Bipolar Disorder and Manic Depressive Illness

If you are concerned that you are depressed or that someone close to you is experiencing a form of depression, you may want to take a close look at the following questions. Do you or does someone you know seem to:

• Feel sad and anxious?
• Feel like a loser or feel responsible for things that go wrong?
• Get irritated by the slightest thing?
• Tend to overeat or perhaps feel unable to eat at all?
• Have no hope for the future?
• Have trouble enjoying things that used to be pleasurable?
• Feel weak or tired?
• Sleep too much or not enough?
• Have little self-control?
• Cut classes, skip meetings and activities, and avoid social events?
• Drink or take drugs, hoping to feel better?
• Find it difficult to concentrate or make decisions?
• Feel a lack of control?
• Have frequent headaches or stomachaches?
• Frequently think about or talk about death, suicide, or self-injury?

If the answer was yes to four or more of these questions and you have had these symptoms for more than two weeks, you might be seriously depressed. If you suspect that a friend or sibling is depressed, speak to a school counselor or an adult whom you can trust and let him or her know about your concerns.