Have you lost interest? Has the fun of life left? Those things you used to do, and enjoy, have they lost their joy? The technical term is called, anhedonia. The name sounds like some place around Russia, but its the hallmark for depression. When you don’t feel joy it’s a sign you’re depressed.
Most people feel sad or depressed at times. It’s a normal reaction to loss or life’s struggles. But when intense sadness — including feeling helpless, hopeless, and worthless — lasts for many days to weeks and keeps you from living your life, it may be something more than sadness. You could have clinical depression — a treatable medical condition.
How Do I Know If I Have Depression?
According to the DSM-5, a manual doctors use to diagnose mental disorders, you have depression when you have five or more of these symptoms for at least 2 weeks:
- A depressed mood during most of the day, especially in the morning
- You feel tired or have a lack of energy almost every day.
- You feel worthless or guilty almost every day.
- You have a hard time focusing, remembering details, and making decisions.
- You can’t sleep or you sleep too much almost every day.
- You have almost no interest or pleasure in many activities nearly every day.
- You think often about death or suicide (not just a fear of death).
- You feel restless or slowed down.
- You’ve lost or gained weight.
You may also:
- Feel irritable and restless
- Lose pleasure in life
- Overeat or stop feeling hungry
- Have aches or pains, headaches, cramps, or digestive problems that don’t go away or get better with treatment
- Have sad, anxious, or “empty” feelings
While these symptoms are common, not everyone with depression will have the same ones. How severe they are, how often they happen, and how long they last can vary. Your symptoms may also happen in patterns. For example, depression may come with a change in seasons (a condition formerly called seasonal affective disorder).
Brett, this sounds interesting. I was diagnosed with clinical depression only once but I’m sure that I have been afflicted several other times. In my teens, twenties and beyond I believe I experienced bouts of depression which led to some destructive behaviors. Diagnosed at 68 (I’m now 80) I remember a very vivid feeling of hopelessness and a powerful sense that everything around me was ominous and threatening – example, the backyard trees which I’d always enjoyed now seemed frightening and foreboding. I went on medication and in a short time one day that feeling was gone along with a general feeling of apathy; the trees were friendly again. I’ve remained on the meds, as my doctor advised. While I have some relatively bad days on occasion (I’ve never been a hail fellow, well met person), that overwhelming feeling that life simply isn’t worth living has not returned. I’m told that the problem is one of an imbalance of brain chemicals – is it that simple?
No, there are NO studies that show any connection with brain chemistry and mental illness. Drug companies have a few studies that look at a loose connection with increasing or decreasing neurotransmitters and depression. So from those studies we have guessed they are related. But it has not been proven. Check out a good book called Lost Connections by Johann Hari. He shares the data round medication and depression.