Depression: Causes and Symptoms
Sometimes your mood sinks and you feel sad for a day or two. This is a normal inevitability of life. However, sometimes the feelings of sadness persist and last for weeks, months or, in extreme cases, even years. This prolonged sense of sadness and hopelessness is known as depression.
Causes
Sometimes it seems unclear as to why someone has become depressed. Sometimes we can point to possible reasons. One important thing to remember is that depression is often the result of more than one factor impacting a person at the same time. The following are possible causes of depression or underlying issues that could contribute to depression:
- Loss of a loved one or other major loss.
- Change in life status (moving, divorce, new job, loss of job, school difficulties, etc).
- Heredity (if a parent suffers from depression, children may be more likely to develop depression).
- Life stresses (school troubles, relationship problems, dissatisfaction with job, etc.).
- Past experience with mental disorders—a person who has been diagnosed with a mental disorder may be more likely to develop depression.
Symptoms
Sometimes it’s hard to know when someone is just sad about something and when he or she is depressed.
What do you think is the main difference between normal expressions of sadness and signs of depression?Knowing how to recognize depression is a good skill for teenagers to have. Here are some of the most common signs and symptoms of depression:
- Prolonged feelings of sadness
- Prolonged feelings of hopelessness
- Lack of interest in things that used to hold interest
- Continued sleeping difficulties
- Regular episodes of crying
- Feelings of detachment or "not caring"
- Feelings of continual tiredness
- Feelings of “not wanting to get out of bed”
- Suicidal thoughts
