Are you ill?

It is important to decide whether you are just sad or whether you are suffering from depression.

For example, it is appropriate to be sad or to grieve the death of a friend or relative.   This is a normal reaction to a circumstance and should not be confused with depression. Sadness and grief are usually temporary and not associated with major changes to your daily life and routines. With time, grief subsides and normal life resumes. If grief is ongoing and affects your life in a way that it renders you incapable of performing your daily routines, then it is very important to seek help from a doctor.

Important realisations about depresion:

 ¢â‚¬ ¢  Depression is an illness
 ¢â‚¬ ¢  You cannot “pull yourself together”
 ¢â‚¬ ¢  It is not something to be ashamed about
 ¢â‚¬ ¢  Depression can be treated/managed
 ¢â‚¬ ¢  If you think you are depressed, you must seek help from a doctor

~~

A black hole

When you are very depressed, you may feel that you will never recover. Your thoughts become overwhelmingly negative and pessimistic.

Sadness permeates your whole life and you struggle to find pleasure in anything, even in relationships with the people you love. You may criticise yourself and question your own abilities. Self loathing and self doubt replace confidence and self assurance.
Sleep Difficulties
It is very common to experience sleep difficulties when you are depressed. You may have difficulty falling asleep or you may find that you wake up in the early hours of the morning and struggle to return to sleep. You lie in bed worrying about your life and negative thoughts flood your mind.

You may find you are:
 ¢â‚¬ ¢  very tired
 ¢â‚¬ ¢  lacking in energy and unable to cope with basic tasks in your everyday life
 ¢â‚¬ ¢  be unable to concentrate or focus on a task
 ¢â‚¬ ¢  struggling with your memory

Perhaps you have lost your appetite, you may even feel that food doesn’t taste like it used to. Sometime people lose their appetite completely and as a result they may lose a significant amount of weight.

Read more about the symptoms of depression  here

Not your fault
Perhaps you are starting to wonder whether it is your fault that you are depressed Its important to understand that it is NOT your fault that you are suffering from depression. No-one is to blame.

You may start to think that your family would be better off without you and that it would be better if you weren ¢â‚¬â„¢t alive. Many people who are depressed contemplate self harm, including suicide. If you have thoughts like this it is vital that you contact your doctor or the local emergency department as soon as possible.

Tell people about it
Depression is common. You may feel isolated and alone but you are not. It is important that you tell those closest to you that you are suffering from depression. It will help them to understand your behaviour and enable them to support and help you.

Apart from your spouse, you should also consider telling your older children that you are suffering from depression. Children are often left bewildered and confused about the changing behaviour of their parent who is depressed.
Sometimes it is useful to explain what is going on so that they can be reassured that they are not at fault and that you are unwell at the moment but are seeking help.
We suggest you to tell them that you are not the “old you” at the moment. They should know that you still love them but that you may not behave in the way they are used to. Family counselling is sometimes useful to allow family members to express concerns and frustrations as well as to learn more about depression.

Talk to you doctor if you think this may be appropriate for your family.

In addition there are  local organisations  which can help support you and your family. See the help list for some of these e.g. ARAFMI (Association of Relatives and Friends of the Mentally Ill)

~~

Thoughts of suicide

When you are depressed, it is quite common to contemplate suicide. It is important to know that  suicide is NEVER a solution.  It is ALWAYS a tragedy. Suicide never actually solves problems: it just moves them onto other people, particularly those who most love and care for you.

In addition, it deprives you of the chance to recover   from your depression, and it deprives you of the chance to move   forwards in your life.

When you feel hopeless and life appears dark and pointless, it is  vital to reach out for help, support and advice from people who are  in a position to help you.

Get help!
If you are suffering from depression and having suicidal thoughts, you should seek professional help:

Australian 24 hour Emergency contacts:

   ¢â‚¬ ¢  Lifeline 13 11 14
 ¢â‚¬ ¢  Suicide Help Victoria                          1300 651 251
 ¢â‚¬ ¢  Men’s Line Australia                          1300 78 99 78
 ¢â‚¬ ¢  Ambulance/Police   000
 ¢â‚¬ ¢  Salvo Crisis Line (suicide prevention)                          02 9331 2000
 ¢â‚¬ ¢  Salvo Care Line                            (02) 9331 6000
 ¢â‚¬ ¢  Kids Help Line                            1800 55 1800
 ¢â‚¬ ¢  Crisis Team (CATT) or your  local hospital emergency department
(see telephone directory)

Does it help?
Yes. Medical assistance does help.

People with depression usually feel hopeless and suicidal at some times, but later always say how relieved they are that they did not act on the dark self-destructive thoughts.

More about the risk of suicide:

Feelings
When you are depressed, negative thoughts race through your mind. These may be about:yourself, e.g. “I am a bad person”, “I can never do anything right” and “I am not good enough” other people, e.g. ¢â‚¬ ¦

Stay well
When you have recovered fully, you will be anxious to get on with your life. You will want to get back to the same level of functioning that you had before your illness. The idea of wanting to ¢â‚¬ ¦

Treatment
If you were concerned that you or someone close to you was ill, what would you do?  ¢â‚¬ ¢ Wait until it passes?  ¢â‚¬ ¢ Tell them to pull themselves together?  ¢â‚¬ ¢ Suggest they see a doctor? Fortunately most ¢â‚¬ ¦

Social Anxiety Disorder (SAnD)
SAD was once a neglected anxiety disorder but has gained recognition as a chronic problem associated with often considerable functional impairment, due to marked, persistent and unreasonable fear of ¢â‚¬ ¦

Panic Disorder
Panic Disorder (PD) is characterised by recurrent unexpected surges of severe anxiety with varying degrees of anticipatory anxiety between attacks.  ¢â‚¬ËœPanic attacks ¢â‚¬â„¢ are separate periods of intense ¢â‚¬ ¦

Treatments
Anxiety symptoms exist on a continuum and many people with mild degrees of anxiety, particularly of recent onset and associated with stressful life events, will experience an improvement without ¢â‚¬ ¦

More…  http://en.depnet.org/

http://en.depnet.org/universe2/thoughts_of_suicide