Depression is a very big subject to talk about, and even much bigger to sort out.

Depression is a “persistent” feeling of sadness with loss of interest in things you do normally care about. It is a disorder that negatively affects how you feel, the way you think and how you function. Depression causes feelings of sadness and/or a loss of interest in activities you once enjoyed. It can lead to a variety of emotional, mental and physical problems and can decrease your ability to function at work and at home. Depression can be considered a “hidden” power that works against your inspirations, motivations and your desire to excel…. it makes you feel sorry for yourself.

There are many happenings in your life you may consider them as part of depression; but they are not necessarily so. We all experience bad times in our lives, but not every bad time is a depression.

There are things we experience sometimes in our lives, and they are just normal variations; especially if they happen on and off for short periods of time. Some times we can identify the drives of those in the back ground, and sometimes we just need to sit down and think, reckon and ponder about them. As long as they only happen now and then, and they are not persistent; we need to be careful for not to jump into considering them features of depression. I will give you here some examples:

• Feelings of sadness, tearfulness, emptiness or hopelessness.
• Angry outbursts, irritability or frustration, even over small matters
• Loss of interest or pleasure in some normal activities, such as social relationships, hobbies or some of our daily activities.
• Sleep disturbances, including insomnia or sleeping too much.
• Tiredness and lack of energy, so even small tasks take extra effort.
• Reduced appetite and weight loss or increased cravings for food and weight gain.
• Anxiety, agitation or restlessness.
• Slowed thinking, speaking or body movements such as shakes or sweating.
• Feelings of worthlessness or guilt, fixating on past failures or self-blame.
• Trouble thinking, concentrating, making decisions and remembering things.
• Unexplained physical problems, such as back pain or headaches. tiredness or forgetting things.

As long as those changes in our lives are temporary, and they tend to go away; e don’t call them depression. We may call them just normal variations in our lives, or a temporary anxiety/stress related events. We need always to calm, sit down, and try our best to look at the bright sides of our lives.