- Anxiety, agitation or restlessness - for example, excessive worrying, pacing, hand-wringing or an inability to sit still.
- Slowed thinking, speaking or body movements.
- Feelings of worthlessness or guilt, fixating on past failures or blaming yourself for things that are not your responsibility.
- Trouble thinking, concentrating, making decisions and remembering things.
- Frequent thoughts of death, suicidal thoughts, suicide attempts or suicide.
- Unexplained physical problems, such as back pain or headaches. (Mayo Clinic Staff, 2014).
As you can see, depression changes the way you see yourself, the goodness in your life, and everyone around you. It also has some very extreme physiological changes that affect your health and well-being, as wells your ability to do tasks that seem normal. .
Treatment of Major Depressive Disorder.
Treating major depression can be difficult and enduring, but even in the most severe cases, depression can be treated. The earlier that treatment can begin, the more effective it is. The first step to getting appropriate treatment is to visit a doctor or mental health specialist. Certain medications, and some medical conditions such as viruses or a thyroid disorder, can cause the same symptoms as depression (Griffin, 2014). A doctor can rule out these possibilities by doing a physical exam, interview, and lab tests. If a doctor can find no medical condition that may be causing the depression, the next step is a psychological evaluation. It is best to visit a mental health doctor to get a complete history of the patient's symptoms and his or her family's history with depression or other mental disorders (Griffin, 2014). The mental health professional may also ask if the patient is using alcohol or drugs, and if he or she is thinking about death or suicide. Once diagnosed, a person with depression can be treated in several ways. The most common treatments are medication, psychotherapy, and electroconvulsive therapy (Depression, 2009).