Depressed?
October is depression awareness month. Depression is a big deal. In fact, more than 16.1 million Americans suffer from Major Depressive Disorder or MDD. It is more prevalent in women than in men. Depression is not in your head and if you have suffered from depression, it is hard to rise above it and be happy even when you should be.
How do you know if you are depressed? One of the signs is extreme sadness that you can’t pull yourself out of. Although it is healthy to feel sad when there is a reason it is not healthy to have a sadness that you cannot overcome. Depression is deep and constant causing you to lose your self-esteem. You are beyond sadness that isn’t mixed with pleasant memories. Doctors and researchers think that the brain chemical serotonin is the key. If you experience this type of sadness than you may be depressed especially if it happens daily and lasts for weeks.
If you have found yourself re-thinking events over and over that you feel as though you have failed in you may be depressed. Depressed people often are haunted by their thoughts of the past even though these moments may have little or no consequences. Is it normal to rethink an event or past mistake? Of course, because you can rethink how you would handle that situation again, however, if it is sapping your energy, interfering with your daily life and relationships and intensifies, seek help. You may be depressed.
Depression will rob you of pleasure because it surpasses the chemicals that ignite your emotions. If you have suddenly stopped enjoying your friends, hobbies or stopped the activities that you loved and cannot pinpoint why you may be depressed. Anhedonia, a condition associated with depression, can occur in varing degrees. Scientists have discovered that this condition stops the ability to maintain a good feeling and a feeling of extreme loneliness enters which causes you to further pull yourself further away from others and become a recluse. Again if this is you seek help, you may be depressed.
If you are using food to make you happy, you may be depressed. We often think of someone who is obese as depressed because we think that they are using food to make themselves happy, however quick unexpected weight loss may also be a sign of depression. Changes in one’s brain chemistry can bring about these changes.
If people are saying, “Can you step up the pace a bit?”, often to you, or interrupting you so that they can say what they need to say to you may be depressed especially if this is happening several times a week. Some people who are depressed talk and move slower. According to the National Institutes for Health unexplained fatigue or tiredness is one of the most common symptoms that patients will say when they are asking for help. Scientists have discovered that depression and fatigue go hand in hand. The sad part is that the medication that is often prescribed often causes fatigue as a side effect. Although this is a symptom not all depressed people will have this if they are depressed.
Depression also causes a need to have obsessive control in some people. This need to control can make the life for a spouse and family almost impossible causing an end to the marriage. Feelings of guilt can then kick in believing that you are a failure to your family and have disappointed them is another sign of depression. When this happens your problem-solving skills stop working correctly because the chemicals that you need are not there. Your ability to separate fact from what you believe to be true is diminished reinforcing the pain of depression.
If you are constantly worrying you may be depressed. It is normal and natural to worry sometimes but if it lasts all day and keeps you up at night this may be a problem. Constant worrying causes your epinephrine, or your fight or flight response, to be active causing a rise in your blood pressure and a rise in your cortisol levels which causes weight gain. Because your cortisol levels are off so is your sleep. You may fall asleep quickly, oversleep or not be able to sleep at all. Depression tends to mess up sleep cycles causing one to feel tired and slowing them down.
Brain fog is another sign of depression. Chemical changes from depression mess with your brain’s chemistry. If your grades are slipping or your quality of work is slipping, you are late for meetings, missing deadlines, or your creativity just isn’t there you may have depression. If someone notices and says something about it take heed and seek medical advice.
When the pain of depression is too much for an individual they sometimes seek relief from this emotional pain with substance abuse. The familiar “feel good drug of choice”, be it drugs or alcohol may raise the use to dangerous levels as the user finds the previous consumption not effective triggering substance abuse. This is a cause for alarm. Seek help or if you know someone who is dealing with this help them get help.
If you begin to neglect your personal care, you may be depressed. This all makes sense because depression changes the way you view yourself, how others view you and your energy is gone. Standing in front of a mirror and looking at yourself seems like a waste of time. Skipping meals or wearing the same clothing for days in a row is also a sign. This can impact your health and your employment. An increase in aches or joint pain or new aches and pains can also increase in cases of depression especially in the elderly and unfortunately the medications prescribed by physicians can trigger depression and causing memory loss or forgetfulness. Sometimes this can cause a fast decline in mental function resulting in forgetting to take medication especially in elderly patients who have always complied. Be careful not to judge them but if they seem depressed help them or get them to talk to their doctor so that they can be helped and not overmedicated.
If you are having suicidal thoughts or attempting suicide seek help. Around 60% of those with depression also have thoughts of suicide and of those 15% will attempt suicide because they actually think that is the only way to end their emotional pain. If you know anyone who shows these symptoms there are places to call for help. 1–800–273-TALK or 1–800-SUICIDE.
Knowledge is power and the more you know the more you can help. Since stress is a factor exercise can help.
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