Clinical Depression - I Have Nothing to Be Ashamed Of.....

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As some of you know, I suffer from clinical depression as part of PTSD, which my doctor and I have been treating with medication and therapy for several years pretty successfully. I have had a setback recently with the loss of my little doggie Mai-Li, but with the help of my wonderful husband and the many, many wonderful messages from several of you fabulous friends on Facebook and Twitter, I am slowly, day by day, getting better. I want to thank you so much for your love and friendship throughout this most difficult time.

I also wanted to explain just what clinical depression is to help you understand the symptoms and see that it is something that is truly a medical condition which people can't just "snap out of" but actually need medical attention. However, with the right help, there is hope and people can get better.

The following are a list of symptoms to help diagnose clinical depression:

Depressed mood most of the day, nearly every day

Loss of interest or pleasure in most activities

Significant weight loss or gain

Sleeping too much or not being able to sleep nearly every day

Slowed thinking or movement that others can see

Fatigue or low energy nearly every day

Feelings of worthlessness or inappropriate guilt

Loss of concentration or indecisiveness

Recurring thoughts of death or suicide

In order to be diagnosed with clinical depression,  you must have five or more of the above symptoms over a two-week period with at least one of the symptoms must be either a depressed mood or a loss of interest or pleasure. It also causes noticeable disruptions in daily life, such as work, school or social activities. I have been through periods in my life when I didn't want to get out of bed, or leave the house.  Fortunately symptoms, even severe ones, usually improve with psychological counseling, antidepressant medications or a combination of the two.

Depression is nothing to be ashamed about, remember that is is a medical disorder, just like an apendicitis, that needs treatment. There have been many influential people and celebrities who have recently talked about their struggles with depression in order to help take away the shame many people feel goes along with depression. People such as actress Brook Shields, astronaut Buzz Aldrin, actors Harrison Ford and Hugh Laurie, as well as football player Terry Bradshaw, who is an advocate to remove the stigma of depression.

So, if you find yourself or any of your family or friends with these symptoms, DON'T be embarrassed or think they will just go away. PLEASE talk to your doctor, there is help for you, you can get better. Believe me, it is worth it!

And again, thank you all so much for all your wonderful thoughts, prayers and comments last week during such a terrible time for me.... Now you can understand HOW much it truly helped me.

{For further information see: Mayo Clinic Health Information}

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