What is Depression?

Depression is an emotional state marked by great sadness and apprehension, feelings of worthlessness and guilt, withdrawal from others, loss of sleep, appetite, and sexual desire, or loss of interest and pleasure in usual activities.

Just as most of us experience anxiety, so too, we will probably have more than an ample amount of sadness during the course of our lives, although perhaps not to a degree or with a frequency that warrants the diagnosis of depression.

Often depression is associated with other psychological problems and/or with medical conditions. For example, when conflict within a family increases, a child often withdraws from others and may become depressed. When this is the case, depression is best viewed as secondary to dealing with the family conflict.

Paying attention is an exhausting effort for someone who is depressed. They cannot take in what they read, or what other people say to them. Conversation is also a chore, so many prefer to be alone and remain silent. They may speak slowly, take long pauses, use a monotonous voice. Others, especially children, may appear agitated, and cannot sit still.  They may also neglect personal appearance.

When depressed individuals are confronted with a problem, no ideas for a solution occur to them. Their thoughts are predominantly focused upon self-recriminations.  

Utterly dejected, and completely without hope and initiative, they may appear apprehensive, despondent, and anxious much of the time.

There is some variation in the symptoms and signs of depression across the life span.

Depression in children sometimes results in their being overly active and aggressive; in adolescents, it is sometimes manifested by negativism, antisocial behaviour, and a feeling of being misunderstood; and in adults, depression is often characterised by distractibility and memory loss. Furthermore, an individual seldom shows all aspects of depression: the diagnosis is typically made if at least a few signs are evident, particularly a mood of profound sadness that is out of proportion to the individual’s life situation and a loss of interest or pleasure in previously enjoyable activities.