Depression often looks different in men and women, and in young people and older adults. An awareness of these differences helps ensure that the problem is recognized and treated.

Depression in Men

Depression is a loaded word in our culture. Many associate it, however wrongly, with a sign of weakness and excessive emotion. This is especially true with men. Depressed men are less likely than women to acknowledge feelings of self-loathing and hopelessness. Instead, they tend to complain about fatigue, irritability, sleep problems, and loss of interest in work and hobbies. Other signs and symptoms of depression in men include anger, aggression, violence, reckless behavior, and substance abuse. Even though depression rates for women are twice as high as those in men, men are a higher suicide risk, especially older men.

Depression in Women

Rates of depression in women are twice as high as they are in men. This is due in part to hormonal factors, particularly when it comes to Premenstrual Syndrome (PMS), Premenstrual Dysphoric Disorder (PMDD), postpartum depression, and per menopausal depression. As for signs and symptoms, women are more likely than men to experience pronounced feelings of guilt, sleep excessively, overeat, and gain weight. Women are also more likely to suffer from seasonal affective disorder.

Depression in Teens

While some depressed teens appear sad, others do not. In fact, irritability—rather than depression—is frequently the predominant symptom in depressed adolescents and teens. A depressed teenager may be hostile, grumpy, or easily lose his or her temper. Unexplained aches and pains are also common symptoms of depression in young people.
Left untreated, teen depression can lead to problems at home and school, drug abuse, self-loathing—even irreversible tragedy such as homicidal violence or suicide. But with help, teenage depression is highly treatable.

Depression in Older Adults

The difficult changes that many older adults face—such as bereavement, loss of independence, and health problems—can lead to depression, especially in those without a strong support system. However, depression is not a normal part of aging. Older adults tend to complain more about the physical rather than the emotional signs and symptoms of depression, and so the problem often goes unrecognized. Depression in older adults is associated with poor health, a high mortality rate, and an increased risk of suicide, so diagnosis and treatment are extremely important.

Postpartum Depression

Many new mothers suffer from some fleeting form of the “baby blues.” Postpartum depression, in contrast, is a longer lasting and more serious depression triggered, in part, by hormonal changes associated with having a baby. Postpartum depression usually develops soon after delivery, but any depression that occurs within six months of childbirth may be postpartum depression.

Next up we consider the most common types of depression people often face:

 TYPES OF DEPRESSION

Depression comes in many shapes and forms. The different types of depression have unique symptoms, causes, and effects. Knowing what type of depression you have can help you manage your symptoms and get the most effective treatment.

Major Depression

Major depression is characterized by the inability to enjoy life and experience pleasure. The symptoms are constant, ranging from moderate to severe. Left untreated, major depression typically lasts for about six months. Some people experience just a single depressive episode in their lifetime, but more commonly, major depression is a recurring disorder. However, there are many things you can do to support your mood and reduce the risk of recurrence.

Dysthymia (recurrent, mild depression)

Dysthmia is a type of chronic “low-grade” depression. More days than not, you feel mildly or moderately depressed, although you may have brief periods of normal mood. The symptoms of dysthymia are not as strong as the symptoms of major depression, but they last a long time (at least two years). These chronic symptoms make it very difficult to live life to the fullest or to remember better times. Some people also experience major depressive episodes on top of dysthymia, a condition known as “double depression.” If you suffer from dysthymia, you may feel like you’ve always been depressed. Or you may think that your continuous low mood is “just the way you are.” However, dysthymia can be treated, even if your symptoms have gone unrecognized or untreated for years.

Bipolar Disorder: When Depression is Just One Side of the Coin

Bipolar disorder, also known as manic depression, is characterized by cycling mood changes. Episodes of depression alternate with manic episodes, which can include impulsive behavior, hyperactivity, rapid speech, and little or no sleep. Typically, the switch from one mood extreme to the other is gradual, with each manic or depressive episode lasting for at least several weeks. When depressed, a person with bipolar disorder exhibits the usual symptoms of major depression. However, the treatments for bipolar depression are very different. In fact, antidepressants can make bipolar depression worse.

DEPRESSION CAUSES AND RISK FACTORS

Some illnesses have a specific medical cause, making treatment straightforward. If you have diabetes, you take insulin. If you have appendicitis, you have surgery. Depression, however, is more complicated. Depression is not just the result of a chemical imbalance in the brain, and it’s not simply cured with medication. Experts believe that depression is caused by a combination of biological, psychological, and social factors. In other words, your lifestyle choices relationships and coping skills matter just as much—if not more so—than genetics. However, certain risk factors make you more vulnerable to depression.

