Are you or is someone you love suffering with depression?
Depression is a common and serious medical illness. More than sadness in response to life’s hurts and heartaches, depression abides and can disrupt your life, affecting the way you think, feel and function. Untreated, depression can become a very serious health condition, unrelenting and debilitating.
At Honey Lake Clinic, we understand what you’re going through. Recognizing depression and getting the help you need is vitally important.
While depression varies person to person, there are some common signs and symptoms to recognize. While it is important to realize that these symptoms can be part of normal life’s experience, if you’re experiencing a combination of these, and if they are intensifying and lasting more than a few weeks, you may be dealing with depression.
What should you look for? Here are 7 signs and symptoms—
- Feelings of sadness, emptiness and hopelessness. It seems as if nothing will ever improve. You can see no light at the end of the tunnel.
- Apathy towards or a diminished pleasure in life activities. You’ve lost interest in things you used to enjoy. You don’t care anymore.
- Significant changes in appetite and body weight. You’ve experienced either a marked weight gain or weight loss over a short period of time.
- Changes in your sleep pattern. Insomnia or oversleeping, you’re either not able to sleep or you’re sleeping significant hours of your life away.
- Increased anger or irritability. Your tolerance level is low and your temper is short. Everyone and everything is getting on your nerves.
- Fatigue or a loss of energy. You always feel exhausted and even simple everyday tasks take everything out of you.
- Feelings of self-loathing, worthlessness or guilt. You’ve become extremely critical of and disappointed with yourself, perhaps even to the point of suicidal thoughts.
Do you recognize these signs and symptoms in your own life or in someone you love? You’re certainly not alone—some 19 million Americans struggle with depression each year. The very good news is that there is help available.
Depression can be successfully treated, and many who suffer are cured on a daily basis. With proper care, symptoms of depression can be alleviated, allowing you to concentrate, think, and develop the spiritual and psychological skills which will renew and heal you.
A healthy mind, body and spirit defeats depression.
At Honey Lake Clinic, our experienced doctors and staff strongly believe that faith-based treatment, encompassing spiritual, physical and mental health, will provide you with the long-lasting tools and knowledge to live beyond depression.
