Although depression is one of the most common mental health struggles across the country (and even the world), it still comes with a stigma. Many people do not understand what depression means and these same people may even be suffering from depression themselves. While it can be difficult to treat, especially when those with depression resist help, it becomes easier if you can recognise the signs of depression.
Suppose you haven’t felt yourself lately but cannot determine why. It could be depression that can manifest in various ways. Just to be sure, consider these most common signs you suffer from depression to encourage you to take action and help yourself.
You’ve Lost Your Appetite
One of the most common symptoms of depression is losing your appetite. Even when you do eat, you may find food tastes bland, almost ashy. You wonder if you’ll ever enjoy food again. Studies have found the link between taste and appetite is clear, and while there could be other reasons you have lost your appetite and cannot taste anything, there’s a strong chance that the true answer is depression.
You Don’t Find Any Joy In Your Hobbies
Once upon a time, you had hobbies; things you loved to do; activities that brought you joy. But these days may be long gone and now you can’t find enjoyment in anything you do. Whether it’s exercise, reading, playing games, or simply watching TV, nothing feels fun. You’re just going through the motions waiting until you can go to bed or start work tomorrow. This issue is often a sign of depression, but you can explore these hobbies that can help when you are depressed to overcome the problem and hopefully find something you love again.
Your Sleep Habits Have Changed
People with depression also experience a shift in their sleep habits. This shift could go one of two ways. You might suffer from insomnia and struggle to get a decent night’s sleep, or you might find that you sleep too much because you don’t feel there’s anything worth getting out of bed for. While having a lie-in now and then is okay (and even beneficial for self-care), doing it too often could impact your career, relationships, and physical well-being.
You’re Going Through Mood Swings
You could also be going through significant mood swings that you cannot explain and these mood swings are putting a strain on your relationships with your partner, friends and family, and even your coworkers. However, you could also experience more severe mood swings that could result in suicidal ideation as you feel like that is the only escape. Most people assume people with depression are always sad, but that isn’t strictly true, and they can look and feel good, although the lows are always worse than the highs.
You Don’t Have Energy
The reality of depression fatigue can hit you harder than you expect but it can also explain a lot and help you identify your problems, which will encourage you to take things more seriously. If you struggle to get out of bed or don’t feel up to meeting friends, it could be due to fatigue caused by your depression. This issue makes it difficult to stay healthy and can interfere with your workout and exercise routine as much as anything else.
You Don’t Feel You’re Worth It
All of your depressive symptoms can culminate in thinking you’re not worth it, which can also risk suicidal ideation as well as other problems that include imposter syndrome, anxiety, and paranoia. Whether you feel that the people you see on social media are the definition of perfect (they aren’t) or you assume that every compliment you get is someone making fun of you, your depression plays incredible tricks on your mind and you will begin to convince yourself that it’s right, but that is never the case.
It’s Challenging to Focus
Depression makes it challenging to focus on anything. You can struggle to pay attention at work which could harm your performance. You may discover that you can’t read more than a few sentences of a book without switching off and needing to reread it. The same goes for TV and movies. Furthermore, driving a car could be catastrophic. There are other reasons you could struggle to focus, such as untreated ADHD, but if you feel you’re typically adept at staying focused, it could be the depression rearing its ugly head.
You’re Indulging In Risky Behavior
People who experience depression can get to the point when they want to experience something different, which causes them to engage in risky behavior that will only affect them, but also their friends and family or even strangers. Risky behavior could include personality changes where they indulge in things they would not have done before. It could also lead to taking drugs or binge drinking.
You Experience More Anxiety
Many people suffer from anxiety, especially workplace anxiety where you always feel you’re seconds from being fired. Depression and anxiety have a common connection, and if you suffer from one thing, there’s more chance of suffering from the other. If you feel anxious about money, work, friends, or just the state of the world, you could consider this a significant sign of depression, so it’s worth taking steps to solve it.
You Feel Lost Or Hopeless
It’s likely you also feel lost or hopeless like life is not worth living. There are various levels at which this can impact you and everyone thinks this once in a while but that doesn’t mean everyone is depressed. Instead, it becomes an issue if you only think about how hopeless your life is. If this sounds familiar, checking yourself into rehab for depression can help you learn coping mechanisms to work through your struggles and come out the other side feeling better.
The Signs
It is easy to miss the signs of depression when you don’t want to see them. However, you must recognize when you feel different and are not entirely yourself. It may not always be depression, but severe mood swings and feeling lost often point to more significant issues. The sooner you study yourself and consider what is wrong, the sooner you can take action and work on getting better.
