Not to draw this conversation off of your topic, but I think that the following is pertinent to the discussion.
“Depression” can also be a symptom of a physical disorder.
Hypothyroidism in particular. Primarily identified as a “female” condition (post postpartum “blues”), but it also affects men.
I am, or was, identified by my doctor’s nurse as exhibiting some characteristics of “clinical depression” and a few other early signs of the disorder. A simple blood test was done; I was diagnosed with secondary hypothyroidism (seen only about 5% of all cases). The percentage of males with hypothyroidism is so low that my doctor had never seen it before.
It is not “curable”, but it is treatable; I will take a synthetic thyroid pill every morning for the rest of my life.
Early signs (the ones I exhibited are in red)
Poor muscle tone (muscle hypotonia)
Fatigue
Any form of menstrual irregularity and fertility problems
Hyperprolactinemia and galactorrhea
Elevated serum cholesterol
Cold intolerance, increased sensitivity to cold
Constipation
Rapid thoughts
Depression
Muscle cramps and joint pain
Thin, brittle fingernails
Coarse hair
Paleness
Decreased sweating
Dry, itchy skin
Weight gain and water retention
Bradycardia (low heart rate – fewer than sixty beats per minute)
Uncommon signs. lucky me…
Shortness of breath with a shallow and slow respiratory pattern
Irritability and mood swings.
Decreased libido in men
Decreased sense of taste and smell
And how did it affect my work? Immensely. I found it hard to maintain an optimistic point of view; definitely a hindrance when trying to work with clients. It was hard to concentrate on complex tasks (rapid thoughts), and I found working more than three or four hours at a time difficult (fatigue); try and make a deadline like that. My hand/eye coordination was affected (poor muscle tone); my sketching, rendering, airbrush work suffered. I was constantly cold, to the point of wearing sweaters in the summer. And, it wasn’t helping matters “at home” either.
Combined with the actual insufficiency of TSH (thyroid stimulting hormone) the other symptoms contributed even more to my depression… you find yourself asking… what’s wrong with me, why can’t I do this anymore, I don’t want to do this anymore, etc. The effects can snowball to the point where you really begin to question why you’re even alive …
Remarkably, for me, replacement hormone therapy cleared up ALL of these problems.
From my experience, I urge anyone to eliminate the “physical” conditions before tackling the “psychological”.