Weve all had moments in our lives when we feel sad.
But if weeks go by and those feelings linger, it may be a sign of clinical depression.
Depression is often missed in males because it shows itself more as irritability than as sadness, she notes.
Most people dont conceptualize it as depression.
Theyll think,Well, hes just a cranky dude.In fact, its not just that.
The good news is that depression is very treatable.
Its important to get help when youre hurting.
As Oquendo notes, Willing depression to go away doesnt work.
Nita Sweeney, 60, Columbus, Ohio
Its like walking through sludge.
Growing up, Nita Sweeney had always been kind of melancholy, more sensitive than other kids.
But it wasnt until college that she really began to notice feelings of depression.
I would be devastated, and it was hard to function.
I felt heavy, like there was lead in my bones and weights on my arms and shoulders.
It was physically painful.
Its like walking through sludge.
Everything looks gray, she says.
Life loses its vibrancy.
At age 33, she came close to killing herself.
It was so clear that it was what I needed to do.
It was the best solution for everyone.
Fortunately, fate intervened, in the form of a phone call.
It was Sweeneys counselors office, asking where she was.
(She had slept through her appointment.)
That phone call saved my life, she says.
She stayed for five days, just long enough to get stable.
Since then shes experimented with different medications; shes currently on Prozac.
You grab sensory details, looking around and writing about what you see.
It grounds you in reality, as opposed to being up in your head.
But the biggest emotional lift for Sweeney has been running.
Its not just the mood-boosting brain chemicals that physical activity generates, she says.
Theres a sense of community because I sometimes run with a group.
I also do races, and theres a training plan, so theres structure.
Sweeney insists that the exercise really works: Depression hates a moving target.
