The Common Cold of Mental Health

Depression has been called the common cold of mental illness. This speaks of how prevalent this medical condition is in our general population. I have noticed some parallels between the common cold and influenza and a major depressive disorder. I have experienced a bout of depression making itself manifest in much the same way as a virus that is attacking your body. You may wake up one morning and notice that you don’t quite feel yourself. You feel tired with no apparent reason. Your thinking may be foggy. You feel down and aren’t sure why. You may feel irritable and don’t want people talking to you. You just want to be left alone. If you have a bunch of responsibilities that you need to carry out that day you don’t know where you’re going to find the energy to do them. You may also notice that your body hurts. You may experience aches and pains throughout your body. Theses are some of the common symptoms of a major depressive disorder. (to be continued).