Depression
Depression..a deadly disease" 'A symptom of the bad times is that you think that they will never abate. You convince yourself that you are doomed forever to a state of half-life. You awake to a sighing gloom and an inordinate effort of will is required to leave your bed. You know that you should get up to arrest the feeling of despair, but the listlessness which is a characteristic of the condition holds you there, gazing upwards in static stare, musing over the endlessness of the day ahead. Everything is an effort and is carried out in slow motion. The smallest task is a weight on you...Minor problems become issues of magnitude. Decisions are deferred and avoided. Simple tasks are shelved. Worst of all is the disintegration of your self-confidence. You fumble in speech and in action. The ringing of a telephone assaults you and you shrink from answering it.' �given by the famous writer W. Styrone, in his book entitled Darkness Visible, providing us with an in-dept description of his own personal experiences when he suffered from depression
Over the course of the year, 17.6 million American adults suffer from a depressive illness. That is 10% of the population. (Pfizer, Dealing) Depression is a whole-body illness, including mind, mood, body, and thoughts. It effects everything from the way you sleep to the way you feel about yourself. It effects how you react and how you see things. Depressive illnesses often interfere with normal functioning and cause pain and suffering not only to those who have the disorder but also to the ones who care about them. Depression can rip apart families and destroy the life of an innocent person. This happens to many people because, unfortunately, they do not recognize that they have a treatable illness, and don't seek medical help. With many types of depression and numerous causes, an innumerable amount of people suffer from depression, but with the right treatments and support of loved ones and themselves, the victims can be cured. (Pfizer, Unmasking)
There are three major types of depression. The first, called major depression is revealed by a combination of symptoms that interfere with the ability to work, sleep, eat, and enjoy everyday life. Disabling episodes of this disease can occur once, twice, or several times in a lifetime. Next, a less severe type of disease called dysthymia involves long-term symptoms that don't totally disable a person but does not allow them to totally function at "full-steam". Lastly, bipolar disorder involves cycles of depression. Mood changes can be dramatic and rapid or gradual. In the depressed cycle, you express symptoms of a depressive disorder. When in the manic stage, mania symptoms occur. It effects thinking, judgement, and social behavior. This can be a chronic reoccurring disease. (Kiev, 71)
Various symptoms make the disease hard to trigger, but there are a few key indications that show depression. These are a lowered mood, loss of energy and interest, a feeling of physical illness...
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