Depression Signs and Symptoms
If you or someone you know is experiencing suicidal thoughts, please call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline, available 24 hours a day, at 1-800-273-8255
It is completely natural for you to feel down at certain times of your life. But when such feelings don’t go away, there is a high chance you may be suffering from chronic depression. Depression has the ability to affect any person, regardless of age and sex. Therefore, it is important for you to have a clear understanding about this mental health condition that impacts millions of lives around the world.
What exactly is depression?
Depression can simply be defined as a debilitating and common mood disorder. It would be something more than the sadness that you show towards the negative feelings in your life. Depression is so powerful that it can create a tremendous impact on your ability to sleep, eat, study, work and enjoy life. You would feel that you are always surrounded by hopelessness, helplessness and worthlessness.
Most people tend to describe depression as a black hole that they experience in life. On the other hand, other people tend to feel apathetic, empty and lifeless. No matter how you experience depression, you need to take necessary steps in order to treat the condition as soon as possible. It is important for you to have an understanding about the symptoms associated with depression so you may seek the appropriate recovery options available.
Signs and symptoms of depression
Feelings of hopelessness and helplessness can be considered as the most common symptoms associated with depression. You would feel that nothing in your life is getting better. You would not have an understanding about the steps you should take to improve the situation as well. Moreover, you will lose the interest that you had towards day to day activities in life. If you have been following a hobby or passion, you would lose interest, the “color” of life is removed or muted.
You may experience drastic changes to your appetite. Some people experience almost zero desire to eat and would therefore see a sudden drop in weight. Others will eat much more than usual to try and fill that “void” and gain considerable size. Either way, these changes are usually seen as negative, and continue the cycle of negative feelings towards life. Similar to weight, wide changes in sleep patterns are very common as well, with some cases people sleeping 12 hours a day or more.
Irritability and anger can be considered as another common symptom associated with depression. You would always feel restless and agitated, your tolerance level for little annoyances would go down. Depression can also create an impact on your overall energy levels. Due to this reason, you would feel sluggish, fatigued and physically drained.
When to get help
If the support you receive from friends and family members for depression recovery is not enough, you may need to seek professional assistance. A variety of treatment options are available for you to consider and overcome depression. It is never too late to open a new door and take back control of your life. Depression does not need to define who you are as a person.
If you or a loved one has an addiction or substance abuse problem, it’s important to seek help early. Contact the Arizona Addiction Recovery Center now by visiting https://arizonaaddictioncenter.org or calling 602.346.9130.
