What is depression?

Depression is a mental health condition that causes you to feel sad, lose interest in activities that you used to enjoy, withdraw from others, and have little energy. It's different from normal feelings of sadness, grief, or low energy. Depression can also cause people to feel hopeless about the future and to even think about suicide.

It is not a character flaw, and it does not mean that you are a bad or weak person.

Depression is very common. It affects people of all ages.

If you think you may be depressed, tell your doctor. Treatment can help you enjoy life again.

The symptoms of depression may be hard to notice at first. They vary among people, and it's easy to confuse them with just feeling "off." The two most common symptoms are:

• Feeling sad or hopeless nearly every day for at least 2 weeks.
• Losing interest in or not getting pleasure from most activities that used to be enjoyable, and feeling this way nearly every day for at least 2 weeks.

Other symptoms may appear. A person with depression may, almost every day:

• Eat or sleep more or less than usual.
• Feel tired.
• Feel unworthy or guilty.
• Find it hard to focus, remember things, or make decisions.

A serious symptom of depression is thinking about death or suicide. If you or someone you care about talks about this or about feeling hopeless, get help right away.

If your doctor thinks you are depressed, you may be asked questions about your health and feelings. Your doctor may have you fill out a form. Your doctor also may:

• Do a physical exam.
• Do tests to make sure your depression isn't caused by a disease such as an underactive thyroid (hypothyroidism) or anemia. Depending on your history and risk factors, your doctor may order other tests.
• Ask if you've had any thoughts of self-harm or suicide.
• Ask if you have symptoms of bipolar disorder.
• Ask you about symptoms of seasonal affective disorder.
• Ask you if you have recently lost a loved one.
• Ask about your drug and alcohol use.

Doctors usually treat depression with medicines or counseling. Often a combination of the two works best. Many people don't get help because they think that they'll get over the depression on their own. But some people do not get better without treatment.

Antidepressant medicines can improve the symptoms of depression in 1 to 3 weeks. But it can take 6 to 8 weeks to see more improvement. Your doctor will likely have you keep taking these medicines for at least 6 months.

In many cases, counseling can work as well as medicines to treat mild to moderate depression. Counseling is done by licensed mental health providers, such as psychologists and social workers. This kind of treatment deals with how you think about things and how you act each day.

If depression is caused by a medical problem, treating that problem may also help relieve the depression.

You can try many things to help yourself when you feel depressed. These things may also help lower the chance of depression coming back.

• Get regular exercise. Even something as easy as walking can help you feel better.
• Eat a balanced diet.
• Get enough sleep.
• Avoid drinking alcohol, using drugs, or using medicines that have not been prescribed to you.
• Think positively. How you think can affect how you feel.
• Get support from others.

Taking good care of yourself is important as you recover from depression. If your doctor prescribed medicines, take them exactly as they are prescribed. Be sure to make and go to all appointments, including counseling. And call your doctor if you are having problems.