I Am Not Depressed, Am I?
B. A. (Beverly) Smith
- Hello.
- I
- am
- so
- glad
- that
- you
- are
- here.
- The
- disorder
- of
- depression,
- whether
- clinical
- or
- depressive
- symptoms,
- is
- far
- to
- common
- in
- our
- great
- Nation.
- This
- short
- book
- is
- intended
- to
- provide
- some
- information
- about
- this
- disorder;
- my
- personally
- professional
- viewpoint
- based
- on
- education
- and
- vast
- experience.
Let
- me
- introduce
- myself.
- My
- name
- is
- Beverly
- and
- I
- am
- a
- psychiatric
- Registered
- Nurse.
- I
- have
- over
- 30
- years
- experience
- in
- helping
- people
- in
- crisis,
- starting
- with
- a
- degree
- in
- Psychology
- from
- VPI&SU
- in
- 1981.
- I
- have
- been
- a
- Registered
- Nurse
- since
- 1993,
- and
- board
- certified
- as
- a
- specialist
- in
- Mental
- Health
- and
- Mental
- Illness
- in
- 1995.
- I
- have
- worked
- in
- many
- areas
- over
- the
- years
- including
- counseling,
- medical
- hospitals,
- mental
- hospitals,
- and
- home
- health.
- The
- specific
- job
- titles
- have
- varied,
- including
- Psychiatric
- Nurse,
- RN
- Clinician,
- and
- Behavioral
- Nurse
- Specialist;
- but
- the
- skills
- required
- are
- essentially
- the
- same.
"Am
- I
- Depressed?"
- Now
- that
- sounds
- like
- a
- strange
- question
- to
- ask.
You
- may
- think
- it's
- a
- joke
- or
- a
- sarcastic
- remark.Your
- first
- thought
- is
- liable
- to
- be:
- Don't
- you
- know?
- If
- anyone
- would
- know
- then
- you
- would,
- right?
The
- truth
- is
- that
- often
- people
- truly
- don't
- know
- if
- they
- are
- experiencing
- a
- treatable
- illness
- like
- depression.
- It
- is
- a
- question
- that
- I
- welcome
- because
- it
- indicates
- to
- me
- that
- a
- person
- is
- considering
- a
- new
- idea,
- or
- the
- possibility
- that
- there
- is
- a
- problem.
- I
- have
- heard
- this
- question
- a
- lot
- in
- my
- thirty
- years
- of
- experience
- helping
- people.
To
- get
- an
- answer
- to
- that
- question,
- here,
- we
- will
- distinguish
- myth
- from
- fact.
- We
- will
- start
- by
- taking
- a
- look
- at
- 12
- of
- the
- common
- myths
- about
- depression,
- and
- debunk
- them
- with
- some
- facts.
- Next
- some
- detective
- work
- is
- in
- order
- as
- we
- look
- at
- common
- depressive
- signs
- and
- symptoms.
- How
- people
- present
- their
- depressive
- symptoms
- can
- be
- as
- unique
- as
- each
- individual,
- yet
- there
- are
- some
- noted
- commonalities
- among
- individuals
- in
- a
- particular
- grouping.
- Conversely
- there
- are
- noted
- differences
- between
- groups;
- men
- and
- women,
- as
- well
- as
- children
- and
- adults
- present
- symptoms
- differently.
- We
- will
- look
- at
- some
- of
- these
- differences.
When
- we
- are
- done
- here
- you
- should
- have
- an
- answer
- to
- your
- question,
- or
- at
- least
- be
- closer
- to
- one.
Don't
- be
- surprised
- if
- it
- leads
- to
- many
- more
- questions.
Wishing
- you
- Good
- Health,
Beverly
- Smith
- BS, RN
