Most people who have depression do not know what is happening with them. A person can seem physically perfect and alright but still be suffering from depression. You can never comprehend the exact feelings & emotions he is going through unless you stand in his shoes.
We all get depressed at some stage of our lives. Everything gets all gloomy & dark. Sometimes we cannot understand the purpose of our life. Unfortunately, for someone suffering from depression, the feelings of hopelessness, helplessness, and sadness are persistent, and they just don’t go away.
Life gets so uninteresting and tiresome, just waking up and getting through the day feels awful.
Confused about whether you are someone suffering from depression? Here are 7 signs to help you identify the problem immediately.
7 Signs to Help You Identify Depression
- A feeling of being trapped
Feeling of being trapped is unexplainable when it is happening inside your mind. You feel it is nearly impossible to find an escape way. People suffering from depression attempt suicide because they cannot find an escape from this feeling.
It is difficult for an outsider to understand the chaos being created inside the mind of a depression patient. To put it in simple terms – it is just like being trapped inside a room without a door, except the room is your mind and you are the thoughts.
- Feelings of emptiness and hollowness
The most common temporary phase in which someone can experience the feeling of emptiness is during the death of loved ones.
People suffering from other mental disorders like schizophrenia, anxiety or anhedonia may also experience the feeling of emptiness.
For someone said to be suffering from depression, the feeling is always there because he/she cannot find any purpose or meaning of life. Everything seems hopeless and helpless.
This is accompanied by loss of interest and pleasure in various aspects of life, loss of motivational spark and a very low self-esteem.
- Sadness that doesn’t ever go away
We all have been in a certain phase where sadness took over us and we could ultimately get over it! But, if you have been experiencing the feeling of despair and gloominess that you cannot get rid of no matter what, it could be one of the major signs of depression.
Sadness will be a constant no matter what you do, and you wake up with sadness and disinterest in your life.
If you have been living with a constant feeling of regret and sorrowfulness, it is always better to seek out for help before the sadness evokes dangerous feelings like suicidal thoughts and self-harm thoughts.
- Anger, Frustration & Irritability
Anger is temporarily triggered due to many unwanted and unpleasant experiences we wouldn’t want to experience but if your anger has been persistent and long term, it is a sign of depression.
Anger due to depression is associated with other relatable symptoms like an increased heartbeat, high blood pressure, a sudden rage, and aggressive behavior.
Anger and irritability can also lead to other symptoms like substance abuse and violence which is why considering your emotions all the time and nurturing them in a positive way are vital.
- Excessive Eating or Loss of Appetite
Depression changes your appetite. However, the changes vary from one person to the other. Some people may gain weight because of overeating and some may lose weight due to loss of appetite.
Many other medical conditions may cause a sudden weight loss or weight gain but the easiest way to identify whether it is depression is to see whether other symptoms mentioned above are evident along with the changes in dietary habits.
Most of us strive to lose weight naturally but if the weight loss is unintentional, it is due to depression.
- Fatigue and tiredness
Mornings that are refreshing for others seem sluggish and inconvenient for depression patients. They lose interest in activities that used to ignite a spark once upon a time.
This makes it difficult to get out of bed, go to work and face people. Fatigue can be so unreasonable, a night of 7-8 hours of undisturbed sleep can also leave a person sluggish and lethargic.
It is essential to listen to what your body says. There is nothing wrong in taking a break from everything when it is needed the most.
- Isolation
If you know someone who has been distancing himself from everyone intentionally and has been facing difficulty regarding some important aspects of his life, it is pretty much evident that he has been depressed since a long time.
The only best thing you can do is to let him understand that it is only a phase of your life and that he can get over it as time passes by.
Now that you have an overall idea of what depression can feel like, consider how you feel during every situation of your life.
Though depression is a mental illness, there are some physical symptoms like fatigue, exhaustion, change in weight, low energy levels, aching muscles, headache, uneasiness in the stomach, irregular bowel movements and decreased eyesight which make the condition worse and difficult to endure.
If you begin to experience any of these symptoms or if you know someone who has been facing the same, step up, take charge and save a life!