What is depression?

[kam_d]

Could you explain what depression is because I feel like ive been really sad and just miserable. So I dont know if I have depression or im just going though a hard time in life. Thank you. 

[Ggrand]

Dear kam_d,

A very warm and caring welcome to our forums…

I am so sorry that your feeling really sad and just miserable..

Depression is different for each person, my depression has been ongoing for a number of years, with some breaks in between…it’s hard to diagnose yourself and I would like to gently urge you to reach out to your Dr and talk to them about how your feeling really sad and miserable that way you will get a proper diagnosis and treatment if needed…

Here when I can be, if you want to talk some more 

My kind thoughts Dear  kam_d..

Grandy..

[james1]

Hi kam_d,

I'm so sad to hear you feel miserable. As Ggrand said, depression is different for each person. The way I tend to think about it now is that there's no rule for whether you truly have depression or not, and my main concern is how to help you feel better. Health insurances and people who prescribe medications may disagree, but even if you are "just" having a hard time in life, that could cause you to feel absolutely miserable.

Still, if you want to know what the 'official' depression as it may give you some validation of your feelings, BeyondBlue has a helpful little section here: Depression - Beyond Blue You may want to have a look at the K10 test, which many GPs will ask you to complete if you see them about depression.

Another thought I might offer is that I've been seeing a psychologist for about 7 years now, and we've never spoken definitively about whether I had depression or not. I've certainly got a mental health care plan from the GP, but my actual work with the psychologist has always just been about how to improve my life and get through issues that come up. 

James

[Earth Girl]

Hello kam-d,

If you feel quite bad in any way regarding sadness, loneliness or feeling miserable, I believe you could definitely be experiencing depression.

I'm okay these days though I definitely have hard days, but I don't have depression anymore. I had depression for several years due to being isolated and bullied by my family and people at school and I felt really sad, alone, miserable and like I didn't want to live at times. Some people who have depression get irritated very easily as well (I think I remember experiencing this). Depression can make people act quite poorly to others and make them do things they wouldn't normally do (sometimes).

I've also experienced extreme depression where I couldn't leave my bed at all because I felt so bad and just wanted to die. I remember saying "I just want to die already!" and I've also experienced depression where I didn't care about anything, but I was also really anxious so at the same time and I was really worried (if that makes sense).

Depression is different for everyone, but it sounds to me like you might have it. Some people are really mean to people when they say they have depression, but you never know how someone else really feels or what's going on in their life so I hope nobody bullies you if you tell them you think you might have it. I like this forum because  people don't say mean things like "you're faking it" on here.

It would be good to see a doctor about this so you know for sure and can get help for it. 🙂