Am I depressed?
Introduction
Do you experience long bouts of low mood but aren’t sure if its depression? If you ever ask the question, “am I depressed?”, this article will help you to get clear on this and also provide some tips to help.
Am I depressed?
The word depression is overused today, it can sometimes be difficult to get an understanding of exactly what it is and noticing the difference between feeling sad and suffering from depression. The symptoms of depression are listed below but the main thing to consider is whether you feel low in mood more often than not along with persistent negative thoughts about yourself, the world around you or others. You will also find some handy tips to help.
How does depression develop?
There are many possible causes for depression, sometimes you may be fully aware of exactly how it developed, other times you may not. The positive thing is that it is not always necessary to know how the depression developed, treatment can be helpful whether you are aware of this or not.
All of us have rules for living and these rules can help us to accomplish our goals. On the other hand, we may also have rules for living that serve us well in some circumstances but then become problematic in others.
Let’s look at an example.
This is Folu.
Folu grew up in a household where achieving at the highest level was expected and for the most part achieved. This meant she was always very driven to achieve high grades at school and later university.
As a result of this she felt a huge sense of achievement and that she was a worthwhile, successful person. One of Folu’s rules for living was that she was a worthwhile person if she achieved at the highest level.
This rule was very much intertwined with her ability to achieve her goals. This served her well for many years as she achieved her goals and surpassed the expectations of others.
Unfortunately, she started working for an organisation where things did not go to plan. She found that she was no longer achieving as she expected to.
Folu started to feel like this wasn’t a worthwhile person. This in turn had the impact of causing her to see herself in a negative way and also meant that she believed that other people wouldn’t accept her when they realised that she wasn’t as successful as she once had been.
The example above shows that our rules for living can help or hinder the way we view ourselves. Coming to an understanding of what these rules for living are is an invaluable tool in understanding how depression develops.
This allows us to explore whether the rules for living we have are based on objective fact or whether there were other reasons for them.
In Folu’s case, it could be helpful to explore what it means to be a worthwhile person and how she can measure this.
Another thing about our rules for living is that we often do not question them. We accept them as they are. Looking at our rules for living in this way can help us to take a step back from our feelings.
Symptoms
The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders is a manual used to assess whether someone is experiencing symptoms consistent with a number of difficulties. Depression is one of these.
It highlights that depression includes these symptoms
One of the following
- Depressed mood and/or reduced interest in things
Plus at least four of the following items within a two week period
- Change in weight
- Sleeping more or less than is usual for you
- Being fidgety or slower than is usual for you
- Low energy/fatigue
- Persistent negative thoughts specifically linked to worthlessness or guilt
- Difficulty concentrating or being indecisive.
- Thoughts that life isn’t worth living, of death or suicide
You might find that you identify with some or all of these symptoms at various points. If that is the case, some formal support may help you to explore this matter.
Feeling hopeless
One of the common symptoms of depression is hopelessness. Again, people who feel depressed tend to see themselves and others in a more bleak way.
Also, there may be persistent thoughts that things will never get better, that there is no hope that they will feel positive about life again. Some people have a sense of wanting to run away, to escape whatever may be going on.
For others, they may start to have thoughts that life isn’t worth living. Some people consider self-harm or suicide due to not seeing that there is any other way out.
If that is the case for you, please know that you don’t need to suffer alone. Please click on this link for the Samaritans a UK organisation that provide free support 24/7.
It is important to know that these thoughts are common when people are distressed and therapy can be a really useful tool to understand and challenge these thoughts.
Remember, you don’t have to suffer alone. If you are in the UK, you can contact the Samaritans, speak to your GP or medical professional or attend a local A&E department for help. If you live outside of the UK I would encourage you to explore what you options are for seeking help.
Let’s look at an example
Let’s say there was a marathon runner who ran marathons because of her passion for running. We can call her Sam. Every year Sam plans some of her days away to coincide with marathons around the world. Her favourite is usually the Berlin marathon as she really enjoys running through Berlin in the cooler September months.
Last year Samantha was unable to run the Berlin marathon because she fell and broke her ankle. As a result of this accident she had to rest her ankle and was referred for physiotherapy to help to strengthen her ankle. In her first session with the physio she reported feeling ashamed because she was no longer able to go on her usual morning jog as although her leg had healed she had lost a lot of strength.
Think for a moment about what that must be like for Sam. She had spent so many years being able to push her body to the maximum, being able to, and even enjoying running further than most would walk.
The bumpy road to recovery
How do you imagine she might be feeling as a result of this major shift. I mentioned earlier that she felt ashamed because she was no longer able to do what she could before.
