suicide is the leading cause of death among most groups of young people in the United states. In the United States alone, over 400,000 people went to the emergency room with intentional, self-inflicted injuries in 2001, resulting in over 32,000 deaths.
Spotting the early signs of depression can be key in keeping these rates down, from both a personal and a public health standpoint. When dealing with major depression, warning signs are usually present for a matter of weeks or months before “the blues” turn fatal.
There are at least 10 signs of depression that are commonly seen, with many more being variations on a theme. Most of these stem from how people choose to deal with an overwhelming sadness and personal negativity that characterizes the depressive condition. Regardless of the cause, a person’s stage in life or gender may have far more to do with how they handle depression.
Whether the person suffering depression is yourself or someone you love, spotting a significant number of those 10 signs of depression may be the best way to address the underlying issues that present themselves as depression. Even just displaying a few of the signs can mean suffering from an illness that takes so very many lives each year.
While help can come in the form of medication or therapy,early signs of depressionare often treatable by simply talking about the problem If allowed to progress further, hospitalization may very well be required. This can be as simple and rest and supervision or as complicated as actual treatment with a cocktail of mental heath drugs.
That said, the most obvious signs of depression are the sadness and the very common side effect of very regular weeping. While it is not uncommon for someone to occasionally complain of crying attacks that occur here and there, such things becoming a regular occurrence, especially if that is highly out of character.
It is, in fact, out of character or unlikely behavioral that is out of the ordinary that is the most dangerous to keep an eye on. Far more significant than a regular mood swing, sudden and profound changes in behavior are almost always a sign that something is very seriously wrong, for most people.
While this can be a problem when dealing with people you don’t know very well, there are a few common signs such as a sudden change in sleeping patterns, usually involving not getting enough sleep or keeping odd hours where that wasn’t previously the case.
Gaining or loosing a fairly significant amount of weight in a short period of time is also indicative of depression and, is most commonly observed in women, though such symptoms can happen to anyone. Men are usually more likely to engage in restless, angry or violent behavior.
A sure giveaway that someone is suffering from depression is an inability to feel much of anything other than sadness. While some people are especially skilled at concealing their emotions, those with depression don’t usually enjoy the things and events that they’ve always enjoyed in the past.
This particularly dangerous condition is part of the sadness and negative self-image that are behind much of the ultimately self-destructive behavior that categorizes depression. Often, this manifests as a particularly critical inner voice that provides a constant dialog of disparaging commentary. It is easy to see why such a constant barrage of negativity can result in the characteristic hopelessness that sufferers of depression must contend with.
When dealing with depression in yourself or others, sometimes confronting the signs and symptoms of this condition is the nudge that one needs to get help from a mental health practitioner.