Show Depression mental and physical If It our mood never varied our life lite would Indeed be dull We have our good days and our bad ones But when our mood changes swing so far Car that bad days become unbearable or when the blues develop staying power something must be done to relieve them Mild depression is normal at times for Cor everyone But severe depression demands relief reller Fortunately there are many ways a doctor can help ease these symptoms of oC depression At best depression is an unpleasant experience In fact if it is mild and of oC short duration it may cause us to appreciate our better moods If It depression becomes progressively worse however it is definitely harmful and must be stopped Is depression different from worry Worry is should be justifiable justiCiable There is usually a good reason for Cor worry and worry leaves us when our problem is solved Depression on the other hand often starts without reason and may remain without cause And the amount of depression may be completely out of proportion to the cause Depression may also be due to a feeling of guilt even though we weha ha have ve not really done anything to feel guilty about Isn't it normal to feel depressed at times Within certain limits this may maybe maybe maybe be true However when our response becomes exaggerated we become depressed mo more e ethan than we should be When this depression persists it is no longer ventilating normal feelings The situation may be compared compared com com- pared to a common cold that develops into a serious pneumonia How does our body react to depression Our body is reacting over-reacting to depression when we have 1 1 a feeling of marked sadness 2 a feeling of misery all over 3 a alook alook alook look of sadness and hopelessness on our face 4 a loss of interest in people and things about us Can depression be harmful If depression persists it begins to distort our thinking aswell as aswell aswell well as our outlook on life Pessimism may be an undesirable undesirable undesirable un un- un- un desirable trait but depression leads us to a self-despising self feeling of worthlessness It causes us to lose interest in our work and decreases our capacity for enjoyment of life You cant can't always tell if a depressive mood is serious However if you find that you are so depressed that it interferes interferes interferes in in- with your work or your enjoyment of life if it controls you instead d of your controlling the depression then you probably need help Does depression have anything to do with suicide Sometimes when we become overly depressed it distorts our thinking Everything looks so black and dreary to us that we fail Cail to see the better side of ourselves or life If such feelings of self self- worthlessness persist we cant can't think straight and we may entertain thoughts of suicide If we were not depressed such thoughts would seem ridiculous to us We should obtain help from our doctor immediately to avoid such tragic and unnecessary unnecessary unnecessary un un- un- un necessary waste of life Is it ever necessary to be hospitalized for depression Yes This is another reason why you should be seen and treated by your doctor for severe and persistent depression He lie will decide if iC there is anything else wrong with you and if you need hospitalization tion What can be done to help my depression The first thing you should dois dois do dois is to visit your doctor A physical examination would demonstrate if there is anything physically wrong with you Sometimes just knowing that you are physically healthy makes you feel better belter Encouragement and reassurance from your doctor are also important It is always helpful to be able to talk things over with someone Will medicines help depression Definitely yes However you should never try to treat yourself especially with someone else's pills After taking your history and examining you your doctor can prescribe medicine that will help you over the rough spots and get you to feeling better belter Usually if the depression is relieved your thinking becomes clear and you are able to look at your problem objectively objectively objectively ob ob- and with your doctors doctor's help find Cind a solution Remember depression can be treated and cured But It is easier and more successful to treat early before it becom becomes severe al ali r i BETTY G. G SPENCER national notional awards writer |