For those who have and who knows depression. What are the symptoms of it? I dont know if I have depression but I usually feel so alone, especially at night. And I'm experiencing this anxiety that I'm thinking I'm going crazy it's kinda weird :O I'm 18 btw
It's too hard to know for sure with very little description. Depression comes with trauma, as well as being a condition. Life can be very good for people, and they still have depression. At 18, I didn't have a good relationship with my family members so I was very alone too.
There're many symptoms of depression, but essential thing is not to mess it up with a bad mood that lasts for a few days. Classical symptoms include sadness all through the day, unwillingness to do everyday activities, loss or change in appetite, difficulties while falling asleep, crying frequently during the day and so on. If these symptoms last more than 2 or 3 weeks, you might have depression. But, depression actually isn't a certain combination of symptoms. It's usually caused with an inner conflict between your own desires and impossibility to do the things that you want to do. Feeling of loneliness and anxiety can also be caused with many factors, but the more important thing is to manage them in a manner not to be bothered by them. If you have any questions related to your topic, feel free to ask.
Don't forget loss of interest in things you used to find enjoyable like hobbies, crafts, sports/games (watching or playing) etc. etc. This explains "situational depression" which is probably the most common type. It can still be clinical depression and be situational, some clinical depression can be chemical in nature and that is what the depression meds treat. Big problems happen when people with situational depression are medicated with SSRI/SNRI drugs especially. Situational depression needs therapy and would truly only go away when the situation is fixed. @ r4n8e Not to downplay your situation, and if things really get bad for you, by all means talk to someone. But, seriously... You're 18... some or most of this could be because this is common to your age group. I felt this way, many others did as well, it could just be "normal".... Finding some form of group activity with others your age, or developing interest in doing art, playing music, writing, or something else of that nature could take your mind off feeling so lonely to the point of it causing anxiety. If it's at all possible steer clear of any of those handy "Psych meds" that doctors love to hand out these days. 9 time out of 10 they cause more harm than good... (Experience talking) Best of luck, and Best of health to You.
Yes, I agree that chemical disbalance in the organism can be there when you're depressed. But the fact is that nobody knows exactly whether this chemical disbalance causes the depression - or on the contrary. Humanistic approach in psychiatry, which was introduced by Young, Adler and so on - says that endogenic depression is never caused by a chemical disbalance, but the depression causes chemical disbalance itself, and in my opinion, it's far more logical position then the one mentioned above. Nobody can know it exactly whether the depression is organic, because both psychogenic and endogenic depression might cause the chemical disbalance in the organism, so you can't clearly distinguish them from each other. So, if you want to cure a person who has so called "organic" depression, you have to adress the cause, which is always psychological, not physical. Although it's a little more difficult then in case of "non-organic" depression (because in this case the constant chemical disbalance is caused by the firm sets of negative attitudes the person has) the main treatment of any kind of depression should always be psychotherapeutic, though you can use some medications too, if they're really necessary.
