Depression is a serious matter that unfortunately doesn’t get talked about enough. While this caution can help most who suffer from neurosis, there are revealing signs of depression and common ailments.
For this reason, it is important to share the minor scourges that may lead to bigger issues. Depression is called the plaque of the 21st century for good reason because over 16 million Americans suffer from mild to severe depression. There are some very small signals, that may seem like normal parts of everyday life, that can give you insight into depression. Feeling of Fatigue or Exhaustion Feeling a little down or lacking energy is completely normal from time to time, but when your bad days add on this is cause for concern. Continual fatigue can lead to feelings of hopelessness that can bring you into some very dangerous territory. According to experts, if your tiredness lasts for days on end even though your routine hasn’t changed or you feel tired as soon as you wake up this may be your body’s way of telling you that you are depressed. If you are not aware of your depressive state, at this point it is important for you to analyze your current situation and seek professional help or guidance. Your Self Esteem is Non-Existent With depression paired with constant fatigue, you may begin to see yourself in a different light. You may look at yourself or current situation and begin to pair it with words like “useless,” “loser,” “failure,” “unworthy,” and other negative descriptions that you normally wouldn’t use to describe your life – understand that a depressive state is leading you down this road. In some cases, you may constantly dwell on your past failures and mistakes. You may use these exaggerated memories to reaffirm your feelings of unworthiness. You may even begin to have thoughts of suicide – this is the most serious sign and symptom of depression. If you do get to this point without access to immediate care, be sure to reach out to your local suicide hotline or Milwaukee Behavioral Health experts for guidance. If these numbers are not readily available, your local emergency operator has been trained to connect you with the right person. Your Concentration and Memory Suffers Many people who are experiencing depression or have experienced depression know that concentration is the first area of your life to suffer. You may have difficulty remembering important things like names, details, and appointments. Even listening to someone talk or reading a book can become one of the most challenging tasks to complete. It also becomes difficult to focus on mental and physical activities. Making decisions may also cause additional fatigue. However, it is important to note that mental fog alone is not a symptom or does not signal depression. There are many underlying issues in which these symptoms can also attribute. Sleep Doesn’t Always Come Easy Another part of your life that significantly changes when you suffer from depression are your sleeping patterns. This can go both ways and result in insomnia or oversleeping. Depression can make you crave more sleep even after a full night’s rest because you are mentally exhausted. Many times, you have no energy and need to spend the whole day in bed. Usually, this is not paired with lofty and relaxing activities but restlessness and worry with no desire to be active. Your Weight Can Drastically Change Without a doubt, hormones and appetite are affected greatly by depression – especially when attempting to cope with all the various emotions that you trade off day by day. This means your appearance is bound to change and just like with sleep, this isn’t polarized in one direction or the other. People with depression can experience both weight loss and weight gain. You can feel starved no matter how much you eat or you can start to feel no hunger at all. Just like your emotional state, your eating habits can become unstable. Specialists say if there is an unintentional change of more than 5% of your body weight within a month, it could be a sign of depression. Nothing Can Make You Content All of us have certain pleasures that we enjoy out of life. Whether it is your favorite movie, book, song, or video game but when you are depressed nothing can keep you content. Even people that you typically enjoy being around can seem distant, uninteresting, or even annoying. You may be constantly bored, tired, or have no interest in partaking in your life long hobby or spending time with friends. Another area that you may lose interest in is your sex life and severe depression can even lead to a loss in sex drive or impotence. If the problem cannot be diagnosed for any physical reason, you may want to consider depression as a cause. Your Mood Swings May Be Out-Of-Control When you are depressed you constantly cycle through sadness, anxiousness, or irritation without reason or cause. You may also become short tempered without a lack of basic tolerance. Everything and everyone can seem to annoy you to no end. This can become dangerous and result in reckless behavior or substance abuse. However, it is not a constant anger and your mood can constantly swing between extremes. Other extreme motions can manifest in rapid breathing, nervousness, and alarming reactions can also occur. These are all red flags if you have not been diagnosed with depression. Other Parts of Your Health Suffer People suffering from depression also suffer from other physical ailments as well. Some frequently connect pain of the joints and lower back with their depression diagnosis. Digestive problems are also a huge concern and are attached when they are not brought on by your diet. Sometimes physical pains are not relieved with normal treatments prescribed to people experiencing these discomforts because they are connected to mental stress. This is why it is important to seek treatment if you believe you have depression or your depression is continuing to affect other aspects of your health. If you are experiencing a combination of these issues above and have not been diagnosed with depression, it is important to have a mental health screening. Outside of depression, these symptoms can arise within many other types of mental health suffering. Now that you have learned how to recognize depression and the symptoms you may be experiencing or will have to learn to cope with, it is also important to know that depression is normal and can be treated. Psychotherapy is the key solution, but can be aided with the building of positive habits. Those suffering from depression should take care of their physical health with proper exercise, sleep, and hydration. Additionally, staying active, continuing mindfulness practices, and supplementing with vitamins can also ease your recovery. Before attempting to self-diagnose or self-medicate be sure to consult GOCaC your local Milwaukee psychotherapist.
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