Common Symptoms of Clinical Depression

Symptoms of Depression

By Andrew Bicknell

Clinical Depression is a catch all phrase for any number of depressive disorders. The symptoms of clinical depression affect everyone who suffers from it in different ways. Depression affects people across all age ranges, genders, ethnicities, cultures and religions. According to the American Psychiatric Association over 17 million men and women in the U.S. suffer from some form of clinical depression every year.

Clinical depression is very different then the normal “blue” moods most people go through during their lives. Most people react to major let downs and traumatic experiences in their lives such as breakups of relationships or deaths of family or friends the same way. They have a period of mourning or just feeling in the dumps but after a few days to a week they start to return to their normal selves.

Clinical depression sufferers do not snap out of their depressed moods. They can spend weeks, months and even years trapped in their malaise. It is the length of the feelings and symptoms that will confirm a diagnosis of clinical depression but many people who suffer from this illness do not seek the help they need. They may not even realize that they are indeed suffering from a form of depression because their current condition has slowly manifested itself over a long period of time.

The common symptoms of clinical depression can be broken up into three categories. Any combination of these symptoms that last for more than a two week period of time signifies that someone is suffering with depression.

> 1. PHYSICAL SYMPTOMS

• Sleep problems – either insomnia or oversleeping and not having normal sleep patterns.
• Lack of energy and chronic fatigue
• Appetite changes leading to weight gain or loss.
• Headaches, digestive problems, back pain and other physical symptoms for which there is no medical illness.

> 2. BEHAVIORAL SYMPTOMS

• Loosing interest in hobbies and activities that were once enjoyable. Withdrawing from social functions and obligations.
• Memory loss, inability to concentrate and make good decisions.
• Lack of concern over personal appearance, responsibilities and work.

> 3. EMOTIONAL SYMPTOMS

• Feelings of hopelessness, worthlessness and guilt.
• Continual feelings of sadness or not feeling whole.
• Constant crying and weeping.
• Irritable feelings including anxiousness and agitation.
• Feeling like suicide or death is an alternative to living.

If any combination of these symptoms last for more than two weeks then a diagnosis of clinical depression will in most cases be made. Only by seeking out and receiving the proper treatment, either through medication, therapy, or a combination of the two, will the sufferer of clinical depression be able to start the road to recovery.

Andrew Bicknell is a writer and Webmaster. For more information about Clinical Depression please visit his website Depression and You.com

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Physical Symptoms of Depression Can Relieved By Your Thoughts

Symptoms of Depression

By Andrea Waggener

Physical symptoms of depression are very real. People who suffer from the misery handed out by the depression misery monster don't just feel bad mentally; they endure physical symptoms of depression too

But just because physical symptoms of depression are not figments of a sufferer's imagination doesn't mean the mind can't stop the symptoms. In fact, the mind is the best tool to use to stop physical symptoms of depression.

Many depression sufferers don't realize that many of their physical complaints are caused by depression. But the sad truth is that depression can cause multiple physical symptoms, including:

• Fatigue
• Headaches
  
• Muscle aches
  
• Back pain
  
• Digestive troubles
  
• Chest pain
  
• Sleeping problems
  
• Changes in appetite and weight
  

Because many of these physical symptoms of depression can have multiple causes, many people don't realize that their suffering is caused by depression.
Even though these symptoms are by no means "all in your head" as some doctors might suggest, you can still use your head to help heal the symptoms. Remember that your mind is the master switch for your entire body. Your mind, or more specifically your thoughts, can generate massive bodily changes.

If you don't believe that, think about jumping out of an airplane. If you love the idea of skydiving, the idea of jumping out of a plane will create certain physiological changes in your body. You'll feel your heart rate quicken. You'll feel excited. This feeling of excitement is caused by actual chemical changes in your body.

If you hate the idea of skydiving, you'll have a very different reaction when you think about jumping from a plane. Your palms may start to sweat. You may have trouble catching your breath. These are also physical reactions. Caused by your mind.