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Depression - How to Manage and Conquer It - Introduction

Millions of people suffer from a depressive illness. They thought that depression is just a normal occurrence in their lives, which will go away after a short while. They just haven’t realized how serious depression can be.

Did you know that words related to depression have been searched over 993,000 times on the Internet for May 2005 alone? Much attention has been centered to this international health problem as the rigorous challenges of modern times continue to devastate those who cannot cope with it. Extreme depression can ultimately lead to suicide.

No one is safe from being affected by depression because it affects everyone. It doesn’t matter whether you’re a male or female, rich or poor, educated or uneducated. Once a person starts becoming depressed, he or she usually behaves in a manner that intensifies the illness.

HOW DOES DEPRESSION AFFECT THE INDIVIDUAL’S BEHAVIOR?
Depressed people have some or more of the following characteristics:

· They lose interest on their love life, career, friends, and family.

· They experience loneliness, hopelessness, gloom, and indifference to their surroundings. It is a feeling of extreme despair.

· They seek to escape from problems and even from life itself. Thoughts of leaving home, running away or avoidance of others is common. They feel life is hopeless and worthless. Suicidal thoughts are lurking in their minds.

· There is a tendency to escape from the company of others because of an unexplained fear of being rejected. Their withdrawal consequently brings on some rejection by other people. They cancel scheduled activities, become uninterested to return phone calls, and seek ways to avoid talking with or seeing others.

· They are overly sensitive to what others say and do. They may misinterpret actions and suggestions in a negative way and become irritable because of those mistaken assumptions. They complain and cry a lot.

· They have a general loss of self-esteem. They feel more and more negative about life’s events, and they even question their own personal worth. Their self–confidence level is extremely low.

· They experience negative changes in physical activities––appetite, sleeping and sex. Some lose interest in sexual activities. Some lose interest in food while others gouge themselves with all the stuffs they can eat. Some sleep constantly while others cannot get to sleep easily, or they wake up in the middle of the night and cannot go back to sleep again.

· There is usually an underlying feeling of guilt. They often feel overly responsible for other people’s feelings.

· Depression often makes the depressed dependent upon other people. This further aggravates a feeling of helplessness, which makes them more upset.

· They have difficulty expressing and handling their feelings. Anger is especially difficult for them to control. Because of a sense of worthlessness and lack of knowledge in dealing with their situation, they get more enraged in themselves. This can be directed outward at others.

Above ninety-five percent of even the most depressed individuals can be totally cured if the condition is identified at the early stages. It is essential to know and take action when the early warning signs of depression are manifesting.

Next Chapter How Does Depression Affect the Individual's Behavior?