Depression affects the way we feel, think, and behave. Major Depressive Disorder (MDD) is a form of depression listed in the DSM-V, which is the manual that mental health professionals use to understand and diagnose mental illnesses. According to the DSM-V, in order to be diagnosed with MDD (which can be mild, moderate, or severe), a person needs to have at least five or the nine listed symptoms.
Of the five symptoms, one of them must be:
- A depressed mood all day nearly every day.
- Or, the loss of interest in pleasure. This could be something a simple as not wanting to take your dog for a walk.
The other listed symptoms are:
- Significant weight loss (while not dieting) or weight gain. Typically a 5% shift in your weight, up or down, could be a sign of depression.
- Insomnia or hypersomnia. People suffering from depression can sleep for 10-14 hours per day and wake up exhausted.
- Psychomotor agitation or retardation nearly every day. This could feel like being off balanced, confused, not knowing where to put things, or not knowing where you put things.
- Fatigue or loss of energy. This is hard because it stops you and may make it difficult to move, get out of bed, or go to work.
- Feelings of worthlessness or inappropriate guilt. This can involve blaming yourself for something you know you have no responsibility for.
- Diminished ability to think or concentrate. This could make it difficult to make up your mind, decide what to wear to work, how you’re going to get to work, or if you’re going to go to work at all.
- Reoccurring thoughts of death. This could be thinking about ending your life or thinking “I don’t want to be here anymore.”
A lot of times, people don’t want to talk about depression, but it is important. For more information, check out my webinar on how to beat depression.
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Get Out Of That Funk!
Understanding & Coping with Depression
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5 comments
Great video! You managed to talk something challenging and heavy and discuss it with some lightness and fun. Though depression is not fun, your video reminded me that we can talk about it and acknowledge the effects in a way that doesn’t bring us down. I am really looking forward to your webinar to learn more.
Awesome 👏🏽 👏🏽👏🏽
Very well put together as well as well said. Can’t wait to see your webinar to learn more.
Thanks James a great and thoughtful outline that makes it clear what all the facets of depression are that really need to be considered. You managed to educate with a needed levity on what so many struggle with and this can help to normalize it and decrease the shame that comes along with depression.
Great video blog! It is so important to outline these symptoms so people can understand what they are going through. Understanding the symptoms and how they can manifest can be the first step in someone reaching out for help.
Great information that most can find useful in helping you recognize the signs, & what you can do to prevent or treat the existing condition. Thank you James for sharing, job well done & keep up the good work. Very useful!!