What is Depression?
Depression is an extreme low mood that lasts a long time and makes a person feel sad, irritable or empty. A person with low mood or depression:
- has much less energy to do activities
- feels like nothing matters
- sees life in a negative way
- feels like it will never get better
But depressed people do get better and depression does end.
- Depression is not
-
- Feeling sad or low because something goes wrong in your life.
- Being upset about a situation but then feeling better in a few days or a couple of weeks.
- Depression is
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If you feel very low mood or almost no interest in your life, every day, and this feeling continues for at least two weeks AND if you have other problems like:
- big changes in weight or appetite;
- not being able to sleep enough or sleeping too much;
- feeling that you are always restless or slowed-down;
- thinking that you are worthless or guilty;
- feeling really tired most of the time;
- feeling numb or empty;
- having a lot of trouble concentrating or making decisions;
- thinking about death or suicide.
Definitions
Low Mood - Feeling sad because something happened.
Mild Depression - The sadness goes on too long. Very hard to get out of the low mood.
Major Depression - Misery, despair, it goes on and on. Feeling numb or empty.