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Written by Hobie Hampersan
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Tuesday, 20 June 2006 |
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When I was a teen, living in our doll-house sized home and reading everything from novels to Reader’s Digests to Mom or Dad’s encyclopedias and self-help books, I was fascinated with a particular malaise that I had felt for years but had no words to articulate. I had most of the symptoms of depression; therefore, I was bent on reading articles about depression.
That was about thirty years ago, so while the info then was more limited than it is now, I have a better understanding of an illness (or syndrome) that severely impacts those with it and those who live with persons who have it: such statistics that hold that in any given year, some 13 to 14 million people will suffer some degree of depressive disorder (according to www.add-adhd-help-center.com).
One of the first articles I read (the title of which escapes me at the moment) contained information on the symptoms of depression, information that still holds true today:
The clinically depressed person is restless, sleepless, sleeps too much, and/or is irritable.
He or she loses interest in once-enjoyable activities and pastimes, in food, and in taking care of his or her person hygiene needs.
Another of the early-read symptoms of depression also holds true today: the depressed person is continuously or consistently tired or exhausted and has less than usual energy.
Further studies, increased numbers of depressed persons, and updated documentation also address additional symptoms of depression: also according to www.add-adhd-help-center.com, these symptoms include the following:
* Perpetual, or persistent sadness, worthlessness, and/or attitudes of futility
* Weight loss or gain
* Overeating (akin to undereating)
* Persistent physical manifestations of (but not limited to) depression—such as headache, pain, stomach and digestion problems—all of which may be resistant to treatment
* Recurring thought of or obsession with suicide/death
I found out—in my forties—I have ADD (Attention Deficit Disorder). A sister disorder is depression. It makes sense that I was fascinated with, intrigued by, or made it imperative to study the disorder of depression, as wherever I went, ADD went, and wherever ADD went, depression went.
If you have ADD, depression, and/or experience symptoms of one or both, please know there are many, many books, articles, people, treatments, and solutions. You are not alone and you are not hopeless. You can get that refrigerator you are carrying around off your back.
You can stop eating everything in that refrigerator, can wake up from heavy-boned sleep and escape, can shut up the seemingly convincing voice that recommends suicide as a solution, and can actually, one day, smile or even laugh at something again.
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Last Updated ( Friday, 30 June 2006 )
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