Recognizing the Signs of Depression
When It's More than Just "The Blues"
-- By Dean Anderson, Behavioral Psychology Expert
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In fact, just like physical pain, these feelings and thoughts are helpful warning signs that something isn’t right. They may be telling you that you’ve suffered an important loss and need to spend some time grieving; that what you’ve been doing isn’t fitting well with your real needs and desires; or that you simply need to slow down a little.
But sometimes these feelings and thoughts take on a life of their own, dominating your experience for extended periods of time. Instead of reacting to events appropriately, you're only able to see and react to the negative aspects of your experience, or you become unable to experience the pleasure, interest, or satisfaction that you normally get from daily activities and relationships. To make matters worse, this sadness, lack of interest, worthlessness, and hopelessness feels more real to you than any efforts to cheer you up. Being depressed feels like the way things “really are,” not like a medical problem.
