Are You Suffering From Depression?

By Daniel W. Trathen, D. Min. Ph. D.

A man and his wife were traveling west and stopped at a full service gas station to fill up their tank. After the station attendant had washed their car’s windshield, the driver of the car told the man, "It is still dirty. Wash it again." So the station attendant washed it again only to hear a similar angry reply, "It's still dirty. Don't you know how to wash a windshield?" Just then the man’s wife reached over and took her husband's glasses from his head and cleaned the lenses with a tissue. When she put them back on her husband's head the windshield was clean! The moral of the story is that our mental attitude acts as a filter and has a great deal to do with how we look at things. The whole world can appear depressing if we ourselves have a depressed mental and emotional attitude.

This may be a humorous example, but the scope and effects of depression are no laughing matter. An estimated 30 to 50 million or more people suffer from depression in the United States. Depression has been called the nation's most widespread and under treated emotional problem. Some maintain that every person will suffer from some form of depression some time in their life. Many famous people have suffered from depression. Abraham Lincoln suffered from bipolar disorder. Winston Churchill said his depression followed him like a "black dog". Charles Surgeon, one of England's greatest preachers of the 1800s experienced a life long battle with depression.

What exactly is this so called emotional epidemic we call depression? Depression is an emotional and mental state whereby everything in one's life is seen in a negative light. A simple definition is a specific alteration of our mood downward. Therefore, consider depression on a continuum from mild to severe. At one end are people who are discouraged, sad, or suffering from a loss. As we experience more intense feelings of depression we more toward the other end of the continuum.

The National Association for Mental Health has compiled a list of ten danger signs identifying whether a person is suffering from depression. As you can see, many of these signals can be normal reactions to major changes in our lives. Only when a person doesn't bounce back, when the ability to function normally is impaired for long periods of time, is the problem considered clinical depression. The ten danger signs are:

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1. A general feeling of hopelessness and despair which a person feels about several areas of their life.
   
2. The inability to concentrate because a person’s thinking is preoccupied with their inner turmoil.
   
3. A change in physical activities like a loss of appetite and sleep disturbances.
   
4. A loss of self-esteem accompanied by continual questioning of self-worth.
   
5. A withdrawing from others because of fear of rejection.
   
6. Threats of suicide as a way out of hostile surroundings, stemming from a belief that life is hopeless and worthless.
   
7. Over sensitivity to what others say or do along with general irritability.
   
8. Mis-directed anger and trouble in handling most feelings.
   
9. Frequent guilt feelings arising from our assumption that we are wrong or are responsible for the unhappiness of others.
   
10. Extreme dependence on other people, leading us first to feelings of hopelessness, then getting angry because of our hopelessness feelings.

There is no doubt about it, depression is very debilitating. If you find yourself suffering from several of these danger signs, call your family physician and/or call a professional like myself for a depression screening appointment. You may find that it will help to clean your lenses.