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Locking up or staying in your room alone for hours? Crying for no particular reason at all? You may not realize it but these are just some signs of depression. Yes dear, you or your friend may be depressed. So how does one deal with depression? First allow me to explain depression.

Depression is extremely common. It affects 1 out of 8 people and especially teenagers. Depression affects everyone but affects a large number of females. A simple explanation of it would be: If the body gets sick because it was overworked then depression is a sickness because of the brains’ over exertion.

Yet even knowing this, people tend to think that an individual with depression is merely malingering or acting immature and that they yell at them thinking this would encourage them and stop the sulking behavior. Basically, the idea of shaking things off may help but not when it comes to people dealing with depression. Depressed individuals should get all the support that they need from their family and friends. Offering an ear or having the time to sit and talk with a depressed individual greatly helps individuals dealing with depression. If however the depressed person does not take the time to talk to family members or friends then it would be best to refer that person to a therapist or counselor.

In some cases, even the person experiencing depression denies that they are depressed and refuses to seek help. Some even think that this is some form of weakness and that they do not need help or instead have to face this problem alone which is utterly wrong. Every one needs help and that includes individuals experiencing depression.

So exactly why do people get depressed? With all the studies and research being conducted, the exact cause of depression still has not been found. A lot of factors have been linked to depression, namely: environment, genetics, medical conditions, and life events.

Depression is classified into two: severe (short lasting major depression) and less severe (dysthymia) depression. There is also a third type called adjustment disorder with depressed mood which occurs when an individual takes longer than usual to adjust to a certain event in his or her life to the point that it interferes with his or her daily activities. Another depressive condition is known as Bipolar disorder. This condition is mixed with episodes of mania characterized by extreme bursts of energy or an abnormally high level of mood.

The symptoms of depressed individuals are as follows: sadness or a depressed mood all the time, inability to enjoy things that were used to be enjoyable, lassitude or lethargic, socially withdrawn, anxiety, inappropriate feelings of guilt, aches with no medical cause, a noticeable change in daily routine, pessimism and thoughts of suicide. Now if you notice five or more of these symptoms in yourself or someone you know then you are certainly depressed or suffering from depression.

Even if you do find out you’ve got depression do not lose hope for this condition is treatable. Therapists are there to guide and help you to recover from this condition. Treatment includes medication or talk therapy. A combination of both is done as well.

It is important that if you know someone who’s depressed or find out that you are depressed you do need to seek help immediately. Thinking that you are alone will not help you at all and would only make things worse. Everyone in times of need should ask for help and it isn’t a weakness to be feeling depressed in the first place.

Categorization of depression has always been a cumbersome task for the socio-psychologists. Depression is a highly variable term depending upon numerous factors. In this situation any pinpoint classification for depression is nearly impossible. Hence depression is broadly classified in three major forms that primarily depend upon the duration and severity of it. These are:

• Major depression: This type of depression lasts for a shorter period but it is more severe; people in this stage are most prone to suicide or other self-punitive actions. This form is the major concern for doctors as it is can lead to dangerous consequences. Sadness is often accompanied by prolonged and continuous problems in other spheres of life. The routine activities like sleep, sex, food etc get overwhelmingly affected. The perception towards life is negative and feelings of self-rejection worthlessness and incompetence crop up. The goals of life seem to be unreal and unachievable. Depression may jeopardize the processes of self-actualization and self-perception. The vitality of life is lost and the whole surrounding may appear hostile. A great degree of stagnation is recognized and inferiority complex tends to grow up within the individual. The person may feel unattractive, despondent, morose and unsuccessful. Due to its high incidence, many psychologists have developed their propensity to study major depression comprehensively.
• Dysthymia: Dysthymia is a mild depression that lasts for a longer period but it is les incapacitating. Sometimes it is even hard to recognize it. This sort of depression is mainly attributed to magnification or minimization of events such as under eating or overeating. The patient may frequently feel tiredness and hopelessness. They have difficulty in decision making and concentration. The recurrence of depressive episodes may lead to, what is called “double depression“. In Dysthymic depression, people recover from major depression but continue to experience intermittent depression episodes.
• Adjustment Disorder with Depressed Mood: It circumscribes a depressive reaction to a particular event so that the adjustment because of that event takes longer time than expected and in the given course it affects other activities. For example after the sudden demise of a person’s spouse he continuously feels her presence and is unable to perform his daily duties.

Apart from the above three classifications, depression may also be classified on the basis of triggering or casual factors. A brief account of this categorization is as follows:

• Depression due to Biological Genetic Factors: Recent findings have proved that depression may also result due to certain biochemical imbalances. For example Norepinephrine and Serotonin, the two neurotransmitters are lower in depressed persons than in Non-Depressed persons.
• Psychological Factors: Several psychological factors like “learned helplessness“, “negative self schema“, “primitive thinking“, “heightened self awareness” play a crucial role in triggering depression.
• Socio-Cultural Factors: Sometimes societal expectations also cause depression, when an individual finds oneself unable to meet the demands of his socio-cultural arena then depression may engulf him.
• Miscellaneous Factors: The other factors such as financial condition, religious status, physical being may also prove to be effective depressants.

The symptoms of all kind of depression are almost same. Some major symptoms are as follows:

• Persistent sadness accompanied by displeasure.
• Inferiority complex and a sense of worthlessness.
• Reclusive tendency
• Anxiety anger and unusual irritability
• Loss of appetite
• Indifference and pessimism