CAUSES AND RISK FACTORS FOR DEPRESSION

• Loneliness
• Lack of social support
• Recent stressful life experiences
• Family history of depression
• Marital or relationship problems
• Financial strain
• Early childhood trauma or abuse
• Alcohol or drug abuse
• Unemployment or underemployment

 

 

Many random thoughts race through our brains every single moment of the day. Some of these thoughts make sense but most make no sense at all. A few are perhaps practical thoughts about what we should be shopping or doing now, tomorrow or next week, reminding ourselves of this or that and that's perfectly OK because it's reasonable and is helpful to us. A few thoughts are reflections perhaps about what we did and what we could have done better, or contemplation and reflections about some word or sentence we heard or picked up somewhere, maybe it was a movie we saw. This is good for us because it expands our mind and horizon opening up new venues of creative thoughts and ideas. But and here lies the danger, most of our thoughts are plain stupid, useless and senseless, negative and, therefore, are self destructive and self sabotaging thoughts. It is these negative thoughts that keep us enslaved in a world of negativity blocking our way from moving freely forward to a happier space of being.

Some lucky people have actually managed to cross over this invisible barrier to stop being slaves of their thoughts and have actually managed to learn to gain control over their negative thinking patterns enough to eliminate them. They have managed to escape from the prison of negative thinking and it's misery. How is that possible you may ask? How did they manage to do that? I can't do that, or can I really stop my negative thoughts?

The answer is yes you can! Believe it or not yes you can! There's a little technique involved and some work to do in the process of course; but first you need to recognize the fact that you are a slave to your negative inner thoughts; you need to have the genuine desire to put an end to your life of negativity; make the decision, invest some time, will power and effort, and be persistent until you have succeeded. Keep on trying again and again and before you know it your life will be taking a different course to a path of fun, laughter and abundance in every way that you can imagine.

Here are a few hints to help you on your way. The rest is up to you.

·         Stop feeling irritated about anything or anyone. Stop complaining about anything and everything. Nothing is more annoying than to be with people who find fault with every situation and with everybody. From now on you accept people as they are and you take things in your stride whether you like or not. Remember you might be doing things to irritate or upset other people too, would you like it if they were mean or rude to you? No you wouldn't, you would be hurt. So try to keep that in mind. The world does not evolve around you. Instead you try to fit in and to contribute good vibes wherever you go. You are here to make the world a better place whenever and wherever you can.

·         Stop surrounding yourself with negative people who know nothing else but to complain about everything. If you can't remove them from your life and you are forced to spend time with them, then try this approach. Every time they open their mouth, smile and say something positive. For example how great nature is, talk about wonderful, marvelous, fun stuff and laugh... Do not allow yourself to be sucked into their negative drama. These people are polluting the air with their negative energy. Interrupt them. Ignore what they say. You'll be helping them by not listening to them.

·         Surround yourself with positive happy people who love life and who love themselves. They tend to appreciate the fact that they are alive. They are the ones who spread good energy around them and you want some of that good energy so you can spread it around yourself.

·         Do not watch the news or read about the daily catastrophes in the world. Of course you can read the headlines, take note of that to keep up with the general news of the day, but you don't need to read or know about or listen to the awry details. You can find plenty of news on line about happy happenings all over the world. A lot of that is going on that mainstream media do not show you. Ignore all the ones who bring bad tidings. Follow the ones who bring you good news of good people, creative people, people who contribute to the welfare of the human family.

·         Make a habit to watch yourself, analyze yourself, pay attention, be conscious of what you are thinking about mostly, of your words and what you speak about, be conscious of your actions and behavior. This way you better understand clearly what you are all about and if you see negativity in yourself then you know you have to change that and you know what to do.

·         Whatever you find out about yourself accept it, accept yourself as you are negative or positive or both, and love yourself anyway. Once you have accepted yourself as you are and you like yourself as you are, the good and the bad, you are ready for the change that you wish to see in yourself.

·         The thing is you see, you need to become aware of who you are and what you are, to take notice and to pay attention to yourself. You need to love yourself, to have self confidence. You need to like yourself and who you are. Only then are you able to like and appreciate others.

·         Fill your mind from the moment you wake up in the morning until the last moment before you fall asleep with positive thoughts and affirmations. Feel these emotionally, feel that you are loved with passion, feel the passion in everything you do. Feel and feel and feel again, that you are alive, it's a privilege so enjoy being alive and be grateful that you can experience life.

