Sadness VS. Depression

Popular perception of depression is something that deserves a bit more attention. Most people us the phrase "I am depressed" regularly. As a mental health professional, I believe that intentional education is needed in order to inform individuals about what clinical depression ACTUALLY is. In order to increase awareness and decrease the stigma associated with depression, I have attached a video from our friends at TedED.  Take 5 minutes out of your day and spread the word about what depression is and is not. For those of you who "do not have time to watch", first of all you might need a change in lifestyle, secondly here are the main points:

Depression is:

  • a medical condition; one that is just as measurable and impact as any physical illness.

  • not just "being lazy"- depression leads to significant drops in motivation and distorted thinking that directly affects the balance of neurotransmitters in the brain.

  • genetic - one can be genetically loaded for depression and exploring one's family history with mental illness can shed light onto possible solutions and patterns.

  • persistent - clinical depression is something that needs to be managed over a lifetime. One can experience single, multiple or pervasive depressive episodes over a lifespan.

Depression is NOT:

  • sadness - depression is qualitatively different than sadness. Depression steps over the line of rational normal sadness and enters the realm of deep prolonged irrational despair that interferes with an individual's ability to engage in relationships, work and self-care.

  • prolonged - for one to be diagnosed with clinical depression he/she needs to be experiencing the symptoms (outlined in the video) for at least 7 days.

  • something that just "works it way out" - clinical depression can lead to a number of catastrophic consequences for the affected individual. Loss of relationships, jobs and suicide are just a few of the ramifications of depression left untreated.

REACH OUT, GET HELP



Tyler March