10 Ways Depression Can Appear in Us
Have you ever experienced the death of your loved ones? Where you would feel the grief and a sense of loss after they had gone? Have you suddenly felt it is such a huge chore to wake up from your bed and eat after you had received a text from your boyfriend, saying “I am sorry, but I am no longer happy with you. I want to go my own way. Thank you for all the memories.”
During 2009–2012, 7.6% of Americans aged 12 and over had depression (moderate or severe depressive symptoms in the past 2 weeks). Depression was more prevalent among females and persons aged 40–59 (Halverson, J. et al., 2020).
Many of us would feel sad, lonely or depressed when we face certain life-changing events in our lives. It’s a normal response to life’s struggles. However, when these symptoms become persistent and overwhelming and start to affect your daily function, it can definitely deter you from leading a normal, healthy life. Different people with depression would exhibit different symptoms. (Casarella, J., 2019).
Sooooo, how will this depression manifest in the people’s behaviour and mood?
1. Depressed mood nearly everyday
A person is walking in the garden path, his head hangs low and walks really slowly and dejectedly.
Have you ever noticed a drastic change in your loved ones’ behaviour and mood? All of a sudden you notice that the person would appear tearful and gloomy. The feeling of sadness, emptiness and hopelessness is one of the diagnostic criteria listed in DSM-5, in which the person would be experiencing it nearly everyday for 2 weeks or more (American Psychiatric Association, 2013).
2. Diminished interest or pleasure in all or almost all activities
Have you ever wondered why your best friend who loves to go out to the bookstore with you, all of a sudden retreating into her shell when you invited her to accompany you to a book fair? She refused your invitation, instead lying on her bed all the time. Your friend might be experiencing anhedonia, in which she suddenly lost interest or pleasure in activities that she previously enjoyed. Anhedonia is also one of the telling signs of depression (American Psychiatric Association, 2013).
3. Significant weight loss or weight gain
You have finally gone back to your hometown for the summer vacation after a few months of studying in your university. You invited your high school friend for a cup of coffee in the town’s coffee shop for a casual chitchat, but you notice that he looks ever so gaunt and scrawny, a quite different look compared to what you have seen him a couple of months ago. There could be a chance that your school friend might be experiencing depression. Depression can affect the eating pattern of a person; it might cause either significant weight loss or weight gain. How much weight change would be of concern? According to one of the criteria of Major Depressive Disorder in DSM5, a weight change of more than 5% in a month would be utterly significant (American Psychiatric Association, 2013).
4. Decrease or increase in appetite nearly every day
A plump guy is sitting at the dining table, while ravenously devouring a large amount of food, while a skinny girl is sitting beside him, her head is hanging low, she doesn’t even touch or look at the food in front of her.
Being depressed somehow can change a person’s relationship towards food. For some people with depression, this means a loss of appetite, while for others, the amount you eat may increase.
According to Dr Gary Kennedy, the director of geriatric psychiatry at Montefiore Medical Center in Bronx, New York, “Many people with depression lose both energy and interest. This can include a loss of interest in eating. This may be especially true for older people with depression, who may lose interest in cooking and don’t have the energy to prepare meals. For others, nausea may be a symptom of their depression and a cause for loss of appetite.” (Iliades, C., 2012).
On the other hand, Debra J. Johnston, RD, culinary services manager at Remuda Ranch, an eating disorder treatment center in Wickenburg, Ariz, stated that “Depression can also result in emotional eating, a common event in which the need to eat is not associated with physical hunger, instead emotional eating is eating in response to emotional hunger. When patients eat in response to their emotions, they are soothed by the food as it changes the chemical balance in the brain, produces a feeling of fullness that is more comfortable than an empty stomach, and improves mood through positive association with happier times.” (Iliades, C., 2012).
5. Insomnia or hypersomnia
She is tossing and turning on her bed, apparently unable to fall asleep. Her mind is racing. Yes, indeed, people with depression might experience multiple nights that they fell asleep only after being awake for longer than they could recall. It was the kind of sleep deprivation that is painful. They find it hard to fall and remain asleep, despite being tired, a condition known as insomnia. Sometimes, they might sleep excessively during the day that is generally not related to getting a good, full night’s sleep, a condition known as hypersomnia. Both hypersomnia and insomnia are sleep disorders characterized by the disruption of normal sleep patterns. (Halverson, J. et al., 2020).
6. Psychomotor agitation or retardation
Sometimes, depression can also appear as slowing or loss of spontaneous movement. You might also notice that your loved ones have a lifeless complexion with no emotional expression. This is known as psychomotor retardation. There is psychomotor agitation, which is on the opposite side of the spectrum. This can take many forms, and usually involves repetitive, purposeless or unintentional movements and behaviours. (Halverson, J. et al., 2020).
7. Fatigue or loss in energy
Sometimes, a depressed person might feel fatigue or loss in energy. It’s almost like they are drowning into the deepest part of the ocean floor. It’s the day that the person doesn’t even feel like getting up. He or she doesn’t even want to move at all. Being in bed seems like the only thing that they want to do at that time. (American Psychiatric Association, 2013).
8. Feeling of worthlessness, excessive or inappropriate guilt
A man is sitting against his bed, tears stream down his cheeks, while he is ruminating about things that had happened on that day at work, blaming himself for what had transpired in his workplace.
A person who is experiencing depression might feel worthless and excessive or inappropriate guilt. The guilt almost feels like ice in the gut. It could be scorching hot outside but he’d still be frozen on the inside. (American Psychiatric Association, 2013).
9. Diminished ability to think and concentrate
A woman is sitting in front of the computer, apparently she looks lost in her own thoughts, unable to focus on the task at hand.
Her brain feels as if it is set on low, like it is filled with wet sand. She tries to direct her mind to the task at hand. Focus becomes extremely difficult. She is experiencing one of the common symptoms of depression which is diminished ability to think and concentrate. This depressed thinking habit sets up a kind of internal ‘noise’ that can cause these problems to become intense or chronic. (American Psychiatric Association, 2013).
Apart from that, as a parent, you might notice that your child has a sudden decline in school performance, which might be associated with the loss in ability to focus and concentrate on the task. (Halverson, J. et al., 2020).
10. Recurrent thoughts of death or suicidal ideation
A young guy is standing at the edge of the mountain, he is raising one of his feet, ready to tumble into the cliff, and into the perpetual darkness.
Depression also carries a high risk of suicide. Depressed people might be thinking about death and searching for methods to end their lives. They might also be involved in risky behaviours such as driving through red lights. They might be saying things like “It would be better if I weren’t here.”(Casarella, J., 2019).
If you or someone you know shows any of the above warning signs, please call your local suicide hotline, contact a mental health professional right away, or go to the emergency room.
REFERENCES
American Psychiatric Association. (2013). Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders (5th ed.). Arlington, VA: Author.
Casarella, J. (2019, September 17). Symptoms of Depression. Webmd.
Halverson, J. et al. (2020, August 06). Depression. Medscape.
Iliades, C. (2012, September 10). Depression’s Effect on Your Appetite. Everydayhealth. https://www.everydayhealth.com/hs/major-depression/depressions-effect-on-appetite/
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