What is Depression?
Depression is a common illness that can happy to just about anyone. It is very serious due to the fact it affects how you think, feel or even act.
Types of Depression and Their Symptoms:
Major Depressive Disorder: Someone feels intense feelings of sadness for a long period of time.
Persistent Depressive Disorder: Continuous form of Depression. Feelings caused by this types of Depression can last for many years potentially affecting school, your relationship, work, and even just the things that you do daily.
Bipolar Disorder (Manic Depression): Disorder of the brain that causes shifts in your mood, energy, activity levels, etc. There are four types of Bipolar Disorders. Bipolar 1, Bipolar 2, Cyclothymic Disorder, and Specified and Unspecified Bipolar. People with Bipolar Disorder can have four different types of episodes called manic, depressive, mixed, and hypomanic episodes. Mixed episodes are only when two types of episodes happen at the same time. (For example: a person can have symptoms of both low and high. This means that person is experiencing both a manic episode and depressive episode)
The Symptoms of a Manic Episode are:
Seasonal Affective Disorder: Type of Depression that happens when the season changes. Note: Happens and ends at the same time every time the season start. (Usually starts in winter and ends in spring or summer).
Psychotic Depression: Normally referred to as Major Depressive Disorder with psychotic features. A person with this type of Depression will have hallucinations and delusions. They are also cut off from reality. They have no idea that these things they are seeing aren't true. They often become ashamed or embarrassed and try to hide the fact that they are seeing things (making it harder to diagnose their condition).
Postpartum Depression: Depression that occurs in women just after giving birth to a child. Women usually get this type of Depression about 3 weeks after their child's birth. Postpartum Depression is not limited to new mothers. You can get it even if you've had more children before that.
• Totally avoiding family and friends
• Not being able to take care of yourself or your baby
• Trouble feeling close to your baby, or bonding
• Fears that you’re not a good mother
• Severe mood swings, anxiety, or panic attacks
• Too much or too little sleep
• Lack of interest in daily tasks
• Thoughts of harming your baby
• Thoughts of suicide, or suicide attempts
Premenstrual Dysphoric Depression: A disorder believed to be the more severe case of PMS in menstruating women. It is related to a women's menstruation cycle (obviously). It occurs in the second phase and usually ends a few days after the menstruation period has begun.
Depression is a common illness that can happy to just about anyone. It is very serious due to the fact it affects how you think, feel or even act.
Types of Depression and Their Symptoms:
Major Depressive Disorder: Someone feels intense feelings of sadness for a long period of time.
- Feelings of sadness, tearfulness, emptiness or hopelessness
- Angry outbursts, irritability or frustration, even over small matters
- Loss of interest or pleasure in most or all normal activities, such as sex, hobbies or sports
- Sleep disturbances, including insomnia or sleeping too much
- Tiredness and lack of energy, so even small tasks take extra effort
- Reduced appetite and weight loss or increased cravings for food and weight gain
- Anxiety, agitation or restlessness
- Slowed thinking, speaking or body movements
- Feelings of worthlessness or guilt, fixating on past failures or self-blame
- Trouble thinking, concentrating, making decisions and remembering things
- Frequent or recurrent thoughts of death, suicidal thoughts, suicide attempts or suicide
- Unexplained physical problems, such as back pain or headaches
Persistent Depressive Disorder: Continuous form of Depression. Feelings caused by this types of Depression can last for many years potentially affecting school, your relationship, work, and even just the things that you do daily.
- Loss of interest in daily activities
- Sadness, emptiness or feeling down
- Hopelessness
- Tiredness and lack of energy
- Low self-esteem, self-criticism or feeling incapable
- Trouble concentrating and trouble making decisions
- Irritability or excessive anger
- Decreased activity, effectiveness and productivity
- Avoidance of social activities
- Feelings of guilt and worries over the past
- Poor appetite or overeating
- Sleep problems
Bipolar Disorder (Manic Depression): Disorder of the brain that causes shifts in your mood, energy, activity levels, etc. There are four types of Bipolar Disorders. Bipolar 1, Bipolar 2, Cyclothymic Disorder, and Specified and Unspecified Bipolar. People with Bipolar Disorder can have four different types of episodes called manic, depressive, mixed, and hypomanic episodes. Mixed episodes are only when two types of episodes happen at the same time. (For example: a person can have symptoms of both low and high. This means that person is experiencing both a manic episode and depressive episode)
The Symptoms of a Manic Episode are:
- Feel very “up,” “high,” or elated
- Have a lot of energy
- Have increased activity levels
- Feel “jumpy” or “wired”
- Have trouble sleeping
- Become more active than usual
- Talk really fast about a lot of different things
- Be agitated, irritable, or “touchy”
- Feel like their thoughts are going very fast
- Think they can do a lot of things at once
- Do risky things, like spend a lot of money or have reckless sex
- Significant sadness
- Irritability
- Hopelessness
- Increase in appetite
- Decrease in appetite
- Weight gain or loss
- Sleeping more or less
- Wanting, planning, our attempt of suicide
- Effected people tend to overestimate their capabilities.
- They feel inflated self-esteem or grandiosity.
- Increased alcohol consumption.
- They fail to see the obvious risks involved in their ventures
- Making lots of plans.
- Excessive involvement in pleasurable activities.
- Increased interest in uncharacteristic sexual flirting.
- They wish of doing several things at once.
- Decreased need for sleep.
- More sensitive than usual.
- They feel like taking too many responsibilities.
- Increase in goal-directed activity
- Depression
- Agitation
- Irritability
- Insomnia
- Distractibility
- Racing thoughts
Seasonal Affective Disorder: Type of Depression that happens when the season changes. Note: Happens and ends at the same time every time the season start. (Usually starts in winter and ends in spring or summer).
- Decreased levels of energy
- Difficulty concentrating
- Fatigue
- Increased/decreased appetite
- Increased desire to be alone
- Increased need for sleep
- Weight gain/ weight loss
Psychotic Depression: Normally referred to as Major Depressive Disorder with psychotic features. A person with this type of Depression will have hallucinations and delusions. They are also cut off from reality. They have no idea that these things they are seeing aren't true. They often become ashamed or embarrassed and try to hide the fact that they are seeing things (making it harder to diagnose their condition).
- Anxiety
- Agitation
- Hypochondria
- Insomnia – difficulty falling asleep and frequent waking during the night
- Physical immobility
- Constipation
- Cognitive impairment
- Suicide
Postpartum Depression: Depression that occurs in women just after giving birth to a child. Women usually get this type of Depression about 3 weeks after their child's birth. Postpartum Depression is not limited to new mothers. You can get it even if you've had more children before that.
• Totally avoiding family and friends
• Not being able to take care of yourself or your baby
• Trouble feeling close to your baby, or bonding
• Fears that you’re not a good mother
• Severe mood swings, anxiety, or panic attacks
• Too much or too little sleep
• Lack of interest in daily tasks
• Thoughts of harming your baby
• Thoughts of suicide, or suicide attempts
Premenstrual Dysphoric Depression: A disorder believed to be the more severe case of PMS in menstruating women. It is related to a women's menstruation cycle (obviously). It occurs in the second phase and usually ends a few days after the menstruation period has begun.
- Fatigue
- Mood changes
- Abdominal bloating
- Breast tenderness
- Headache
- Irritability
- Depression
- Increased appetite
- Acne
- Oversensitivity to environmental stimuli
- Hot flashes
- Heart palpitations
- Easy crying
- Difficulty concentrating
- Dizziness
- Sleeplessness
- Forgetfulness
- Gastrointestinal (stomach, bowel) upset