Depression is a disorder that EVERYONE has

Hi princess chocolate -

There are a few thing that I wanted to take the time to clarify. First, yes, not everyone is happy all the time, but there is a big difference between not being happy and being depressed. Depression is not the exact opposite of being happy. Sad is the direct opposite of happy. Depression is an extreme form of sadness. It's when a person is consumed with sadness for no particular reason for greater than two weeks. It is clinically dignosed by having 5 of 9 symptoms as defined in the DSM 4 (the guide to all mental disorders). These symptoms include:

a) Depressed mood. For children and adolescents, this may be irritable mood.
b) A significantly reduced level of interest or pleasure in most or all activities.
c) A considerable loss or gain of weight (e.g., 5% or more change of weight in a month when not dieting). This may also be an increase or decrease in appetite. For children, they may not gain an expected amount of weight.
d) Difficulty falling or staying asleep (insomnia), or sleeping more than usual (hypersomnia).
e) Behavior that is agitated or slowed down. Others should be able to observe this.
f) Feeling fatigued, or diminished energy.
g) Thoughts of worthlessness or extreme guilt (not about being ill).
h) Ability to think, concentrate, or make decisions is reduced.
i) Frequent thoughts of death or suicide (with or without a specific plan), or attempt of suicide.

Hope this helps to clarify what depression is - a disorder that is both humbling and haunting.

I think Princess's intent was quite different from what the words implied, perhaps her way of placing herself in the "so called" normal world, saying really she is no different from anyone else, and has just as much right to be heard, but i can see how the word's didn't carry this across very well, but all good, because there is a symptom list for anyone who may not understand and princess may be able to explain her intent better next time,

Hi princess,

We are each a little different and some of use really need medication for depression as much as a diabetic needs insilin to function normally. I do take an anti-d and it helps my brain to retain more seratonin. That is a necessary chemical for the brain to function normally. My seratonin gets used up quickly from chronic illness.

I'm happy for you that you are managing w/o meds. Some of us really do need some meds to function.

Blessings!

Well said Elisha. (And with much more tact than I have at the moment.) I would like to reiterate that depression is not a "normal" feeling, unless there is a specific reason as Elisha already mentioned. To say "people shouldn't be given medication if they are depressed" is like saying "people shouldn't be given medication if they have heart disease". It is both cruel and unusual. Please take the time to really listen to all of the personal struggle that is depicted on this site, rather than listening to the misconceptions and rhetoric that is dished out in the "real" world.

IMHO Princess, you haven't experienced a clinical depression and know not from whence you speak. "Curing" yourself after being rejected for a job is called natural resilience and is how people whose brains function normally react to a difficult situation. Many people with abnormal brain chemistry can not 'cure' themselves because they don't have the elements available to their brains to fix the problem.

Medications for balancing brain chemistry have saved many people from a life of pain and confusion. Your friend may have a need for long term medication or she may find recovery after some time but either way, her better mental health is the objective, not whether or not she is medicated. You can be supportive of her and help her by just being there and listening. She needs understanding friends right now and that's something you can do very well.

I wish I had gone on meds sooner. I struggled with depression for 35 years - I tried everything..counseling, self help books, meditation, diet, vitamins, supplements, exercise..to no avail. Time and time again, Doctors would try to put me on antidepressants and I always refused, thinking that I did not need a pill to solve my problems, and that only weak people took pills. This however, is the furthest from the truth. I feel if I would have gone on medication sooner, it would have saved me from my own mental agony and pain of every day living. The depression got so bad, that I could barely function, and I finally went on meds. I do think counseling, exercise and a good diet can improve how someone is feeling, but it does not remove the depression. Since I have been on medication, I feel my life has improved tremendously..I no longer dislike myself, argue and alienate friends, family, co-workers..It has helped put me on an even keel, and has saved my life. Maybe you could do some research on clinical depression and then try to perhaps understand it a bit more, where you can see what your friend is going through. I know I did that with Alcoholism..at first I did not understand it, and then I did some research and have been better educated where I can be more supportive of a friend who is going through this terrible disease, which is what also..depression is. A terribly disease that can have bad consequences if not treated with therapy, ,medication or both.

I understand what you are trying to say, I think.

Sadness is an emotion and all people feel sadness. Therefore, all people experience depression.

However, it is different...It lasts longer and affects more areas of one's life. It doesn't go away without lots of work and it can come back for apparently no reason.

Also, depressed persons still have down days too. 

Depression isn't just a down day, a period of sadness or of withdrawing. It is more than that. It is feeling sad for no reason, crying for no reason, wanting to stay in bed for maybe a day or maybe a month--or having trouble sleeping more than an hour at a time, wanting to hide away because we feel like a burden on others, not eating, not cleaning, not attending to hygeine...It overwhelms, it takes over, it hangs on, it prevents a person from having a peaceful and fulfilling life.

Meds are an option. Some do and some don't. Talking is the way to find out how you are thinking and how that works or doesn't work for you. Thinking is what drives us to elation or depression so it helps to understand how we think. That is what therapy does.

just my 2 cents..

nanse