Though we may shy
away from the topic, depression is a real mental health issue that will affect
most people in their lifetime.
How can you tell if you are depressed?
A surprising number of us may fail to spot the signs that we might be suffering
from depression.
This is because so many of us are
afraid to talk about depression, says Dave Gallson, associate executive
director of the Mood Disorders Society of Canada (MDSC). “And the real reason
most people will not talk about this is because of the stigma attached to
depression,” he says. This stigma only exacerbates depression— and is in fact
dangerous, because it prevents many people from seeking help.
Alexandra Kaey of the Canadian Mental
Health Association agrees. “If somebody has a physical disability, there is no
blame attached. But there has always been a stigma attached to mental health
issues. Friends, family and employers may act as though it’s ‘your fault’ or
that you haven’t the stamina to deal with what life throws at you,” she says.
“Feeling they have nowhere to go, often blaming themselves, it then becomes an
invisible disability that takes over everything in one’s life.”
Being afraid to admit to a problem we
perceive as a sign of weakness may lead us to fail to pay attention to the
signs—from the dramatic and the obvious, to the subtle and the secret. We know
that suicidal thoughts, feelings of “worthlessness,” withdrawing from friends
and family, and constant fatigue are signs of depression—but many of us might
not realize that dramatic insomnia, irrational anger, and persistent aches and
pains can be clues as well.
There is no simple test for
depression—diagnoses are made based on a suite of symptoms. Practitioners and
therapists look for a number of signs; if somebody experiences half a dozen or
so of a list of key symptoms for more than two weeks, a diagnosis of depression
is likely.
“We all manifest the symptoms in
different ways,” says Kaey. “It’s not a simple thing to diagnose—which is all
the more reason to keep on top of it and pay attention to your feelings and
health.”
Could you be depressed without
realizing it? Here are eight signs that you might be suffering from depression.
1. Weight changes
Depression can result in a total lack of
interest in food, so somebody may begin to lose weight without even realizing
it. But the opposite can happen, too: to fill the emotional void, some of us
turn to food and will gain weight in turn.
2. Sleep problems
Just like with appetite, the physical changes
can swing to either extreme. You may suddenly find that you’re tired and
sleeping all day, or that you can’t get a wink’s shuteye at all. A particularly
common form of sleep deprivation is to find yourself waking up in the middle of
the night, night after night.
3. Aches and pains
“A lot of people don’t realize that depression
comes with bona fide physical symptoms,” says Gallson. Feeling sick to your
stomach, knots in the gut, a weak immune system and constant colds and flu,
whole body aches and pains, and exacerbated chronic conditions (such as
arthritis) can all come with a depressive episode.
4. Anger and irritability
“If you are
continually depressed, you can become extremely frustrated, and this can manifest
as anger,” says Kaey. Anger is depression turned inward, as the expression
goes. Having a short fuse, and finding that little things that would normally
not bother you suddenly have the power to completely ruin your day could be a
sign of buried depression.
5. Alcoholism
About 40 percent of people who suffer from
depression struggle with alcohol, according to the MDSC. Drug use—illicit and
prescription—are also common ways that many of us try to escape our emotions.
It doesn’t just mask the problem, it can also make things worse; liver damage
and poor health only worsen depressive episodes.
6. Concentration
issues
Finding yourself
unable to focus, taking three hours to do something that ought to take half an
hour, struggling to formulate your thoughts coherently—these are also factors
that come with depression. If you constantly feel that you have no mental
energy, and feel like your mind is muffled and numb, it may be time to seek
help.
7. Problems with work
Depression can
severely interfere with your ability to work—waking up in the morning and not
feeling capable of getting out of bed can lead people to long bouts of
absenteeism. But even just missing a day or two every week—or just constantly
coming in late and leaving early—is a common sign. “Presenteeism,” meaning
regular attendance but failure to get anything done, is also a sign.
8. Lack of sex drive
A complete and total lack of interest in sex
can be (but is not always) a feature of depression. If you are in a
relationship, a total lack of desire for your loving partner can make you feel
even more guilty, self-loathing and insecure—sometimes forcing you even deeper
into depression.
According to the specialists, the most
important thing to remember is that there are effective treatments out there,
from medication to talking therapies. And up to 80 percent of people who suffer
from depression respond well to treatment, according to the MDSC.
What is crucial, says
Keay, is to be aware of these signs and to seek treatment and help as soon as
possible—otherwise, you risk heading into “a spiral, where you don’t want to
talk to anyone about it. And that just makes things worse,” she says. “Just
small incremental things like exercise, going out during the day in the winter
[when a lack of sunlight and seasonal affective disorder can kick in for a lot
of us], picking up the phone and talking to somebody, even just going to a
coffee shop to vent with a friend, all those little things can help get you out
of that spiral.”
Source: Best Health magazine
