(Newswire.net — February 16, 2021) — It can be hard to differentiate between sadness and depression, but the two are completely different. While sadness happens to everyone and is completely normal, depression is an illness that can last a lifetime and may warrant therapy and medication.
What Are the Common Signs of Depression?
The most common signs that you have depression include:
- Feeling sad and lonely
- Weight changes
- Fatigue
- Sleeping too much or too little
- Isolation
- Excessive crying
If you have a few of these symptoms, then follow these steps.
1. Talk to Your Doctor
If you are worried that you may be depressed, you should talk to your doctor. It can be scary at first, especially if you’ve never experienced a dip in your mental health before, but they are there to help!
Tell your doctor exactly how you’ve been feeling and why you are worried that you’re depressed, and they’ll assess you to reach a diagnosis. Plus, if you require counseling or medication, they will either provide it or point you in the right direction.
2. Seek Therapy
Therapy is helpful even for those who don’t have a mental illness, but it is especially important for those who do. If you are suffering from symptoms of depression, you should seek out a therapist to talk through your problems. While it isn’t an instant cure, it can shift your perspective over time, helping you manage your emotions.
If you struggle to leave your house for one reason or another, then there are options for virtual therapy, such as contacting the Life Adjustment Team.
3. Open Up to Your Loved Ones
There is no reason to feel ashamed when it comes to mental illness, so don’t hesitate to open up to the ones you love if you’re feeling down. Letting others know how you’re feeling can feel like an enormous weight off your shoulders, and they’ll be more understanding when you’re not acting like your usual self.
4. Educate Yourself
If you don’t know much about depression, you should research it and know what it’s all about. By doing this, you’ll feel better prepared for managing your mental illness. While depression manifests itself differently in everyone, there is comfort in knowing that others are going through similar feelings.
5. Change Small Habits
There’s no one cure to fix depression for good – no matter how many bananas you eat or how many walks you go on, if you’ve not got to the root cause or found a treatment that works for you, it’ll stick around.
That isn’t to say that you can’t minimize symptoms by changing daily habits. If you have spent too long isolated in your bedroom, then try to get outside at least once a day. You should also try to replace unhealthy meals with healthier ones (there are plenty of nutritious and easy to make recipes out there). Some days it might be too much of a struggle, but don’t let that stop you from trying again the following day.
6. Forgive Yourself
No one is to blame for mental illness, on the days where you’ve achieved little to nothing or acted in a way you wouldn’t usually, you should forgive yourself. Getting better takes time, and there will be rough days, and by accepting that, you’ll progress in your recovery.