Depression and the Caretaker!

Caring for yourself
It's a cliché, but it's true—you can't take good care of someone else if you don't take care of yourself. That can be a challenge when a loved one, particularly a spouse, is depressed. Taking care of yourself includes eating well, exercising and getting enough rest. Here are some other recommended strategies:
Create a "support staff." Enlist other people to shoulder some of the responsibilities.
Take time to recharge. Go see a movie. Go for a walk. Spend time with friends.
Set limits. You don't have to be on duty 24 hours a day.
Don't be afraid to seek professional help. Consider going to individual counseling or family therapy.
Remember that you're not alone. Look for support groups where you can connect with people in similar situations.
Stay hopeful. The majority of people respond well to treatment, especially with the latest advances in medication.
All the above is true and is easily written, very hard to practice and I know first hand.
Thank God for friends!

Depression!

Also called: Clinical depression, Dysthymic disorder, Major depressive disorder, Unipolar depression. Depression is a serious medical illness that involves the brain. It's more than just a feeling of being "down in the dumps" or "blue" for a few days. If you are one of the more than 20 million people in the United States who have depression, the feelings do not go away. They persist and interfere with your everyday life. Symptoms can include:
Sadness
Loss of interest or pleasure in activities you used to enjoy
Change in weight
Difficulty sleeping or oversleeping
Energy loss
Feelings of worthlessness
Thoughts of death or suicide
Depression can run in families, and usually starts between the ages of 15 and 30. It is much more common in women. Women can also get postpartum depression after the birth of a baby. Some people get seasonal affective disorder in the winter. Depression is one part of bipolar disorder. There are effective treatments for depression, including antidepressants and talk therapy. Most people do best by using both.

Treatment of Depression

Someone I love dearly is suffering from depression and I can attest that the treatment of mood disorders is not a simple matter. It is not so simple as diagnosing depression and writing a prescription for Zoloft or Effexor. The individual causes of depression are diverse and poorly understood. The antidepressant medications used to treat it are just as diverse and matching a drug with an individual is not a clear cut decision. Individual symptoms, co-existing illness, tolerance of side-effects, and other medications previously tried are just a few factors that must be considered.