Kinds of depression are different, like different kinds of diabetic or high blood pressure problems. And you may find that you or someone you love sort of fits in more than one category. This is OK. You are not training to become a psychologist. You simply want to understand that depression comes in different forms.

Major Depression

A major depression can come from a single horrible event in your life, or may develop slowly as a result of several personal disappointments and life problems. Some people develop symptoms of a major depression without an obvious life crisis. In a major depression the combination of symptoms interferes with your ability to work, study, sleep, eat, and enjoy pleasure feelings. This could happen only once but often happens several times during your life. It is major because it stops your ability to function normally. It is severe and keeps you from living your life. If you suffer from this you feel you just cannot fix things in your life. You want to sleep because when you are awake there is no joy. Its effects can be so great that things like eating, sleeping, or just getting out of bed become almost impossible. You cannot just 'snap out of it' and every day you feel worse. If you get no treatment for this it can last from six to 10 months. It seems to run its course. But why in the world would you want to live in this horror for one minute longer than you have to?

Symptoms:

-Feeling hopeless and helpless

-Thinking of death or suicide

-No energy, feeling tired all the time

-Irritable and angry outbursts

-Constant worry about physical health

-Drug and/or alcohol abuse

-Difficulty sleeping or sleeping too much

-Waking up very early, not able to get back to sleep

-Feeling guilty about past actions

-Big appetite changes

-Memory problems

-Having problems at work or school

-Sudden emotional outbursts, crying

-Unable to concentrate

-Brooding and going back over problems

-Lack of concern for physical appearance

-Slowness doing any tasks

Remember, these symptoms must be severe and cause real problems for you and eventually cause you to be unable to function at work or home.

Major Depression can be a one time happening a third of the time, but generally two thirds of the people who have this will have a repeat or maybe several. Many times the symptoms disappear for a while and then come back full force.

Here's an example of a woman experiencing a Major Depression:

Susan is 37 and just ended a 5 year relationship. She wonders what has happened to her. She thinks she is just sleep walking through her life. She cannot sleep well, wakes up at 4:00a.m., and is wide awake, thinking about is wrong with her. When she gets up she feels like she got no sleep at all and is foggy and can't think. She used to enjoy fixing nice meals and considered herself a good cook. Now she doesn't even like the taste of food and is losing weight fast. She isn't dieting but people ask what plan she is using. There is a man at work who has shown some interest in her but she could care less. She feels she can't concentrate and do her job as a computer input operator and she is making plenty of mistakes. Her boss has been watching her and she knows the group is carrying her. This can last just so long. When she leaves work she just goes home and lies on the couch. On the weekend she sleeps and takes the phone off the hook. She doesn't want to hear from well meaning relatives and friends. They keep telling her to get a grip on herself but she can't. When she wakes up early in the morning, she thinks about ways she could kill herself. There is no longer anything to live for. She thinks of things she might have done differently when she noticed her partner was showing less interest in her. Maybe she wasn't sexy enough or attractive enough. Maybe she should have suggested some kinky sex. Her partner found a woman who was ten years younger and very beautiful. He said he felt like a young guy around her. He had told Susan she was getting old looking and needed a total makeover. At the time she laughed it off but now she thinks she made a terrible mistake. And now there is no going back. She has nothing.

And when you meet Bill, you will hope that you never suffer like this.

Bill was 58 when he lost his job due to a reduction in force after a large bank merger. He could not believe this had happened because he was always the loyal company man who followed the rules and always did more than he was asked to do. When he was given the news he did not act like it was so horrible because he didn't want to have anyone see him break down. But when he went home and told his wife he began crying and couldn't seem to stop. He found that he could not sleep. He went to see his family doctor who told him it was natural to be upset over losing his job and gave Bill a prescription for sleeping pills. They seemed to work at first, but when he woke up he felt sluggish and groggy and unable to start searching for another job. He would sit in his favorite chair with the TV turned on, thinking about how could this have happened to him. He started to wonder why he had ever worked so hard for a company which could so easily throw him out. He had enough years in to get a pension and had made good investments. They wouldn't starve or be unable to live decently. But to Bill, his job was a very important part of his life. It was who he was. When his wife wanted to get him out of the house and visit with friends he told her to leave him alone. He didn't need anybody to come around feeling sorry for him. Within a month Bill had gotten so much worse that he was not taking care of himself, staying in his pajamas all day, and refusing to talk to his wife. He was continuing to get his prescription for sleeping pills refilled but he wasn't taking them. He was hoarding them and getting ready to take all of them when he had enough. There was no way he was going to continue living and feeling that he had been thrown away like garbage. When his wife found the pills he had saved up, she called their doctor. They arranged for Bill to be admitted to a mental health ward at the hospital. He was there for three weeks before he turned the corner.

If you or someone you care for is suffering from a Major Depression, you need to know it is something you cannot just 'shake off'. Depression is one of the most easily treatable illnesses in this country and there is no reason to deny or avoid dealing with the problem. Medications and treatment are available and will be discussed later in the book.