2.What Is Depression?
Depression is a mental illness that affects a person’s mood. Much more than having a bad day, a person with depression can suffer for a long time without treatment and support. It’s a common and serious medical illness that affects you from how you feel, think, and act. Things you used to enjoy, you no longer do and things that are good for you no longer take priority.
Symptoms of Depression
- Regular sad mood
- Limited or diminished pleasure in activities
- Feeling worthless
- Excessive feelings of guilt
- Irritability and trouble making decisions
- Difficulty concentrating
- Aches and pains
- Significant weight loss or weight gain or change in appetite
- Insomnia/Hypersomnia
- Trouble concentrating
- Fatigue or little physical energy Recurring thoughts of death or suicide
What Causes Depression?
There are several reasons as to why one may develop depression, both biological and environmental. Causes can include:
- family history of depression
- childhood trauma, abusive relationships, divorce, breakups
- loss and grief
- certain medical conditions, illness, surgery
- drug and alcohol use
- underactive frontal lobe
- hormone imbalances and dysfunction
- Poor nutrition and diet (food sensitivities, sugar, inflammatory foods)