Is Feeling Depressed Normal?

The quick answer is “No”. It is not normal to feel depressed.

What’s normal is there are events which happen that result in our feeling depressed. So, we can understand and validate that it is okay for us to react emotionally to difficult situations. However, we need not stay in the reaction but decide how we will respond.

To clarify – there is a difference between reaction and response. They are both normal processes but we need to know where one ends and the other begins.

REACTIONS
– Understandable emotional manifestations due to real stressors.

RESPONSES
– What we are going to do about it and how we will do it.

We may not have control over random events which happen in our lives. However, we do have control over how we respond to those events.

I don’t know about you but I would prefer to recognize and validate my reactions and then begin to focus on my responses.

While it is accepted that some people may have a chemical imbalance in one or more neuro transmitters in the brain, others learn that “getting depressed” is a normal reaction to stress. Either way, how we choose to respond is important. There are options to handling stressors we do not have to see “getting depressed” as the only viable one.

For the last two weeks, have you had any of the following problems nearly every day?

1	Trouble falling or staying asleep, or sleeping too much?	Yes	No
2	Feeling tired or having little energy?	Yes	No
3	Poor appetite or overeating?	Yes	No
4	Little interest or pleasure in doing things?	Yes	No
5	Feeling down, depressed or hopeless?	Yes	No
6	Feeling bad about yourself – or that you are a failure or have let yourself or your family down?	Yes	No
7	Trouble concentrating on things, such as reading the newspaper or watching television?	Yes	No
8	Being so fidgety or restless that you are moving around a lot more than usual? If no: What about the opposite – moving or speaking so slowly that other people have taken notice?	Yes	No
9	In the last two weeks, have you had thoughts of hurting yourself in some way or that you would be better off dead?	Yes	No
10	Have you answered yes to five or more of these questions (one of which was #4 or #5)?	Yes	No

If you have answered yes to question #10, you may have depression. You should consult a qualified health care professional for a thorough evaluation.