What is depression?

The term depression has been a growing topic of debate recently when it comes to defining what it means and how to treat it. Depression is a blanket term for conditions that relate to mood, motivation, interest in life, etc. The way I like to define depression is when a person is aware of their emotional pain or discomfort but are unaware of either the cause or the cure. We all have emotionally taxing moments in our lives such as losing a friend or family member, unhealthy relationships, not achieving long term goals, etc. The difference between normal negative emotional periods and depression is that with normal periods of sadness we almost always know the cause and sincerely believe that life will get better again once you are able to move past it, but depression is a combination of not only feeling intense emotional pain but also the lack of hope that things will get better, mainly because you either don't know the cause of the pain or you don't know how to fix it, or often both.

Everyone feels down now and then, but clinical depression is a debilitating disorder that is ongoing and that interferes with a person’s daily life. It should be noted that not all experts agree on what is “normal” sadness and what constitutes a “disorder.” However, it is safe to say that some people experience profoundly negative emotions, at times accompanied by feelings of worthlessness and inordinate guilt.

See the following links that explain depression, what can cause it and the signs…

https://www.jw.org/en/publications/magazines/g2001...

https://www.jw.org/en/publications/magazines/g2001...

Sadness