Effects of Depression

Depression can be devastating to all areas of persons' everyday life. It isn't just a personal agony; its effects touch every segment of society and our economy if it is not recognized and treated. If left untreated, symptoms can last for weeks, months, or even years, causing needless pain and suffering, not only to the person who is depressed, but also to those who care about them.

Left untreated, depression will impact society as well as individuals. It leads to broken marriages, unemployment, hunger and homelessness. In work, depressed individuals are liable to be slow and less productive, to be indecisive and uncertain, and to make more mistakes. At home, depressed persons will lack interest in their family and will be unable to enjoy their company and shared activities, and to participate in family life. They will be unable to demonstrate affection for loved ones and uninterested in love-making. They will tend to avoid friends and social gatherings, and be unable to derive satisfaction from hobbies and leisure interests. Depression will not only hurt the depressed persons, but also their family and friends.

People who are depressed tend to view the world in an excessively pessimistic or hopeless light. There is no expectation that things will improve and often this dismal state of affairs is perceived as being their own responsibility. This pessimistic view is harmful for their future and the entire society.

We also can see many physical effects of depression. When an individual develops this condition the body will display the effects in various ways.

The vast majority of people who have depression suffer headaches. Frequent and constant headaches make depression much harder to deal with, because the depressive will already be trying to cope with various other symptoms.

Depression is commonly accompanied by sleep problems. Sufferers may find that they begin to sleep excessively, or they may not be able to get sufficient sleep. Without proper sleep pattern, they will feel constant tiredness and this can add to the negative emotions that they are already feeling. More important, during deep sleep, the bodies' immune system is under repair. Lack of deep sleep is common amongst depression sufferers. Without this time to repair, our immune system is weakened, making us more susceptible to disease.

Another common physical effect of depression is feeling of fatigue. This symptom can make depression worse because the constant tiredness can make a person feel negative and downbeat. -sunshine