depression
Depression
The word "depression" comes from the Latin word, "deprimere", meaning to press down or depress. Anyone who has ever suffered from depression recognizes the connection between the physical feeling of being pressed down and the emotional and spiritual sensation of feeling depleted of energy for living.
Carroll College students who have experienced depression describe it in vivid terms such as "being in a deep, dark pit", "feeling hopeless about life", "total apathy for living", and "absolutely no enjoyment in life anymore". The bad news about depression is that it impacts every aspect of an individual's life: social, physical, spiritual, emotional, and cognitive changes occur as it becomes more and more difficult to cope. The good news about depression is that it is very, very treatable.
The 1990's earned the sobriquet "Decade of the Brain" due to the vast amount of research focusing on the impact of amino acids on our emotional health. Seratonin, endorphins, and dopamine have become familiar terms as medical scientists link our mental health to the biochemistry of our brains. As a result, antidepressant medications have become more and more effective in treating depression.
Many kinds of stressors can trigger a medical depression, including relationship breakups, experiences of failure or loss, or the stress of adjusting to a new environment. Clinical depression is sometimes called the "common cold" of mental health since about 3 to 5% of the population are depressed at any one time, and about 20% are clinically depressed at some time in thier lives. The distinction between "normal" adjustment difficulties and clinical depression can be a subtle one.
Warning Signs of Clinical Depression Include:
You don't have to feel this way forever. We are here to help.
- Feeling depressed most of the day
- Feeling irritable most of the day
- Feeling of hopelessness
- Social withdrawl
- Impaired concentration
- Sleeping more/less than usual
- Increased/decreased appetite
- Siginificant weight gain/loss
- Diminished ability to think
- Indecisiveness
- Loss of interest in activities that used to be enjoyed
- Fatigue, low energy
- Missing class
- Low self-esteem
- Feeling guilty or worthless
- Moving or speaking more slowly than usual
- More agitated than usual
- Recurrent thoughts of death
Many of these symptoms can be caused by problems other than depression. However, if you are experiencing three or more of these symptoms nearly every day for two or more weeks, PLEASE contact the Wellness Center at 447-5441 and schedule an appointment with either Mike Franklin, Jennifer Elison, or Kathleen Trudnowski. Depression is very treatable and we are here to help.