Depression is a medical illness. Someone who has depression has symptoms nearly every day, all day, for 2 weeks or longer. This is considered major depression. There are other forms of depression that may have less severe symptoms. All the various forms of depression share the same usual causes and often the same treatments.
Depression can affect people of all ages and is different for every person. A person who has depression can’t control his or her feelings. If you or your child, teen, or older relative is depressed, it’s not his or her fault. Left untreated, depression can last for weeks, months, or even years.
Women are twice as likely as men to experience depression. The reason for this is unknown. Changes in a woman’s hormone levels may be related to depression.
Symptoms are different for every person. You may have one or many of the symptoms listed below. Your symptoms may appear as emotional, physical, or a combination of both. The symptoms of depression may be different for children, teens, and seniors.
Emotional symptoms include:
- Crying easily or for no reason.
- Feeling guilty or worthless.
- Feeling restless, irritated, and easily annoyed.
- Feeling sad, numb, or hopeless.
- Losing interest or pleasure in things you used to enjoy .
- Thinking about death or suicide.
Physical symptoms include:
- Changes in appetite (eating more than usual, or eating less than usual).
- Feeling extremely tired all the time.
- Having other aches and pains that don’t get better with treatment.
- Having trouble paying attention, recalling things, concentrating, and making decisions.
- Headaches, backaches, or digestive problems.
- Sleeping too much, or having trouble sleeping.
- Unintended weight loss or gain.
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Depression is typically caused by one or more factors. This includes genetic, biological, environmental, and psychological causes.
For example, depression may be caused by an imbalance of chemicals in the brain. Sometimes there aren’t enough chemical messengers (called neurotransmitters) in the brain. Neurotransmitters that affect your mood are serotonin, norepinephrine, and dopamine. A chemical imbalance in the brain may be caused by one or more of the following:
- Your genes. Sometimes depression is hereditary. This means it runs in your family. You may be more at risk for having depression if you have a parent or sibling who has depression.
- A medical condition. Problems with your thyroid or nutrient deficiencies may be associated with an increased risk of depression.
- Events in your life. Depression can be triggered by stressful events in your life. These can include the death of someone you love, a divorce, chronic illness, or loss of a job.
- Medicines, drugs, or alcohol. Taking certain medicines, abusing drugs or alcohol, or having other illnesses can also lead to depression.
Depression is not caused by personal weakness, laziness, or lack of willpower.
- In the days following the birth of a baby, it is common for some mothers to have mood swings. They may feel a little depressed or have a hard time concentrating. They may lose their appetite or find that they can’t sleep well even when the baby is asleep. This is called the baby blues and goes away within 10 days after delivery. However, some women have worse symptoms or symptoms that last longer. This is called postpartum depression.
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