Online Depression

If one is feeling hopeless and helpless about his life because of a loss of a loved one, career, or opportunity, it is not advisable to commit suicide.  Life is too precious to be ended in such a manner.  Whatever it is that may have caused one problems today. It is not enough as a reason to cease living.   One might be depressed without knowing about it and might be the cause for such feelings.  If this is the case, it is treatable.  Once the person seeks professional or online depression help, he will be back to his original self in no time.

What is depression? 

There are different kinds of depressive disorders but in general, a person with depression would show a significant change in his previous functions.  Most of the symptoms would cause problems in his social functioning.  It is characterized by having at least five of the following, occurring each day at every waking hour for two weeks: depressed mood, significant loss or gain of weight, inability to sleep or oversleeping, increase or decrease in activity, feelings of worthlessness, inability to concentrate, difficulty making decisions, inability to feel pleasure in pleasurable activities, lack of energy, and thoughts of suicide.  Some might have psychosis in them like in the case of a bipolar disorder.  Some would occur two weeks after giving birth known as postpartum blues or postpartum depression.  Others would be seasonal, occurring only in the winter season, while some would be chronic or persisting.

If one is unsure about whether or not he is having depression, there are online depression assessment tools in the form of surveys that analyses one’s symptoms.  Numerical scores are given for each answer, which will be tallied afterwards.   Recommendations and suggestions on what to do will also be given.

It is severely important that depression be treated because it has an impact in the lives of the person’s loved ones, causing remarkable pain.  If the person is working, depression can cause one to lose focus or to be absent from work most of the time.  In the United States alone, this has cost the loss of $44 billion each year.

Causes for depression vary.  Some theories suggest that it can run in families but not all who have relatives with the disorder can have it.  Other causes include a recent and unexpected loss of a loved one, loss of a job, problems with relationships, stress at work, financial crises, or trauma.  Those people with very low self-esteem can also be at risk as they tend to see things negatively and might not cope up with the stress they experience.

No one is safe from depression as anyone can have it.  Though it is treatable, most cases are left undiagnosed or misdiagnosed since some symptoms mimic a medical problem.  Thus, the primary step in treatment of depression is a proper diagnosis.

To prevent depression, one should eat well, stay positive, stay active physically, interact with others, and try to deal with trials in life.