Am I Depressed or Just Down?
Feeling down and out? Your life feels doomed and overwhelming? Depression is a term that’s thrown around a lot in the modern era’s improving culture of mental health awareness. We say we’re depressed when we’re sad. But how do you know if you are just feeling down or if there is something more serious that needs addressing?
Are you Depressed?
An immediate distinction between feeling sad and being depressed is something psychologists call ‘anhedonia’. Anhedonia is the inability to feel pleasure in normally pleasurable activities. Alongside this is a general lack of motivation (which makes sense because why would you be motivated to do anything when nothing gives you pleasure right?!). Sadness, like any human emotion, passes. Anhedonia doesn’t as quickly and is therefore a reliable indicator towards depression.
Timeframe is also a diagnostic criterion of depressive disorders. If you have been experiencing anhedonia every day for two weeks and don’t have an immediate explanation for why you might be feeling this way (such as death of someone close to you or a relationship breakup for example), this could be a good time to visit your GP or mental health professional for further assessment.
How Common is Depression?
Depression will affect 1 in 7 people in their lifetime. This statistic is higher in certain populations like some minority groups and at certain times in people’s lives. The bottom line: Depression is a massive problem in our society.
Stigma and shame often get in the way of people accessing support. I often meet people in my practice who have been experiencing suicidal thoughts or depressed mood for years without ever telling anyone about it. There is no weakness in acknowledging we need help. This is the most courageous thing to do.
Different Types of Depression
The earlier mental health problems are recognised, the easier they can be to treat and overcome. Different types of depression can be separated into the following categories:
• Mild depression: has some impact on daily life
• Moderate depression: has a significant impact on daily life
• Severe depression: makes it almost impossible to get through daily life
• Postnatal depression: experienced by parents after having a baby
• Bipolar disorder: when mood swings from one extreme to another
• Seasonal affective disorder: depression caused by seasonal patterns
What to Look Out For
At the risk of oversimplifying depression and overdiagnosis, here is a huge list of symptoms that go hand in hand with depression. Just because you are experiencing a few of these, this doesn’t diagnose you with depression but if you are reading through the list and ticking boxes throughout perhaps it’s worth a GP check-up. Another reason to visit a GP is that many depressive symptoms can be caused by physiological issues and so it is important to rule these out first. Request a long appointment when you book to see your doctor so that you’re not rushing to explain everything that you are experiencing.
Emotional symptoms
• Feeling sensitive and vulnerable
• Tearful
• Feeling numb, empty and full of despair
• Experiencing a sense of unreality
• Restlessness and agitation
• Anxiety
• Increased irritability
• Lack of energy, motivation, positivity and enthusiasm
• Feeling worse in the morning and not wanting to get out of bed
• Feelings of extreme guilt
• Confusion
• Feeling helpless or hopeless
• Inability to switch off from negative thoughts
Cognitive symptoms
• Inability to concentrate or make decisions
• Difficulty remembering things
• Negative state of mind
• Self-blame
• Constant worrying
• Loss of self-confidence and self-esteem
• Suicidal ideation
Behavioural symptoms
• Avoiding social events
• Avoiding contact with friends
• Having difficulties in home and family life
• Not doing enjoyable activities like previously enjoyed hobbies
• Finding it difficult to speak
• Turning to drugs or alcohol as a way of coping
Physical symptoms
• Sleeping issues such as insomnia
• Increased or reduced appetite
• Loss of sex drive
• Self harm
• Aches and pains with no obvious physical cause
• Tiredness and no energy
• Moving very slowly
How to Manage It?
The first step of treatment is assessment. Foremost from a medical practitioner to rule out physiological conditions that may be affecting your mood and energy. From here, your GP may recommend an antidepressant. Take note that this may or may not help. There are many different types of antidepressants. Overall, the evidence indicates that antidepressants don’t work for everyone but that you have an increased chance of them working if you combine them with psychotherapy or at least some change in lifestyle. For many people, medications might not be necessary and some fundamental changes with the help of a trained mental health professional can be enough.
Therapy comes in many forms. For me in my work, I begin behavioural and work towards cognitive and emotional factors that are underpinning someone’s depression. Behavioural means creating consistency, routine, and a balance of RAP activities in my clients’ lives (Responsibilities, Achievements, Pleasures). It might sound boring but without this foundation, it is much harder to work on challenging negative thought patterns, teaching mindfulness, learning emotional regulation and distress tolerance skills or processing past experiences. These cognitive and emotional skills are adopted from Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT), Acceptance & Commitment Therapy (ACT) and Dialectical Behaviour Therapy (DBT) and are all demonstrated to help an individual move out of a depressive episode.
Please note, if you are experiencing suicidal thoughts, call Lifeline or Beyond Blue now. It is an anonymous phone call that could change your life. 13 11 14