First Signs of Depression

We’ve all felt down at some point of life and even lost sleep over what ever it is that is niggling at us. It could be a stressful event or something you are experiencing that you have never had to deal with before. 

Being mentally equipped and having the tools to be able to cope with a new problem or traumatic event doesn’t just happen straight away for all of us. Having control over your problems (not masking them, not getting crushed by them), but having solid positive mental armour that means you can deal with anything the world throws at you perhaps does come with experience. 

Let’s talk about depression and the symptoms that are closely associated with it.

The main symptoms of depression are:

• Continuous feelings of being sad
• Feeling hopeless or worthless
• Pangs of guilt towards something
• Fatigue and a reduction in energy
• Eating more or less than normally
• Not being able to focus
• Insomnia or sleep walking
• No interest in normal hobbies
• Cramps
• Headaches
• Thoughts of committing suicide
• Substance abuse

Often depression and its symptoms usually disappear within a few days. Our mind and feelings are slowly healed with time and we resort to normal life again. However, there are many cases where the symptoms of depression do not go away.

This is when depression starts to get in the way of your normal life and result in clinical depression. When left untreated it can turn into major depression which can last for months and even years. 

Understanding the symptoms of depression can help you treat it and seek help earlier on before it worsens. But not many people will go out their way to research what the symptoms are. Why would they? They don’t have depression (yet?) or they may be in denial of such symptoms or diagnosis of depression. 

The state of being depressed can really interfere in how our brain process normal thoughts and going onto the internet to find out if your symptoms are related to depression, may be the last thing on your mind. 

It is important to have a close circle of family and friends around you, because often it is them who are the first to notice depression symptoms. Also, it’s important to remember that not everyone suffers from the same depressive symptoms.

The biggest factor that places depression at a level where it needs to be treated is when it lasts more than a few weeks. This is the biggest sign that there is something not right and the person needs diagnosis by a doctor. 

Making an appointment for diagnosis can take one minute. Booking yourself in at a time that is convenient for you will pay off towards your mental health. Treatment is very successful with anti-depressants such as Amitriptyline which is used to treat depression in patients.