| Depression Information, Counceling, Cures and Facts about Drugs and Medication | |
| WHAT IS A DEPRESSIVE DISORDER? |
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A depressive disorder is a condition that involves the body, mood, and thoughts. It affects the way a person eats and sleeps, the way one feels about oneself, and the way one thinks about things. A depressive disorder is not the same as a passing blue mood. It is not a sign of personal weakness or a condition that can be willed or wished away. People with a depressive condition cannot usually just "pull themselves together" and get better. Without counceling, symptoms can last for weeks, months, or years. Appropriate treatment, however, can help most people who suffer from depression.
Depressive symptoms, their severity, and persistence vary widely from person to person. Often these syptoms are worsened due to "self medication" with drugs ranging from alcohol and caffeine, to cocaine, methamphetamine and other illicit drugs. Major depression is a condition consisting of a combination of symptoms (see symptom list) that interfere with the ability to work, study, sleep, eat, and enjoy once pleasurable activities. Such a disabling episode of depression may occur only once but more commonly occurs several times in a lifetime. A less severe type of depression, dysthymia, involves long-term, chronic symptoms that do not disable, but keep one from functioning well or from feeling good. Many people with dysthymia also experience major depressive episodes at some time in their lives. Another type of depression is bipolar disorder, also called manic-depressive illness. Not nearly as prevalent as other forms of depressive disorders, bipolar disorder is characterized by cycling mood changes: severe highs (mania) and lows (depression). Sometimes the mood switches are dramatic and rapid, but most often they are gradual. When in the depressed cycle, an individual can have any or all of the symptoms of a depressive disorder. When in the manic cycle, the individual may be overactive, overtalkative, and have a great deal of energy. Mania often affects thinking, judgment, and social behavior in ways that cause serious problems and embarrassment. For example, the individual in a manic phase may feel elated, full of grand schemes that might range from unwise business decisions to romantic sprees. Mania, left untreated, may worsen to a psychotic state.
Not everyone who is depressed or manic experiences every symptom. Some
people experience a few symptoms, some many. Severity of symptoms varies
with individuals and also varies over time. * Persistent sad, anxious, or "empty" mood Mania * Abnormal or excessive elation
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