Are you feeling really sad, tired, and
worried most of the time?
Are these feelings lasting more than a few days?
If yes, you may have depression.
Brenda's story:
"It was really hard to get out of bed in the morning. I just
wanted to hide under the covers and not talk to anyone. I didn't feel much like eating and I lost a lot of weight. Nothing
seemed fun anymore. I was tired all the time, yet I wasn't sleeping well at night. But I knew that I had to keep going because
I've got kids and a job. It just felt so impossible, like nothing was going to change or get better.
"I started missing days from work, and a friend noticed that
something wasn't right. She talked to me about the time that she had been really depressed and had gotten help from her doctor.
"I called my doctor and talked about how I was feeling. She
had me come in for a checkup and gave me the name of a psychiatrist, who is an expert in treating depression.
"Now, I'm seeing the psychiatrist once a month and taking medicine
for depression. I'm also seeing someone else for "talk" therapy, which helps me learn ways to deal with this illness in my
everyday life.
"Everything didn't get better overnight, but I find myself more
able to enjoy life and my children."
Rob's Story:
"Things in my life were going all right. I had just gotten my
GED and was starting a new job in a week. My family was really proud of me. But inside, I was feeling terrible.
"At first I was feeling sad all the time, even though I had
no reason to be. Then the sadness turned into anger, and I started having fights with my family and friends. I felt really
bad about myself, like I wasn't good enough for anyone. It got so bad that I wished I would go to bed and never wake up.
"My older brother, who I always looked up to, saw that I wasn't
acting like my usual self. He told me straight out that I seemed depressed and that I should talk to a doctor about it. I
hate going to the doctor. I thought, "No way am I going in for this."
"But after a few weeks, I started having problems at work too.
Sometimes I wouldn't show up because I wasn't able to sleep the night before. When I got fired, I knew I had to listen to
my brother and get help.
"I saw a doctor at the health clinic. He told me I had a common
illness called depression and that treatment could help. So I started to see someone at the clinic each week for "talk" therapy.
This treatment helps me learn to control depression in my everyday life. It has taken some time, but I'm finally feeling like
myself again."
Many people who have depression know something is wrong but
don't know what to do about it. This booklet can help. It tells you about four steps you can take to understand and get help
for depression.