单选题 The seriously depressed person sees himself in a very negative way. He is sure that he is alone and hopeless. He often blames himself for ordinary faults and shortcomings which he exaggerates. He is very discouraged about himself, the world, and his future. He becomes less interested in what is going on around him and doesn't get satisfaction from things he used to enjoy. Fatigue and early morning sleeplessness are quite common. The depressed person may want to sleep more than usual. He may lose his appetite and lose weight or eat more than normally and gain weight. Another particular sign, seen in women is crying spells. Many of these spells are short and common.
Some depressive illness may not show the usual signs of moody sadness and hopelessness. In these cases, the potential depression may mask itself as physical discomfort. It may be a cause of alcoholism, or it may cause addiction to a drug. Chronic fatigue and boredom, as well as continual failure, may be unrecognized forms of depression. There is even evidence that the overly active child may be making up for an potential depression.
Depressives share the feeling that they have lost something very important to them, though often this is not really the case. From a feeling of loss, the depressed person progresses to false ideas that he is a loser and will always be a loser, that he must be worthless and perhaps not fit to live. He may even attempts suicide. So many very depressed people attempt suicide that depressive illness may be considered the only fatal mental illness. Not all those suffering from depressive illness do attempt suicide. Nor are all those who attempt suicide necessarily suffering from illness. But the relationship is striking. It is estimated that as many as 75 percent of those who attempt suicide are seriously depressed, Other studies show that the person hospitalized for depression is about 36 times more likely to commit suicide than is the non-depressed person. The greatest risk occurs during or immediately after hospitalization. After age 40, the possibility of suicide increases in very depressed persons. Almost twice as many women as men suffer from depressive illness. Almost twice as many women as men attempt suicide, but three times more men than women succeed, Depressions is a tragic condition which often leads to broken homes, ruined friendships and careers, and disrupted lives.