After a few sessions of physio, Sam is able to get to the point where she can jog around her block. This is a distance of around ½ a mile rather than the 26.2 miles she had been able to run before.
Imagine for a moment that you were Sam’s physio and she came in to a session with you saying that she had done so poorly as she was only able to run around the block. As a physio who had worked with a number of people with injuries, understanding the journey she was on and how much the injury knocked her. Do you think you might see Sam’s ability to run around the block differently to Sam?
It is likely that you might see things differently. Sam’s focus is on assessing her progress compared to when she was injury free and at the peak of her weakness. When we consider things from this perspective, a jog around the block does not seem like much of an achievement.
Let’s take a journey to a different perspective
We have seen that from Sam’s perspective jogging around the block feels initially like failure. However, if you consider the fact that given what Sam has been through, from being able to walk on her ankle from being able to jog around the block. We can see that she has made a huge amount of progress. In the same way that a reduction in stamina while running is a symptom of an ankle injury, persistent negative thoughts are a symptoms of depression.
As the physio, you could help Sam to bear her achievements in mind taking into account the challenges she has experienced. This will also help her to continue to do the exercises and gradually extend the amount of jogging she does in order to build up her strength.
One of the things that happens when people experience depression is that it is difficult to keep things in perspective the way they can when they are not experiencing persistent negative thoughts.
Five things you can do to overcome depression.
- Set small goals
- Connect with others
- Work on improving sleep
- Start to take note when you notice a dip in your mood
- Familiarise yourself with the symptoms of depression
Setting small goals
In my previous blog post I wrote about the importance of setting goals (insert link). If you are feeling really low in mood, it might feel difficult to identify a long list of goals so keep them small to start with. Let’s say that you haven’t been eating regular meals.
One goal could be to start setting your alarm twice a day and having something small to eat. This doesn’t need to be a home cooked meal. Instead it could be a cereal bar around lunch time and a bowl of hearty tinned soup around dinner time.
If we think back to the example of Sam, while eating twice per day at structured times may not seem like progress from one perspective. From another, it could mean moving to a space where you are having two structured times to eat per day instead of sometimes not eating much of anything at all.
The positive impact of this is that eating at regular times will likely start to reignite your appetite and lead to you craving more food. Remember, even the smallest goal is a step closer to your aim. If you don’t manage it one day, that’s ok. Just try again tomorrow.
Connecting with others
One of the things that happens when we feel depressed is that we retreat from those around us. We may find that we are overwhelmed with thoughts such as, “I don’t want to bring others down” or “other people have their own problems.” It is likely however that those people would love the opportunity to provide support.
It may indeed be the case that they carry you at times to help you through a difficult time. For some, the idea of being supported in this way will feel difficult. However, I would encourage you that think about whether you would do the same for them. If you would do the same for them, think about how much your loved ones may want to support you.
Getting some sleep
I would definitely say that sleep is really underrated, more specifically, the ability to get a night’s restful sleep is underrated. One of the things that happens when we feel down is that we can experience a build up of stress and worry.
If you would like some more tips on sleep and how to overcome the struggle of insomnia, please click here for my article (name it an hyperlink) which includes five tips to improve your sleep.
Taking note when you notice a dip in your mood
This is a helpful tool to help you to take a step back and recognise depressive symptoms for what they are. In the same way that we would recognise a limp as a symptom of a broken ankle. Noting down when you notice a dip in your mood will also help you to reflect on what was happening when your mood shifted and what thoughts came to mind as a result.
Familiarising yourself with the symptoms of depression
Taking a photo of the list of symptoms above and keeping them somewhere where you can see them. This can be a helpful tool to help you to remember that when you are experiencing those symptoms it is a sign of depression. This knowledge alone will make a substantial difference. Those worries that swirl around your mind, feeling negative about ourselves, the world and around us are symptoms. They are signs that you may need support. That support can come from loved ones, family, colleagues, a helpline or a therapist. Ultimately, it can remind you that you are worth more than you may feel you are. It will also be a reminder that there is a reason why you feel the way you do.
In conclusion
A major factor for combatting depression is learning to be able to identify it. Hopefully this article has given you the knowledge you need to help you to do so. This will help you to take a step back from and understand your symptoms. Also that they are symptoms of depression rather that a sign that there is something inherently wrong with you. If you take one thing away from this, please remember to try to stay connected with others. Stay connected even though this will be the last thing that you want to do.
If you think that you may also be experiencing symptoms of anxiety, please take a look at this post for some handy tips.
Feel free to free 15 minute consultation if you want to talk about how therapy may help you.
Here’s a link to a helpful book that skilfully illustrates how the symptoms may become manifest.
Here’s another link for a book about what it can be like to live with someone with depression.
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