What is Depression Anyway?

You may have heard of the word depression or depressed and noticed that it is used a lot these days. Depression is a common word that often is meant to describe sadness, rejection, feeling down, blue, empty, mentally fatigued, etc. While these can be a way to describe symptoms of depression, depression is way more than that.

Depression is a mood disorder, not just an emotion. For example, someone can be sad or rejected or feeling down but not have depression. To qualify as having depression someone will have to meet certain criteria.

The criteria are this. Someone must have at least five symptoms for at least two weeks and one of the symptoms must be depressed mood (that’s the feeling of sadness, emptiness, etc.) or a loss of interest or pleasure. The other symptoms can include significant weight gain or loss not from dieting, sleeping too little or too much, visibly restless or agitated that is observable by others, fatigue, feelings of worthlessness, not able to think well, concentrate, or make decisions, or have thoughts of death.

Describing depression can be a lot of information all at once, so just know that depression is more than normal emotions or mood swings. It is persistent, changes the way someone thinks, acts, and feels, and is often described as “painful.” It is not a fad and not something that people want to experience or keep experiencing.

If you, or someone you know, has or is experiencing depression, please reach out to someone who can help. While it may go away on its own, why experience it alone?