Clinical Depression - Signs and Symptoms

As a sufferer of clinical depression since childhood, I came to expect constant extreme sadness, as well as unbearable and indescribable hopelessness as a normal part of life. It's like a literal hell, and there is no physical escape route. You can escape from a prison, but not your mind. However, when I finally received treatment as a teenager, my family and I realized it was a sickness, like cancer or diabetes, and could be treated with a combination of medicine and psychotherapy. This was a huge relief, letting me know I wasn't supposed to feel this way and that feelings of depression were not a part of my personality, but a separate entity that didn't belong and could be removed. After getting treatment, making a full recovery and feeling psychologically healthy for the first time in my life, it was unbelievable. I had never known what it could feel like to feel "normal", and not be in constant torment. I knew then that the suicidal feelings I had when I was younger were only feelings. That no matter how low you find yourself, in the blink of an eye things can suddenly turn around.

It is important for people, especially parents who may have a depressed child, not to ignore possible symptoms of depression or dismiss them as a normal part of life. According to numerous health organizations, including the National Institute of Mental Health, depression is the number one cause of decreased productivity and functioning in the world. Also, it can and will probably kill you if you let it become deeply rooted - at which point delusions will kick in and you will become unreachable and possibly suicidal. Once suicidal ideations set in, hope isn't even a concept or option that exists in your mind anymore.

My case was unusually severe, but it only became that way because it was left untreated for so long. So, how do you know if you have a case of the blues that will pass or if you're truly clinically depressed?

Only a trained psychiatrist can tell for sure. They have the knowledge, and know the questions and patterns that would indicate if your thoughts and feelings are outside the norm. Basically, if you have a feeling of being "out of it", like you are detached and cannot plug yourself into the moment, and you lose interest in things that you found pleasurable before and it lasts for a period longer than two weeks, you need to see a professional immediately. You are not being weak. You are being strong by acknowledging a sickness, yes a sickness, not a character flaw and you have to guts to do something about it rather than take the alcoholic's route of denial.

Your psychiatrist should be able to parse your symptoms and diagnose you as falling into one of the following categories according to the NIMH.

Manic or Bipolar depression - which involves sudden and extreme mood changes from a euphoric high that can include delusions of grandeur to prolonged hopelessness that can keep you bed ridden. Your friends and colleagues will notice these and react with alarm if you are truly bi-polar when you used to be mentally healthy.

Post Partum Depression - when a new mother experiences uncertainty, chronic worry, and stops taking care of herself and sometimes even her child as a result of physical stress and an overwhelming sense of uncertainty in regards to raising a child. It's a deadly combination that has led some women to even kill their children.

Dysthymia - the mildest form of depression, but still requires medical treatment as it can slow your functioning. Generally if you suffer from this you'll feel like you're in a slight fog and there's no pep or zip in your step.

Seasonal Effective Disorder - Generally effects people in the fall or winter months and has been treated effectively with light therapy with no medication. Some patients with severe disorders can even be prescribed Solar panels that are basically like tanning beds to have at their side in their office so they can function at their normal level.

Major Depression - This is what I suffered from and it can render a patient completely incapacitated. A person may even stop shaving, bathing, and tasks such as getting dressed and taking out the garbage become overwhelming. In my case, as is the case in many, you alienate your family and loved ones. You become so wallowed and lost in a sea of self loathing, pity, and hatred towards the world and anger towards friends and family members who don't understand that it just keeps snowballing.

With your self-esteem at a subhuman level, you may lash out at your loved ones, engage in risky behavior, and even hurt those trying to help you as nihilism sets in. When loss of self is gone, a person is capable of doing horrible things. Left untreated, you may become so afraid of consciousness that you will enter into the conceptual, and possibly the planning stages of suicide. Very often, a period of hospitalization is necessary to keep you safe until you can be medicated and treated in order to be receptive to therapy. Anti-depressant medications are not like street drugs which alter your state of mind or make you perceive a different reality. Rather, they restore your brain chemistry to a level that is normal for a healthy person so you are able to think clearly.

For most patients who get hit with clinical depression, medication is temporary (usually 6-10) months. This is combined with psychotherapy and than the patient is ready to resume their normal life without medication or therapy. People like me who have suffered from depression since childhood very often have to remain on medication for a lifetime.

The important thing to remember is that, according to my former psychiatrist, almost all cases of depression are not only treatable but curable. My psychiatrist, who had practiced for over 20 years, said I was the most likely patient to commit suicide and he fixed me. I was able to complete my college degree and am now fully functioning and living my dream as a writer and Internet entrepreneur. No matter how hopeless you may feel, it is temporary and if you just hang in there and survive, you will eventually recover. It's especially helpful if you have the help of family and friends who are engaged with your psychiatrist and realize you are ill. When you're clinically depressed, it may be impossible to believe that you will one day escape your mental prison, but you will, and the happiness you'll experience after that will be especially sweet.

Sources -

National Institute of Mental Health

Personal Experience and therapy sessions