Depression Hurts: Symptoms and Effective Ways to Manage Depression

Like happiness, times of sadness are inevitable. When we lose a loved one, experience disappointment, or become discouraged, it is normal to feel sad. Midlife also offers a season of “blue” feelings, as children leave home to begin lives of their own, and age begins to affect our body.

But when sadness lingers for long periods of time and colors the world drab, when fatigue zaps energy and emotional enthusiasm wanes, and when feelings of melancholy rob the quality of life . . . that is depression.

Depression hurts; not only the sufferer, but family and close friends as well. In fact, depression can drastically affect a person’s life and health in very negative ways.

“Clinical Depression” is defined as depression that lasts for weeks, months, or even years at a time. Symptoms vary from person to person, and can be mild, moderate, or severe. But the biggest difference between an “ordinary” episode of sadness and Clinical Depression is that in Clinical Depression, symptoms are present most of the day, nearly every day, for a period of at least two weeks. Read more