Depression: What It's Like and What To Do

Are you feeling really sad, tired, and worried most of the time? Are these
feelings lasting more than a few days? If yes, you may have depression.

Brenda's story:
"It was really hard to get out of bed in the morning. I just wanted to hide
under the covers and not talk to anyone. I didn’t feel much like eating and
I lost a lot of weight. Nothing seemed fun anymore. I was tired all the
time, yet I wasn’t sleeping well at night. But I knew that I had to keep
going because I’ve got kids and a job. It just felt so impossible, like
nothing was going to change or get better.

"I started missing days from work, and a friend noticed that something
wasn’t right. She talked to me about the time that she had been really
depressed and had gotten help from her doctor.

"I called my doctor and talked about how I was feeling. She had me come in
for a checkup and gave me the name of a psychiatrist, who is an expert in
treating depression.

"Now, I’m seeing the psychiatrist once a month and taking medicine for
depression. I’m also seeing someone else for "talk" therapy, which helps me
learn ways to deal with this illness in my everyday life.

"Everything didn’t get better overnight, but I find myself more able to
enjoy life and my children."

Rob's story:
"Things in my life were going all right. I had just gotten my GED and was
starting a new job in a week. My family was really proud of me. But inside,
I was feeling terrible.

"At first I was feeling sad all the time, even though I had no reason to be.
Then the sadness turned into anger, and I started having fights with my
family and friends. I felt really bad about myself, like I wasn’t good
enough for anyone. It got so bad that I wished I would go to bed and never
wake up.

"My older brother, who I always looked up to, saw that I wasn’t acting like
my usual self. He told me straight out that I seemed depressed and that I
should talk to a doctor about it. I hate going to the doctor. I thought, "No
way am I going in for this."

"But after a few weeks, I started having problems at work too. Sometimes I
wouldn’t show up because I wasn’t able to sleep the night before. When I got
fired, I knew I had to listen to my brother and get help.

"I saw a doctor at the health clinic. He told me I had a common illness
called depression and that treatment could help. So I started to see someone
at the clinic each week for "talk" therapy. This treatment helps me learn to
control depression in my everyday life. It has taken some time, but I’m
finally feeling like myself again."

Many people who have depression know something is wrong but don’t know what
to do about it. This booklet can help. It tells you about four steps you can
take to understand and get help for depression.

Step 1
Look for signs of depression.
Read the following list.

Put a check mark by each sign that sounds like you:

I am really sad most of the time.
I don’t enjoy doing the things I’ve always enjoyed doing.
I don’t sleep well at night and am very restless.
I am always tired. I find it hard to get out of bed.
I don’t feel like eating much.
I feel like eating all the time.
I have lots of aches and pains that don’t go away.
I have little to no sexual energy.
I find it hard to focus and am very forgetful.
I am mad at everybody and everything.
I feel upset and fearful, but can’t figure out why.
I don’t feel like talking to people.
I feel like there isn’t much point to living, nothing good is going to
happen to me.
I don’t like myself very much. I feel bad most of the time.
I think about death a lot. I even think about how I might kill myself.

If you checked several boxes, call your doctor. Take the list to show the
doctor. You may need to get a checkup and find out if you have depression.

Suicide
Sometimes depression can cause people to feel like killing themselves.

If you are thinking about killing yourself or know someone who is talking
about it, get help:

Call 911.
Go to the emergency room of the nearest hospital.
Call and talk to your doctor now.
Ask a friend or family member to take you to the hospital or call your
doctor.

Step 2
Understand that depression is a real illness.
Depression is a serious medical illness that involves the brain. But, there
is hope. Depression can be treated and you can feel better. Depression is
not something that you have "made up in your head." It’s more than just
feeling "down in the dumps" or "blue" for a few days. It’s feeling "down"
and "low" and "hopeless" for weeks at a time.

About 19 million Americans have depression. It can happen to anyone, no
matter what age you are or where you come from.

Depression can make it very hard for you to care for yourself, your family,
or even hold down a job. But, there is hope. Depression can be treated and
you can feel better.

What causes depression?
You may want to know why you feel "depressed." There may be several causes.

Depression may happen because of changes in your brain.
Depression runs in some families. This means that someone in your family
such as a grandparent, parent, aunt, uncle, cousin, sister or brother may
have depression.
Sometimes painful events or losses such as deaths can lead to depression.
Sometimes the cause of depression is not clear.

Step 3
See your doctor.
Don’t wait. Talk to your doctor about how you are feeling. Get a medical
checkup to rule out any other illnesses that might be causing signs of
depression. Ask if you need to see someone who can evaluate and treat
depression.

If you don’t have a doctor, check your local phone book. Go to the
government services pages (they may be blue in color) and look for "health
clinics" or "community health centers." Call one near you and ask for help.

Step 4
Get treatment for your depression. You can feel better.
There are two common types of treatment for depression: (1) medicine and (2)
"talk" therapy. Ask your doctor which type is best for you. Some people need
both treatments to feel better.

Medicine

Medicines for depression are called "antidepressants." Your regular doctor
or a psychiatrist (a medical doctor trained in helping people with
depression) can prescribe them for you.

Antidepressants may take a few weeks to work. Be sure to tell the doctor how
you are feeling. If you are not feeling better, you may need to try
different medicines to find out what works best for you.

Medicines sometimes cause unwanted "side effects." You may feel tired, have
blurred vision, or feel sick to your stomach. Tell the doctor if you have
these or any other side effects.

"Talk" therapy

"Talk" therapy involves talking to someone such as a psychologist, social
worker, or counselor. It helps you learn to change how depression makes you
think, feel, and act. Ask your doctor or psychiatrist who you should go to
for talk therapy.

You can feel better.

How to help someone who may have depression:

If you know someone who seems depressed and may need help, here are some
things you can do:

Tell the person that you are concerned about him or her.
Share this booklet with the person.
Talk to the person about seeing a doctor.
Take the person to see the doctor.
If the doctor offers the name and phone number of a psychiatrist or someone for "talk" therapy, call the number and help the person make an appointment.
Take the person to the appointment.
"Be there" for the person after he or she starts treatment.

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