What Are the Symptoms of Depression?

Depression disorders are far more common than the average person is likely to be aware of. In the US alone the NIMH (National Institute of Mental Health), estimates that 6.7 percent of Americans over the age of 18 will experience at least one of the many different depression disorders in their lifetime. The symptoms of depression can vary dramatically from one person to another based on the level and type of depression disorders they are suffering from.

Depression Disorders Defined

• Depression may be one of the most misused words in the English language to describe how we feel. Chances are good that when someone tells you they are feeling "depressed" it generally means they are having a bad day, not that they are suffering from one of the different types of depression disorders.

• True depression disorders affect approximately 25 percent of all women and 10 percent of all men. While many will only have one episode, others may suffer from many episodes over the course of their lives. More importantly, each episode can be different and may manifest as symptoms of different depression disorders each time.

What Are the Most Common Symptoms of Depression Disorders?

• One of the biggest problems with the symptoms of the different depression disorders is that many people may be depressed and not even realize it. In cases such as this, a person may realize that something is not right in their world, but have no clear idea exactly what it is. The symptom of depression disorders can be broken down into two main categories. These are the core symptoms and the more common symptoms, meaning those that most depression disorders tend to display.

• The two main or core symptoms of depression disorders are a pervading feeling of sadness or hopelessness. This may or may not be accompanied by crying. The other is the complete loss of interest in family, friends, and any activity which used to bring pleasure.

• Among the common symptoms seen in most depression disorders problems with sleeping patterns, loss of appetite, fatigue, sudden growth in appetite (binge or comfort eating), feeling agitated, and a sudden overwhelming interest in death and dying. This latter may or may not be the thought of dying or of suicide.

Are You Suffering from One of the Different Depression Disorders?

If you go to your doctor to see if you are suffering from one of the different depression disorders, he will ask you to fill out a questionnaire or ask you to verbally answer a series of questions concerning the various symptoms of depression. If you suffer from at least half of the common symptoms associated with depression and one of the core symptoms, you may be diagnosed as suffering from depression. At the same time these symptoms must have been present on most days over the course of at least two weeks and be interfering with your ability to function normally.

The Latest forms of Treatment

There are a number of relatively new holistic forms of treatment for depression disorders, most of which are well worth trying before you submit to taking pharmaceutical medications and risking the numerous side effects associated with them. Many people are finding eating a Mediterranean diet helps to deal with depression. Experts believe the olive oil acts as a natural anti-depressant by increasing your levels of serotonin.

The use of Omega 3 nutritional supplements has been found to help with depression disorders. However they are not recommended for those with anxiety disorders. A recent study by Zarate CA Jr., Singh JB, Carlson PJ, et al; and published in Arch Gen Psychiatry, August 2006 shows that the use of Ketamine may help treat those who are suffering from depression disorders that resist other forms of treatment. In fact most of the natural treatments have much higher success rates and have few if any side effects, none of which are known to be life threatening.