When a person feels sad over the death of a loved one and has easy crying and emotional changes, this is grief. Depression is different from grief and often can be much harder to identify. It is caused by a decrease or imbalance of chemicals in the brain called neurotransmitters. It is similar to other diseases where there is lack of a chemical such as diabetes. It is a medical illness, not a personality weakness or disorder as some people have thought.

Grief is a normal reaction to a loss in one’s life and is a normal emotion. It also resolves with time. Depression does not have to come on from losses in a person’s life. It may, or may not, resolve with time.

A person’s symptoms of depression are often vague. The most common symptoms are fatigue, difficulty sleeping, chronic pain such as headaches or muscle aches and symptoms of the stomach or gut.

A person with depression may fall asleep easily only to awaken in the middle of the night then have trouble falling back to sleep. At two in the morning he or she will probably feel the most awake all day. This person will wake up tired and remain fatigued the rest of the day.

In older people, depression may dull a person’s interaction with life and with other people. The person may appear withdrawn and become careless about personal hygiene. The family may think this is due to Alzheimer’s disease or thyroid problems.

Other medical problems must always be considered, but it depression turns out to be the cause, medicines can do much to resolve the brain’s chemical imbalance and improve the symptoms.