape, can shut up the seemingly convincing voice that recommends suicide as a solution, and can actually, one day, smile or even laugh at something again.