Am I Depressed? - Answering the Question

Are you depressed? If you are asking yourself 'am I depressed?', then you may well want to delve deeper into the issue, as identifying the problem is the first step toward healing and recovery.

Life is full of challenges as well as highs and lows. However, if the lows remain lows for an extended period of time, one is unable to cope with them and they start taking a toll on the physical and emotional health of a person, it is a sure sign of something more serious. In fact, there is a huge possibility that it could be depression.

Severe mood swings and the inability to go through regular and routine tasks, lack of sleep and appetite, inability to socialize, work, and / or engage one's mind in anything fun or light, are some possible signs and symptoms of depression.

There are several questionnaires, online quizzes, scales, and tests that one can take to help answer the question 'am I depressed'. If the test results are positive, then it is advisable to seek professional help to confirm the diagnosis and also determine the type and severity of depression.

Listed below are a few points that will help assess if one is indeed going through depression and provide some clues to the question 'am I depressed'.

• Lack of interest in personal and professional work, with a complete lack of drive and / or motivation.
  
  
• Avoiding going to school, work, shopping, or any other outdoor activities.
  
  
• Inability to concentrate or focus on reading, watching television, making decisions, or remembering day-to-day incidents.
  
  
• Lack of appetite or overeating without actually enjoying what you are eating.
  
  
• Drop in weight or increase in weight in the last one month.
  
  
• Insomnia or lack of sleep at night, finding it extremely difficult to fall asleep or stay asleep during the night.
  
  
• Suicidal thoughts that seem to plague the mind too often.
  
  
• Constant fear, negative thoughts, pessimistic attitudes, guilt, or feeling ashamed, unwanted, hopeless, useless, and helpless.
  
  
• Physical problems including various aches and pains that have no real physiological bearing.

If more than three or four of these symptoms last for over two to three weeks, it is advisable to seek professional help and get an evaluation done for depression and the question 'am I depressed'. This is to confirm if one is indeed depressed, as well as the nature and severity of depression, which will help in deciding the treatment plan.

In situations like this, besides looking into the question 'am I depressed', it is also helpful to understand how one gets depressed, so that in future one can be aware of the various triggers that actually set in depression. Listed below are a few tips on identifying different situations, incidents, and experiences that trigger depression.

• Stress is one of the biggest contributors to depression in most of the population. Stress factors could be caused by various situations and incidents like trying to cope with financial losses, broken relationships, debilitating illnesses, loss of a loved one, and physical or sexual abuse.
  
  
• Certain forms of depression are triggered during winter and are referred to as Seasonal Affective Disorders (SAD). Therefore, winter can act as a trigger for some.
  
  
• Postpartum depression is another form of depression triggered off after delivering a baby. Indeed, many women face the question of 'am I depressed' after giving birth.
  
  
• Genetic and hereditary reasons have been found responsible for triggering off depression in people suffering from manic depressive psychosis and bipolar disorder. Therefore, chemical imbalances in the central nervous system, especially in the brain, can trigger off depression in some people.
  
  
• In addition to the above, people who abuse various substances and alcohol can go into depression while trying to kick the habit or have withdrawal symptoms if they are unable to get their required substance or alcohol.

Thus, there are various reasons and causes for one going into depression. However, being able to understand these triggers, working at overcoming these challenges and staying unaffected by them will go a long way in treating depression, coping with depression, and ultimately in beating depression.

For some help in tackling the question 'am I depressed', click here to find out more about depression scales and inventories for identifying depression, or click here to take a depression test online.

To explore various natural remedies for depression, including diet, herbs, and therapies, click here.

Useful Depression Resources