Too many people walk around laughing and pretending to be happy, who are positive only on the outside, they are plagued with negativity, their inner thoughts and feelings are hate resentment jealousy and low self esteem. Needless to say this is a perfect prescription for serious illness and disease. You want to not only push the negative thoughts away but to really clear your whole system, your heart, your emotional body and your aura, everything about you inside and out needs to be positive.

 The immune system is a system of biological structures and processes within an organism that protects against disease. To function properly, an immune system must detect a wide variety of agents, from viruses to parasites, worms and distinguish them from the organism’s own health tissues. Your immune system protects you from disease by preventing bacteria and viruses from entering the body. They work by creating all sort of physical barriers to prevent such pathogens from gaining access to your system. Your immune system does a great job of keeping you healthy and preventing infections. Thus problems with the immune system can leave you exposed to all sort of illness and diseases, it is important to keep your immune system fired up and ready for all the day’s action. I'm going to share with you some fast and easy methods to strengthen your immune system quickly. Whether you think you have a strong or weak immune system these tips will help you make sure your immune system is tough, and ready to ward off any potential diseases, cold or flu viruses. These tips are very easy to follow, but do require that you abide by them consistently to give yourself an immune system boost.

1 Eat Healthy

If you want to boost your immune system and keep it strong, it is essential that you eat properly and healthy. This means to eat regularly, and to eat things that are nutritious and beneficial to your health. Eat lots of fruits and vegetables like broccoli, carrots and grapefruits. Broccoli and carrots are great antioxidants, and grapefruits are jam packed with natural vitamin C. It is also very important to avoid foods with unnatural sugar such as soft drinks and candy.

2. Take Immune System Boosting Supplements

Along with all of these immune system boosting tips, it is also a good idea to take a diversified range of quality supplements. I will list some of the best ones here that help strengthen your immune system.

·         Echinacea/Goldenseal

Echinacea and goldenseal often come together. Their work is to boost the immune system, so that when a virus hits, the system is more able to handle it. It is important to take the supplement during times of wellness and increase intake during times of imbalance.

·         Vitamin Formulas

There are several immune boosting vitamin formulas that you can add to water  for a tasty fizzy drink, and there are also sugar free forms for diabetics.

·         Osha Root Tinctures

Osha root is an excellent yet awful tasting way to boost immune system. Try to find a tincture that includes echinacea, mullein leaf, licorice root, elecampane root, oregano leaf, Irish moss and grindelia buds.

·         Grapeseed Extract

Pure Grapeseed extract is a potent way to prevent and fight disease. It helps fight off bacteria that can weaken the immune system.

·         Green Tea

Green tea is a great immune system booster. Green tea contains antioxidant that help keep your cells at their healthiest.

·         Homeopathic Formulas

There are many formulas with zinc, glycine and gluconate which some people use for cold prevention. There are other homeopathic formulas that can be purchased over the counter which are very helpful.

3 Regular Exercises

One of the best and easiest ways to boost your immune system is to exercise as often as possible. Things like jogging, weight lifting, and active sports are great to do, especially during the winter when we are more susceptible to colds and flu viruses. Keeping your body active strengthens your ability to fight off disease, and gets your blood flowing, which allows your body to produce natural antiviral properties.

4 Get Good Sleep and Rest

 Ensure that you’re getting adequate sleep and rest. If you have a long day and then go to the gym, and stay up very late, you are running down your body. Make sure you’re getting good sleep so that your body is recuperated, and your system is boosted and ready to take on the next day.

5 Avoid Alcohol & Smoking

This is an extremely important point. No matter how much good food or supplements you take, if you smoke cigarettes or drink too often, you WILL get sick. Smoking and drinking alcohol destroys your fragile natural body defenses. Even if you boost up your immune system over a long period of time, just a couple of drinks or smokes will bring it right back down to a weak immune system. There are no two ways about it, you have to avoid smoking and or drinking. This might not be easy if you’re a seasoned smoker or drinker, but it is well worth the try.

6 Lead a Healthy Clean Life

Staying clean and washing your hands regularly may seem obvious, but a lot of people do forget. Don't forget to wash your hands, it is easy. It is a fact that the majority of people get sick because of being in public areas, as this makes you vulnerable to germs. If you’re going to the gym or doing sports, don't forget to take a bath or shower as soon as possible after, and to wash your clothes and equipment.

