Healing from Depression; Recognizing Depression Symptoms

The obnoxious alarm ringtone of my phone induces a dread I am growing familiar with. I swipe the "snooze" button and roll over hoping my covers will shield me from the inevitable. My body aches already. For two weeks it seems as though my motivation to get out of bed has disappeared. Now that I think about it, my motivation for anything is gone. I haven't gone to work in two days. I'll probably skip again today and sleep. I feel so tired all the time. I haven't been enjoying my hobbies. Reading used to be fun but now I can't focus on that for longer than a minute or two. I feel like such a failure.

Have you had this dialogue or something similar with yourself before? If you have, it's possible you've experienced depression. It might feel scary to think you've been depressed before or are experiencing depression now. The good news is, you're not alone. More than 8% of adults in the U.S. experience depression each year. That's around 21 million people. In fact, depression or major depressive disorder, is one of the most common mental health disorders in the U.S.

As a depression counselor I have seen how depression affects many different people. Even though everyone's experience with depression is different, there are still some common symptoms that everyone experiences when they're depressed. Let's take a look at some of the more common symptoms.

Feeling Down, Depressed, or Hopeless

This probably seems obvious. If you're experiencing depression then of course a symptom would be feeling depressed. Stay with me though. This is included as a symptom because it differentiates between typical sadness, and what is considered depression. Sadness typically has a source. Getting fired from your job, or being stood up on a date can induce sadness. Another key characteristic of sadness is that it goes away in a relatively short time. It doesn't stick around for weeks.

Depression is different. Depression can have a source like sadness but over time, the source of feeling down is lost in the mix of depression and you're left with feeling depressed with seemingly little explanation or source. The unique thing about depression is, it can also simply not have a source. It just comes out of nowhere.

The other key feature that differentiates depression from typical sadness is how persistent it is. Depression sticks around for a relatively long time compared to sadness. The official criteria is at least two weeks but it's often longer than that. If you feel sad for a long time and either don't know why or lost the reason why, you may fit this symptom.

Little Interest or Pleasure in Doing Things.

Now we're getting into symptoms you're probably looking for. Loss of interest in things that you typically enjoy is a pretty common symptom of depression. Not enjoying things like your hobbies is as well. This depression symptom can be pretty frustrating. If you've been to counseling, you have probably been told to do some self-care by enjoying a hobby. The frustrating thing about this symptom of depression is that you don't enjoy what you once did. This can sometimes even turn into a positive feedback loop where that frustration will make you feel more depressed which leads to even more diminished interest, which frustrates you, which leads to more depression, and so on.

Changes in Sleep

I remember prior to my education and training as a counselor, thinking that anyone who was depressed just slept all day. That isn't the actually the case. The reason this symptoms is "changes in sleep" is because it can go two ways. Either sleeping too much like I had always assumed, but trouble falling or staying asleep as well.

Similar to lack of interest or enjoyment of things, trouble with sleep can exacerbate depression symptoms and make it stick around longer. If you think about any time you spent a lot of time in bed, or slept in longer that you really needed to, you probably didn't feel that great. It's the same with this symptom of depression. Staying in bed all day often makes you feel more depressed. It also isolates you from others which brings a whole other set of issues.

The effects of not sleeping enough is pretty obvious. We never feel good when we don't get enough sleep. This can lead to increased feelings of fatigue which can affect our ability to function during the day.

Changes in Eating Behavior

Just as with changes in sleep, this symptom of depression can go two directions as well. Typically this symptom consists of either overeating as a way to cope with depressed mood, or a loss of appetite to the point of not eating much or even not eating at all for prolonged amounts of time.

Mood is significantly affected by food. Not only can food induce a release of dopamine when we enjoy what we eat which is what makes us feel good, but it can induce feelings of frustration, impatience, and anger (i.e. feeling "hangry") when we don't eat enough or eat at all. Getting enough food is a great way to help reduce feelings of depression.

Feeling Bad About Yourself or That You're a Failure

This symptom of depression is interesting to me because it can play a part in experiencing depression in two ways. First, it could be the catalyst for depression setting in. Experiencing a failure is stressful and can make you feel sad. If it's a significant enough failure, or repeated enough, it can likely foster feelings of depression. Second, it can be a byproduct of other depression symptoms. When you feel depressed and lack motivation, you don't do the things you need to like work or tasks at home. As a result, you could be letting others down which then increases bad feelings about yourself and adds to your depression intensity.

It is important to remember that you're value as a person is not dependent on your mood. Nearly everyone will experience a depressive episode at some point in their life. This does not take away from your value.

Trouble Concentrating

Recognizing this symptom is fairly straightforward. If you find yourself struggling with concentrating on things you typically don't have a problem focusing on like watching TV, or simple household tasks, you may be experiencing this symptom. Just like in the example at the beginning of this post, if you enjoyed reading and you find yourself unable to concentrate on a book you were enjoying or have enjoyed in the past you're possibly experiencing this symptom. This symptom often times goes hand in hand with a lack of motivation or loss of pleasure in activities you usually do.

Thoughts of Being Better Off Dead or of Hurting Yourself

This can be a hard topic to talk about. The reality is, it isn't a unique experience. At some point, everyone will have a suicidal thought. You aren't broken or lost if you have these thoughts. You actually normal. Depression doesn't always lead to thoughts of killing yourself or hurting yourself but it can lead there. Sometimes this symptom isn't always as severe as actively planning how to kill yourself but rather it's a more passive thought such as wishing you hadn't woken up that morning.

If you are having thoughts of killing yourself or harming yourself in some way, you can get help immediately. Call or text 988 to talk to someone who can help. Click here to chat online as well.

Depression is Treatable

The good news about depression is that it is treatable. Depression counseling is a great way to start to address the depression symptoms you are experiencing. Counseling for depression often involves an initial assessment so your counselor can get an idea of how severe your symptoms are and when they started. Then you will likely start to explore how depression has affected you and what skills you can use to help reduce and cope with the symptoms of depression. Sometimes depression is severe enough that coping on your own is too overwhelming. If that is the case, your counselor will most likely connect you with a medical professional to talk about medications that can help as well.

Depression is treatable. Reach out to a local mental health care provider if you think you're experiencing depression. You can contact Ridgeline Counseling to start depression treatment with Samuel Dalton, a depression counselor.