If you or someone you love has ever experienced depression, you know it is real.  However, you may have been told you “have the blues” or need to “snap out of it.”  Although these are common reactions, those statements downplay the real effects of this painful medical condition.

Depression affects up to 19 million people in the United States each year.  It can strike anyone at any time, whether you are a man, woman or child and regardless of your race and socio-economic group.  It can affect you both mentally and physically causing a loss of motivation and robbing you of the pleasures of everyday life.

Often depression is not treated because people don’t recognize its symptoms.  Fortunately, practically everyone who is treated soon feels better.  Here is a checklist of ten symptoms of clinical depression. 

1.       1.    A continual sad, anxious, or “empty” mood

2.      2.    Changes in your sleep, either sleeping too little or sleeping too much

3.      3.    Changes in appetite such as eating less, eating more, weight loss and
        weight gain

4.      4.    Finding you are no longer interested in activities you once enjoyed

5.      5.    Irritability, restlessness and agitation

6.      6.    Loss of energy, fatigue, feeling tired all the time

7.      7.    Having trouble concentrating, making decisions or remembering

8.      8.    Feeling hopeless, discouraged, guilty and worthless

9.    9.    Vague, persistent physical symptoms such as headaches, muscle aches,                stomach pain, constipation or other digestive disorders

1010.   Thoughts of death or suicide

Depression can be easily treated with traditional medicine, alternative medicine, counseling, support groups, relaxation and breathing techniques, exercise and other natural remedies.  The vast majority of people who seek treatment, even those with severe depression, find relief from their symptoms.  Like any illness, early treatment increases effectiveness and decreases the chance of a relapse.