Depression

Symptoms:

• Decreased mood and tearfulness.

• Decreased concentration.

• Decreased interest in activities that used to be pleasurable, like hobbies or socializing and isolation.

• Rises in absences and a general loss of interaction and motivation in the classroom.

• Expressions of decreased self-esteem, like "I'm worthless," or "I'll never make it."

• Changes in sleep patterns, with difficulty sleeping or excessive sleep.

• Decreased appetite.

• Confusion or "not making sense".

• Sudden drops in grades.

• Attempts to "treat" low mood or anxiety with alcohol or other drugs.

• Suspiciousness about the intentions of others.

Gender:

Both males and females experience depression. However, studies showed that women more often showed visible signs of emotion, such as crying, while men tended to be more rigid and show less emotion.

Statistics:

About 20 percent of all teens experience depression before they reach adulthood.

About 36.4 percent of college students suffer from depression.

What can you do about it?

1. Get in a routine. If you’re depressed, you need a routine, says Ian Cook, MD. He's a psychiatrist and director of the Depression Research and Clinic Program at UCLA.

Depression can strip away the structure from your life. One day melts into the next. Setting a gentle daily schedule can help you get back on track.

2.Set goals. When you're depressed, you may feel like you can't accomplish anything. That makes you feel worse about yourself. To push back, set daily goals for yourself.

"Start very small," Cook says. "Make your goal something that you can succeed at, like doing the dishes every other day."

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As you start to feel better, you can add more challenging daily goals.

3. Exercise. It temporarily boosts feel-good chemicals called endorphins. It may also have long-term benefits for people with depression. Regular exercise seems to encourage the brain to rewire itself in positive ways, Cook says.

How much exercise do you need? You don’t need to run marathons to get a benefit. Just walking a few times a week can help.

4. Eat healthily. There is no magic diet that fixes depression. It's a good idea to watch what you eat, though. If depression tends to make you overeat, getting in control of your eating will help you feel better.

Although nothing is definitive, Cook says there's evidence that foods with omega-3 fatty acids (such as salmon and tuna) and folic acid (such as spinach and avocado) could help ease depression.

5. Get enough sleep. Depression can make it hard to get enough shut-eye, and too little sleep can make depression worse.