Seek help when blues turn into depression

Everyone gets down.

But it is the ability to bounce back that separates those times people are feeling blue for a day from actual depression.

Dr. Colleen Peterson, director of UNLV’s Center of Individual, Couple and Family Counseling, says between 18 million and 19 million people experience depression each year.

“It’s pretty common to experience depression at some point,” Peterson says. “It’s part of the human condition to feel this way at some point. Yet people still feel shame about this.”

But there is a line between having a touch of melancholy and being clinically depressed.

There are days people might feel temporarily sad, according to Cynthia Kozmary, a marriage and family therapist.

“Remember, feeling blue is a limited feeling,” Kozmary says. “It’s not going to last forever. You will get through it, and I always emphasize the word ‘through.’ ”

Kozmary offers suggestions to help people get through a down day.

“I would say the best thing is to look at your thoughts and figure out why you’re feeling like you’re feeling,” she says.

She adds that people should call a friend or reach out to someone they trust to help them process their thoughts.

When people are down, they should try to find some sort of release.

“We call them coping skills,” Kozmary says. “Find out what makes you feel happy.”

In this instance, people develop coping mechanisms such as eating comfort food, exercising or listening to music.

“Exercise is always a good one because it releases endorphins,” she says. “It could even be taking a walk and listening to an inspirational speech on your iPod.”

But when things don’t get better and it is a consistent feeling, then it’s time to seek help.

Peterson says some of the signs of depression can range from difficulty concentrating, being irritable, indecisiveness, unintended weight loss or gain, lack of sleep or too much sleep, or recurring thoughts about death or suicide.

“If you’ve had those symptoms every day for at least two weeks. If these are interfering with your daily activities. When it starts affecting your daily function, that’s an indication it’s not just being blue. It’s a medical condition,” Peterson says.

Some of the options for depression are seeking therapy to talk through emotions, or medication.

“Or it can be some combination of the two,” she says.

Another reason for talk therapy is because friends and family might not be able to help people process their emotions.

“In society, if someone dies we think the grief process should be one, maybe two weeks,” Peterson says. “After that, people think you should move on.”

She says it might take someone more time to process their feelings.

Peterson says there is a stigma for seeking help for any circumstance.

She adds people usually hold themselves to a different standard when dealing with their own depression.

“If it were another person, like a family member, we would tell them there is no shame in seeking help,” she says.

Kozmary says it’s just like any other medical condition.

“If you had high blood pressure, you would see a doctor and get that taken care of. Depression is just as serious. It shouldn’t be taken lightly.”

Regardless of what people are feeling, they should acknowledge their emotions rather than trying to push their feelings down.

“Part of the biggest keys is to be OK feeling what you’re feeling,” Peterson says. “Give yourself permission to feel what you’re feeling.”

Contact reporter Michael Lyle at mlyle@reviewjournal.com or 702-387-5201. Find him on Twitter: @mjlyle.