Have been feeling more ‘down and out’ than ‘up and about’ off late? Almost all of the symptoms of depression on their own are experienced by everyone at one time or another. However, if you have been dealing with five or more of the following symptoms on an ongoing basis, affecting you adversely, impairing your daily functioning you are likely to be suffering from clinical depression. Depression has both physical as well as emotional symptoms including:
Sleep disturbance
In the form of hypersomnia - excessive sleeping - as an escape from dealing with things or insomnia - an inability to sleep - resulting in being tired all the time
Change in appetite
Be it experiencing a loss of appetite resulting in fatigue and weight loss or compulsive eating to sooth your ‘emotional hunger’ with food binges
Being on edge, getting easily frustrated or angry
As a result of experiencing high levels of tension and fatigue making it difficult to cope with the normal stresses and strains of day to day life
Lack of interest and loss of libido
Marked by a sense of apathy no longer finding pleasure in activities that you once enjoyed, including sex
Lack of focus and concentration
Resulting in ‘brain fog’ or unfocused thinking leaving you feeling disoriented and scattered affecting your ability to make choices and decisions
Feelings of worthlessness/hopelessness
Having persistently negative thoughts about life in general and yourself in particular, typically fuelled by a sense of low self esteem
Withdrawal from social interactions
Preferring to shut yourself off from the world by limiting contact with friends and family and avoiding company in general
Feeling mentally and physically lethargic
with no energy to get through the day dragging yourself through the motions and just getting by somehow
Frequent aches and pains
Including headaches, stomach aches, muscle pains which are often psychological symptoms disguised as physical symptoms caused by chronic stress, worry or anxiety
Feeling a sense of foreboding and anxiety
Characterised by an impending sense of doom manifesting in the form of panic attacks or crying jags for no apparent reason
Even thought opinions on the line of treatment can be varied it is widely held that depression is a result of chemical imbalance in the brain caused by a multitude of reasons, leaving you compromised, adversely impacting the quality of your life, with your self worth being on an all time low and your emotional vulnerability being on an all time high. Recognising the telltale signs and seeking professional help in the form of counselling and therapy is the first step in dealing with depression.