what is depression?

and how do you know if I have depression?

[gardengnome]

every human has times of sadness and anxiety, the real question is how much it is messing up your ability to live day in day out? What is it stopping you doing. Is your mind constantly thinking about the unpleasant feelings. There are plenty of scales out there for measuring where you might be in degrees of depression Try "what's my M3" it is very simple and quick. My instant reaction to your question though, is "if you need to ask, then you probably don't".

[Gambit62]

On your profile it says that you are scared of the answer if you go to see your doctor - are you scared that he will tell you you are depressed or are you scared he will tell you you aren't depressed ... or both.

Depression can have lots of causes - some genetic - others to do with anxiety.

A counsellor once explained it to me as being the result of being oppressed by a lot of worries and cares.

It's a place where hope is an intellectual rather than an emotional concept - which makes it very difficult for someone who hasn't experienced depression to understand because life actually wires us to be hopeful.

I also watched a programme on depression in NI about a year ago where someone whose sister had killed herself had volunteered to go around talking to teenagers about depression and she characterised it as a state in which your mood is completely flat - it doesn't matter if something good happens or something bad happens your mood just doesn't change.

Drugs help some, talking therapies help others, I find meditation and exercise can help me. Maintaining contact with other people is important.

Please try to go and see your doctor - do one of the on line tests before you go and take the results with you. Write down a list of things you want to say and try to make it a double appointment. If you have a friend or relative that can go with you that can be useful as it sometimes helps to have another pair of ears to hear things as it can be quite difficult to hear what is really being said.

If you want to try meditation then I can recommend 'Mindfulness: a practical guide to finding peace in a frantic world by Mark Williams and Danny Penman - comes with a CD of meditations

[Hidden]

Thank you

[Hidden]

If you feel depressed - whatever that means to you - then you ARE depressed. Sharing those feelings often helps more than anything else, so do use the site for support whenever you need to. We have all experienced depression and will support you all we can as well as welcoming your support when youa re able to offer it.

Suex

[coatpin]

If you have been feeling very low for more than two weeks, go see your gp who will make an assessment, then you will know.

[alan1982]

Sorry to hear your feeling so down. There are questions which the Dr may well ask you or she may give you a questionnaire to complete which are just tick yes/no box. I have suffered with depression for over 20 yrs and have had varying degrees of it, at worst I can only describe it as being in a dark hole which I'm unable to climb out of, I do not function hardly at all, getting out if bed is mission, making food, bathing, not wanting to talk to anyone, answer the phone or a knock on the door. Just simply want to bury oneself. If you feel like this then you need help, I have felt suicidle many times but the fact that I know the depression will eventually lift keeps me going. It is important to be medicated so would urge you to see your GO ASAP. Good luck.

[Suzie40]

Depression is when things that used to make smile, no longer do, and you can't face doing things you used to enjoy. It's when you go to bed feeling sad, and you wake up still feeling sad. Depression is when you don't see any point in getting older, and you don't really feel like your existence has any meaning.