“The mind begins to feel aggrieved, stricken, and the muddied thought processes register the distress of an organ in convulsion. . .. It is a storm indeed, but a storm of murk,” –William Styron, on suffering from Depression.
Depression is a shadowy illness that has been haunting the human psyche for decades. It is an indication that you have reached your breaking point – completely ‘stressed out’ and exhausted. Maybe life has thrown too much at you, or your patience has completely depleted. You can no longer handle the stresses of everyday living and you feel you are falling apart.
Does any of this sound familiar? To make sense of what is happening to you or someone close to you, we have listed the most obvious symptoms Depression.
The warning signs:
“I couldn’t get up and get dressed.”- Kitty Dukakis
Mental collapse, or physical or mental exhaustion are only few of the many symptoms that can trouble the affected. The typical onset of a depression is the development of a reasonably severe sense of despair, over a period of weeks.
Initial symptoms may also include:
- Difficulty sleeping
- Feeling anxious
- Feeling hopeless
- Creating a negative image about oneself
- Feeling overwhelmed
- Feeling incapable to deal with stress
- Being indecisive
- Feeling irritable
- Developing phobias
- Having occasional panic attacks
- Feeling guilty
- Feeling confused
- Feeling trapped
Physical symptoms of Depression:
Apart from the emotional changes mentioned above, the person may also undergo the following physical complications:
- Getting chronic infections
- Digestive problems such as diarrhea or constipation
- Migraines
- Back pain
- Heart palpitations
- Loss of libido
- Breathing problems
- Menstrual cycle disruption in women, and
- Impotence
If the problem is not dealt with properly, there may come a day when you will no longer be able to go on with your life in a normal way. For instance, waking up and getting ready for work may seem impossible, you may even want to shut yourself out completely.
The Causes:
According to a study conducted at UK Mental Health Foundation, one out of twenty people are likely to suffer from a clinical depression that includes a nervous breakdown.
What happened before you started feeling sick? Was there a fight? A familial or relationship problem or a work-related stress?
Scroll up and look at the symptoms again. This will perhaps help you realize the time when you started drifting from your normal self. The aforementioned signs should offer you an insight into the stress that led you to push your limits.
Some common reasons that are known to cause depression:
- Separation or divorce
- A serious breach of trust in a relationship
- A traumatic event
- A chipping effect that finally takes its toll (very common in people caring for patients who suffer from long-term illness and marines)
- Work-related stress
- Lack of sleep and starvation
- Substance abuse
The causes and symptoms of depression can be scary. However, it is also important for you to remember that depression is nothing more than being severely stressed about something. It is a problem that can be dealt with and cured. You may feel like you’re losing your mind right now, but the good news is, you can recover! The symptoms will start to disappear and you’ll feel like you’re becoming your normal self. All you have to do is be patient and keep treading the road to recovery, until you succeed.