Signs of depression

Depression is one of the most common but serious mental illness. Approx 264 million people are affected by depression worldwide. But still most of the cases of depression and not reported. This is mainly because of the stigma attached with mental health illness or that the people are not able to detect it, since they are not aware of the warning signs. People usually shrug the signs of depression, thinking that it’s temporary, and are just the effect of current circumstances or stressful situations. The difference between feeling low and the signs of depression is the intensity of it and how much persistent they are. We usually feel low when we are faced with stressful circumstances. But, when these feelings intensify, accompanied with at least 5 other symptoms of depression, and remain for two consecutive weeks or more, then it’s time to consult a mental health professional.

WARNING SIGNS OF DEPRESSION:

• Feeling helpless and hopeless : feeling helpless and deprived of hope up and thinking that nothing good will happen now is one of the most common symptom of depression.
• Self loathing : criticizing yourself accompanied with feelings of guilt, worthlessness, disappointment,self hate and sadness. You feel miserable all the time.
• Losing interest in things you used to love : you’re not able to find joy in anything, even in the things you earlier enjoyed (any hobby, sports or even sexual activities). For instance, you loved going out with friends or playing basketball or any other hobby but now you don’t feel like doing it.
• Tiredness or fatigue : you feel tired and drained all the time, like someone sucked the energy out of you. Even getting out of bed seems impossible.
• Persistent sleep difficulty : excessive sleeping or sleeplessness or insomnia can be a symptom of depression (not if it’s for a day or two). Any such change in sleeping habits must be attended to.
• Mood swings and uncontrollable emotions : it takes less than a second for you to change from one emotion to another. One time you are angry and then a second later you are sad or are crying, and you have no control over it.
• Changes in appetite and weight : either the appetite has increased and a person starts overeating, which results in increased weight, or some may not feel hungry at all resulting in dramatic weight loss.
• Trouble in concentrating : not able to focus on anything, difficulty in making decisions and not able to remember little things. Even watching TV can be difficult for them since they can’t concentrate or remember details.
• Irritability, restlessness and feeling anxious : some of the people with depression may experience anger, irritation, restlessness and frustration instead of sadness or hopelessness.
• Withdrawing from family and friends : slowly withdrawing themselves from family and friends may be a sign of depression.
• Suicidal thoughts : talking or thinking a lot about death and suicide, or have attempted to commit suicide. Self harming behaviour should not be ignored.
• Unexplained physical pain : since our mind and body are connected, we are likely to feel physical pain when struggling with mental illness. Frequent backaches, headaches, stomach pain and muscle pain without any reason may be a sign of depression.

• Careless and life risking behaviour : substance abuse and other dangerous activities that may harm life.
• Pessimist thoughts : viewing every event and future negatively may be one of the signs of depression.

Symptoms of depression can vary with gender and age.

Men mostly complain about tiredness and loss of interest. They are more likely to experience irritation, frustration, agitation, anger, instead of hopelessness. They are most likely to adapt to substance abuse and reckless behaviour.

Women mostly experience guilt, excessive sleeping and overeating.

Older adults focus more on physical pain than emotional pain.

Teens on the other hand mostly experience irritability, anger, agitation instead of sadness. They too experience unexplained physical pain.

Thoughts like “I am a failure”, “everything’s my fault”, “I am worthless”, “nothing will never be fine again”, “people would be better off without me” etc conquer the mind of the person with depression. Depression interferes with the person’s ability to eat, sleep, work, play and enjoy life. Depression is caused by biological (brain chemicals imbalance, abnormal activity in parts of brain, nutritional deficiencies or shrinking of brain cells), psychological and social factors, such as, past trauma or abuse, loneliness, lifestyle changes, stressful life experiences, low self esteem and substance abuse. It can also result from combination of these three factors.

COPING WITH DEPRESSION

• Talk to others and share your feelings : one can feel really lonely and hopeless. Talking to others help. Spend time with people who love you and care about you. Share your feelings with someone you trust. Talk to someone who you think will understand and will not judge. If you don’t have someone are you feel like you will burden them, the you can talk to someone on an app like WeHeal. It is an Android app which aims to heal other people. You can share your feelings anonymously through open letters. The healers who are the users of the app will reply to them. You can even talk personally to the healer if you don’t want to discuss them openly. You will be kept anonymous and no one can even take a screenshot a screen record. You can confess anything or discuss any situation on this app, whether it’s about feelings of loneliness, hopelessness other issues relating to studies, careers, relationships, Heartbreak etc. The WeHeal app also provides motivational and encouraging short stories and quotes to instill inspiration.
• Physical activities : exercising, running, walking or doing any other physical activity releases endorphins in your body which boosts your mood. Force yourself to get up even when it doesn’t feel like.
• Eat a healthy diet : cut down sugar and refined carbs in your diet. Increase the intake of zinc and Omega 3 fatty acids in your diet as the lift up mood. Avoid alcohol, drugs or smoking.
• Practice meditation, yoga and breathing techniques : please help you calm down and relax. You can practice meditation with the help of WeHeal app. It has three inbuilt modes, which provide meditation commentary, happiness quiz and a game to improve patience.

• Try to convert your negative thoughts into positive : whenever you are having negative thoughts which destroy your self esteem, exchange them with a positive one.

Depression causes major changes in a person’s emotions and behaviours and has a damaging effect on their life. But depression is treatable. One should not be ashamed to ask for help. Half of the people don’t take help for depression because of the stigmas attached to the mental illness. This should be stopped soon as it can damage someone’s life. WeHeal app has taken an amazing step to normalise it and give a platform to people to talk about their problems.