Depression - Signs, Symptoms and Where To Turn To For Help

D E P R E S S I O N:  Desperate; Empty; Powerless; Relationship problems; Emotional; Sad; Suicidal; Isolated; Offend easily; Not fun.


What a horrible word!  What an even more horrible emotion!  Having just posted "God Bless The Children", I felt the next logical topic to address is depression.  All people, children and adult alike, that have been abused (any kind of abuse) go through terrible depression.  It's a normal emotion when you have had your choices taken away and someone has treated you so inhumanely.  Even those who have not been abused may experience depression at some time in their life.    


All depression feels the same, but the length of time that it lasts and the reason and depth of emotion may vary.  


It's important to know that you are not alone.  Your situation is not hopeless.  There are many things you can do to help yourself, even if you don't think you want to help yourself.  When you're depressed, it can feel like no one understands.  They do.  Ideally you can go to your parent for help.  If your parent is not an option though, find a good friend, a trusted neighbor, even a teacher or school counselor.  Give the people in your life a chance to help.  Everyone likes to be needed, so when you are the one needing the help, all you have to do is reach out.  There are very good, kind people who can lead you in the right direction.  You need to be open to sharing your thoughts and feelings honestly.  Then when you are doing better and your friend needs you, the favor will be returned.  That's what life is all about - loving and helping those in need.


It seems like it may consume you and there is no way out, but I guarantee you that the day will come when you see that light at the end of the tunnel.  You made it!  You feel better and you begin to experience happiness again.  


There is a person in my own life that said to me once "What do you think people in the olden days did when they were depressed?  Nothing!  People back then didn't have the time to be depressed, so there wasn't any such thing back then."  This person meant well, but she had no clue.  She thought that she could advise me to "pull myself up by the boot straps" and just move forward in blissful joy.


"They" (who 'they' are, I don't know) say that the first step to recovery is admitting you have a problem.  This applies to depression every bit as much as it applies to various addictions.  In fact addictions, as you well know, cause depression.  Please don't misunderstand me.  Addictions are not necessarily caused by depression, but instead, depression is caused by addictions, in addition to other factors, such as: Divorce; a broken relationship; hanging with the wrong type of friends; getting overly involved in social media so that time with friends and loved ones is drastically  decreased; associating with negative people; the loss, or death of a friend or loved one; loss of employment.  These are only a small sampling of reasons for depression.


Many times the most difficult thing to do is to look inward at yourself and determine why you are in this situation in the first place.  What is causing your depression?  What do you need to do to correct it?  
1. After admitting there is a problem, reach out to others for their help and support.  
2. Go see a medical professional, in other words, go see your doctor.  There are some very good medications that you can take, at the direction of a qualified, licensed physician.  
3. Make an appointment with a Therapist (Psychiatrist, Psychologist, Clinical Social Worker, to name a few).  The difference between the various therapist's is training and services provided.  A Psychiatrist can provide counseling and prescribe medications, if needed.  They can also admit patient's into a hospital.   A Psychologist does not prescribe medication, but is able to listen and counsel effectively.  They can administer psychological testing and make recommendations based on the testing results.  A Clinical Social Worker can listen and counsel, but is also knowledgeable on what resources are available in the community to help.  


If you have insurance, make sure to contact the Insurance Company for a list of Provider's in your network.  If a Provider is not in your network, the fees charged will be paid at a lower rate and you will have to pay what the Insurance Company does not.  The Insurance Company may also have limits on how many appointments are authorized during the course of a year.  


The following link may provide you with additional very important information and resources:  


Depression Tips   


Disclaimer:  I am not a Medical Professional.  Please use my information only as a guide.  You will need to do your own research in order to get a more comprehensive listing of information and resources.  


Should you wish to contact me with information you have obtained that you'd like to share, please e-mail me at:


CherishYourChildren@hotmail.com


Follow me on: Twitter: @CherishYourKids






Depression Tips