7 Try to Avoid Stress

Stress is an immune system killer. You may not realize it but all those stressful things that happen during your day can run down your system. Try to avoid all unnecessary stressful moments. This one can be hard to master but you'll love your life if you do.

The normal ups and downs of life mean that everyone feels sad or has "the blues" from time to time. But if emptiness and despair have taken hold of your life and won't go away, you may have depression. Depression makes it tough to function and enjoy life like you once did. Just getting through the day can be overwhelming. Sadness or downswings in mood are normal reactions to life’s struggles, setbacks, and disappointments. Many people use the word “depression” to explain these kinds of feelings, but depression is much more than just sadness. The normal ups and downs of life mean that everyone feels sad or has "the blues" from time to time. But if emptiness and despair have taken hold of your life and won't go away, you may have depression. Depression makes it tough to function and enjoy life like you once did. Just getting through the day can be overwhelming. Sadness or downswings in mood are normal reactions to life’s struggles, setbacks, and disappointments. Many people use the word “depression” to explain these kinds of feelings, but depression is much more than just sadness. Some people describe depression as “living in a black hole” or having a feeling of impending doom. Alvaro who suffered from depression for over 40 years describe it as “having a terrible pain without knowing where the pain is located, fear without knowing why and worst of all, absolutely no desire to talk about it”. However, some depressed people don't feel sad at all—they may feel lifeless, empty, and apathetic. Men in particular may even feel angry, aggressive, and restless. 49 year old Maria (Brazil) was afflicted with depression that caused Insomnia pain, irritability and a seemingly unending feeling of darkness [source: awake].

Whatever the symptoms, depression is different from normal sadness in that it engulfs your day-to-day life, interfering with your ability to work, study, eat, sleep, and have fun. The feelings of helplessness, hopelessness, and worthlessness are intense and unrelenting, with little, if any, relief. Everyone finds themselves in this place from time to time, but that doesn't make it any easier to deal with! If you ask around or do a search online, you'll likely find lots of advice for how to treat anxiety or beat depression. Some of it useful, and some of it is not. Plus, what works for one person might not for another. Don't worry, I'm not going to tell you one of those internet cliché that I know what you're going through or that I have been there before( although I have- Sincerely and I can tell you it was hell. That was the only point in my life when taking my own life didn’t seem like a bad idea). Not many like to hear such words as comforting as it sounds. During my time of battling depression I didn’t think anyone else will understand what I was going through or that anyone could actually help me, so when someone tells me I understand or I can help you, I just got irritated “with their lie”. Truth is that these life-changing events are incredibly difficult to handle and you are never strong enough or prepared enough to handle them. I remember I used to weep on my bed at night, all I could just mutter was am too young to be going through this- this isn’t fair am just 20 why do I have these problems? It is hence paramount that you know the signs and symptoms of depression so you can easily retract your steps if you notice yourself spinning toward the abyss.

SIGNS AND SYMPTOMS OF DEPRESSION

Depression varies from person to person, but there are some common signs and symptoms. It’s important to remember that these symptoms can be part of life’s normal lows. But the more symptoms you have, the stronger they are, and the longer they have lasted—the more likely it is that you’re dealing with depression. When these symptoms are overwhelming and disabling, that's when it's time to seek help.

• Feelings of helplessness and hopelessness- A bleak outlook—nothing will ever get better and there’s nothing you can do to improve your situation.
• Loss of interest in daily activities- No interest in former hobbies, social activities, or sex. You’ve lost your ability to feel joy and pleasure.
• Appetite or weight changes- Significant weight loss or weight gain—a change of more than 5% of body weight in a month.
• Sleep changes- Either insomnia, especially waking in the early hours of the morning, or oversleeping (also known as hyper-insomnia).
• Anger or irritability- Feeling agitated, restless, or even violent. Your tolerance level is low, your temper short, and everything and everyone gets on your nerves.
• Loss of energy-Feeling fatigued, sluggish, and physically drained. Your whole body may feel heavy, and even small tasks are exhausting or take longer to complete.
• Self-loathing-Strong feeling of worthlessness or guilt. You harshly criticize yourself for perceived faults and mistakes.
• Reckless behavior- You engage in escapist behavior such as substance abuse, compulsive gambling, reckless driving, or dangerous sports.
• Concentration problems- Trouble focusing, making decisions, or remembering things.
• Unexplained aches and pains- An increase in physical complaints such as headaches, back pain, aching muscles, and stomach pain.