We all have been saddened this week by the murder of the Marines in Chattanooga, Tennessee. Of late, there has been discussion of the possible role of depression in the young man who committed the shootings. Unrecognized and/or undiagnosed depression is rampant. Estimates of depression co-occurring with medical complaints in primary care clinics range from 30-60% depending on the study.
It probably will not be known whether or how prominent or not depression was as a factor in the young shooter's actions. It also will not be known soon how well connected socially the young shooter was. He clearly had cultural adjustments to make living in one society with roots in another. My point here is not to excuse any of his actions. Rather, it is to highlight the often unrecognized role depression plays in the lives of many persons and how important it is for all of us to recognize depression in ourselves and others around us.
We all have down days periodically. That is not necessarily clinical depression Rather clinical depression occurs when we experience depressed mood frequently to the extent that it interferes with our social, educational, or vocational life.
More significant levels of depression include the following symptoms:
- Depressed mood most of the day; feeling sad or empty, tearful
- Significant loss of interest or pleasure in activities that used to be enjoyable
- Significant weight loss (when not dieting) or weight gain; decrease or increase in appetite
- Difficulty sleeping or sleeping too much
- Agitation; or slowing down of thoughts and reduction of physical movements
- Fatigue or loss of energy
- Feelings of worthlessness or inappropriate guilt
- Poor concentration or having difficulty making decisions
- Thinking about death or suicide
Five or more of these symptoms occurring daily for two or more weeks may well constitute a major depressive episode and the need for treatment. Even lesser degrees of clinical severity warrant attention.
In the mental health field, it also has long been known that even the presence of one confidante buffers to some extent the onset/degree of clinical depression. The confidante is defined as someone with whom we can share our most closely held inner thoughts. This role of social support moderates the effect of life stresses for us. I discussed this in detail in an earlier post.
So when will you attend to possible signs of depression in yourself and others, to include co-workers and loved ones? After all, there is help available. When would be a good time to examine your social network and degree of social connectedness, both at work and in your personal life? They affect your degree of well being and health more than you might think. Unrecognized and/or poorly treated depression costs billions of dollars in lost productivity each year as well as lessened well being for all. Consider if your possibly untrue and unhelpful thoughts might be interfering with your life, e.g. "I'm not a people person", "No one likes me". As always, change your thoughts, change your results. For additional information on stress, please see my website at www.successandmindset.com for past posts on depression.