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In any given year, up to 16 million Americans can be dealing with a serious bout of depression. If you’re feeling different but are asking “what does depression feel like?” you need to get an understanding of the symptoms. They vary for everyone but knowing the basics could shed some light on the feelings that you’re struggling with.
Here are five symptoms that will alert you that you’re dealing with depression.
- Serious Fatigue
If you’re feeling deeply fatigued more often than you usually do, you could be dealing with some kind of imbalance or depression. One of the biggest symptoms of depression is also difficulty getting restful sleep. Once this cycle begins, the lack of sleep begets fatigue and they can spiral out of control.
It’s hard to find respite in the things that you like the most in life if you’re too tired to enjoy them. When you have depression, you’ll feel a lack of energy and vitality. This can be deeply debilitating and could entail excessive sleeping or hours spent trying to sleep.
Depression brings along insomnia with it and one could end up causing the other. If you don’t manage your sleep, you could end up with serious anxiety or stress that persists during the day and disrupts your work life. When your depression starts bleeding into the rest of your life, you know it’s taking hold in a problematic way.
- Persistent Anxiety
When depression hits, it can manifest as anxiety that you can’t shake. If you’re feeling anxious but also not sleeping well, you’re getting the one-two punch of insomnia and anxiety that only work to make each other more intense.
While some people think of depression as being a disease that empties you out of energy, it can fill you with the nervous energy that feels impossible to deal with.
When you feel tense and you can’t find the cause of it, but you know it’s driving you up the wall, that could be anxiety talking. If you have feelings that danger is on the horizon or disaster is about to strike, it could be depression related anxiety hitting you.
Watch for your heart rate or your breathing to become shallow, rapid, and hard to shake. If you’re sweating more than normal or feel your body trembling, that could be a sign that you’ve got anxiety that is linked to depression.
Look out for problems focusing or staying on a task. These are likewise signs of anxiety and depression.
- Hopelessness
One of the more obvious signs of depression is a feeling of hopelessness you can’t shake. Depression is a mood disorder that can affect how you feel about your life in a general sense. If you can’t help but feel hopeless, you could be struggling with depression.
Worthlessness and guilt that aren’t linked to anything specific often accompany a serious bout of depression. Even though you haven’t done anything, one news item or a comment from a friend could send you spiraling into a bout of self-hate. While it’s not truly linked to what they would ever want you to feel, it can be hard to break free.
If you’re repeating phrases like “what’s the point?” or “it’s all my fault” over and over in your head, you’re dealing with depression. You need to talk to someone so that you can get through these feelings and see what they really mean. In all likelihood, they have nothing to do your actions at all.
- Irritability
While some people might be longing for contact and connection, other people might find that depression causes them to become irritable. When you need people to reach out and help you, you could be reacting in a way that could turn them away. This could give you the opposite of the effect you desire and result in people not reaching out when you need them the most.
Men may react differently than women in the degree of irritability they display as a result of depression. They are more likely to seek out dangerous behavior that results in escapism. Both men and women could take their misplaced anger out on other people as a result of or in tandem with abusing illegal substances.
You need to seek treatment if you’re dealing with depression. Men happen to also be less likely to seek help for their depression. If you or a loved one is dealing with depression, support them in finding help.
- Appetite and Weight Fluctuation
There can be a variety of ways that this manifests in people who are dealing with depression. Some people might seek food as a solace and overeat as a result of their depression. Others will avoid food altogether and opt for the low energy solution that leads to more sleep and persistent weight loss.
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Some people will be hungry while others won’t be at all. This reaction to depression will vary depending on who the sufferer is. IF you have a loved one who has depression, watch their weight and their eating habits. if you find that they’re skipping meal after meal, encourage them to eat with you.
If you’re the one skipping meals, try to work food into your recovery routine. Make a hearty breakfast part of your recovery efforts. Go to a diner every morning and meditate on the way back.
Do whatever it takes to reach a level of normalcy where you feel comfortable again.
Everyone has a Different Answer for What Does Depression Feel Like
People wondering just what does depression feel like may or may not be dealing with depression of some type. Depression can feel like a cloud or a great weight around your shoulders that you can’t get free of. If you’re struggling with depression, you need to understand the symptoms so that you can seek help.
If you’re looking for some coping strategies for your next bout of depression, follow these tips.
