You’ve lost enjoyment and interest in doing things.
Losing interest and pleasure in doing activities is one of the most common signs of depression. The technical term for this is called anhedonia. Often people who suffer from depression identify as lazy or unmotivated. This belief could not be further from the truth. If you broke your arm and couldn’t throw a baseball, would you call yourself lazy? Having depression and anhedonia is a similar phenomenon as the brain is a physical organ just like the arm. The shame and guilt from the individual and others only makes things worse. “Pulling yourself up from your bootstraps” is not an effective or helpful strategy.
Concentration has become nearly impossible.
Similar to anhedonia, struggling to concentrate on schoolwork, your job or even watching TV is not a result of laziness, but a common symptom of depression. However, it is important to understand that difficulty concentrating can also result from a multitude of other factors such as anxiety and ADHD. This is why getting a diagnosis from a trained professional is of critical importance.
Your sleep has become irregular.
Many people associate “sleeping in” or sleeping too much as a tell tale sign of depression. Sleeping too much is a symptom, but insomnia and sleeping too little are also a clinical indicator of depression.
Guilt and shame have become two of your primary feelings.
While some guilt across the lifespan is normal and typical, excessive guilt and shame can severely impact quality of life and functioning. If you notice that you’re always feeling bad about something or filled with regret, depression may be to blame.
You have thoughts of death and/or suicide.
Suicidal thoughts are what are most people think of when thinking about depression, but even general regular thoughts of death can be a sign of depression. One thing to keep in mind is that when an individual is improving in their symptoms of depression, suicide INCREASES in probability. This is why it’s important to always be under the guidance of a trained doctor or mental health professional.
Your energy levels are in the gutter.
Individuals with depression frequently report that even after getting 9+ hours of sleep, they still feel sleepy, groggy or fatigued. Depression frequently cause low energy levels that no amount of sleep can remedy.
You’ve lost or gained a significant amount of weight.
Similar to sleep, depression affects everyone differently. Some people who are depressed will binge eat to temporarily alleviate some of their depressive symptoms, while others will refuse to eat at all.
Depression is a complex issue
it’s important to recognize that if one, two or even three above the criteria resonate with you, it may still not be depression.
Feel free to reach out for a 15 minute consult or a full assessment if you’d like to figure out if you have an official depression diagnosis or something else. Worst case scenario is you rule out depression as the issue.