Changes In Appetite And Weight
We all tend to overeat or feel loss of appetite from time to time. However, if it’s coupled with other symptoms, such as feeling depressed or losing interest and pleasure in usual or favorite activities for two weeks or more, it could be a sign of a depressive episode, according to Simon Rego, PsyD, director of psychology training at Montefiore Medical Center in the Bronx, N.Y. A weight gain of at least 5 percent of a person’s total body weight in a short period of time that causes significant distress may be considered part of depression, Dr. Rego says.
The Real History Of All Day In Bed Depression Refuted
Neuroimaging research studies of individuals with bipolar disorder or various other state of mind disorders additionally recommend evidence of cell loss or degeneration in these very same brain areas. Thus, another recommended cause of bipolar illness is damage to cells in the critical brain wiring that manages emotion. According to this hypothesis, state of mind stabilizers and antidepressants are thought to change state of mind by stimulating cell survival pathways as well as boosting degrees of neurotrophic elements to boost mobile resiliency. In 2008, Mathew et alia released an evaluation all day in bed depression of unique medicines and healing targets for serious mood problems that concentrate on increasing neuroplasticity and mobile resiliency. The treatment of bipolar disorder is straight pertaining to the phase of the episode and the severity of that stage, as well as it might involve a mix of psychiatric therapy as well as medicine. Always examine patients with mania, hypomania, or combined episode, and those with bipolar depression, for suicidality, homicidality, acute or persistent psychosis, or other unsteady or unsafe problems.
Insights into the functions of the variations can also aid determine several drugs that hold assurance in the treatment of depression, the researchers all day in bed depression say. For example, the medicine riluzole, which is approved for the treatment of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, regulates glutamate transmission in brain.
Stay Alert For Signs Of Depression
These include feeling hopeless, helpless or sad trouble concentrating and remembering things loss of energy daytime sleepiness loss of interest in activities that once gave you pleasure or thoughts of suicide or death. Tell your doctor if you have any of these.
This is especially important if youre discussing insomnia with your doctor. Insomnia may be a separate condition or it may be a symptom of depression, Finan explains. Your doctor needs to know as much as possible to treat the right problem.
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I Was One Of The Walking Depressed Some Of My Clients Are Too
We have many of the symptoms of clinical depression, but we are still functioning.
On the surface, people might not know anything is wrong. We keep working, keep going to school, keep looking after our families.
But were doing it all while profoundly unhappy. Depression is negatively impacting our lives and relationships and impairing our abilities.
Our depression may not be completely disabling, but its real.
Dont Be Afraid To Turn To Someone Else For Help
If your depression is more severe or not being able to get out of bed is becoming a chronic problem, dont be afraid to ask for help.
Do you live with someone? Do you have a friend or co-worker on the same work schedule as you? Dont be afraid to ask them to be a part of your routine.
If you live with someone, ask them to come in and wake you or maybe sit with you. It can be anything from making coffee in the morning or making sure youre out of bed before they leave for work.
Or reach out to a co-worker, if youre comfortable with that. Someone on the same work schedule may be able to call you when you need to get out of bed in the morning. Five minutes of encouraging wake-up chatter can put you in a better mood for the day ahead.
Most people are compassionate and open to helping. You dont have to share your entire mental health history for them to understand something is going on. Just acknowledging its a difficult time can be enough.
It can be hard to ask for help initially, so remember this: You are not a burden and those who love or care for you will likely be happy to help.
Also Check: What It Feels Like To Have Depression
Do Not Stress About Daily Tasks
Breaking from the fog of not wanting to get out of bed can take some time.
To-do lists can sometimes be overwhelming, especially first thing in the morning. Instead of letting the stress of lots of tasks become overwhelming, a person struggling to get out of bed should try not to worry about getting it all done.
Instead, the person should do what they can and remember that tomorrow is a new day to accomplish things. It might be helpful for them to prioritize a few tasks on the list that they know are possible to complete. Ticking these tasks off the list may motivate a person to do more.
Is Sleep And Depression Related
Yes, depression and sleep are closely related to one another. Insomniac people have a higher risk of developing depression similarly oversleep can also be linked to depression in some aspects.
References
Aho, K. A. . Depression and embodiment: phenomenological reflections on motility, affectivity, and transcendence. springer link. https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007%2Fs11019-013-9470-8
Lejuez, C. W. . A brief behavioral activation treatment for depression. Treatment manual. PubMed. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/11317637/
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Difficulty Getting Out Of Bed
Its normal to enjoy sleeping in or spending time in bed. However, if it has become difficult to find the motivation to get out of bed or get ready in the morning, this could be a sign of depression. Depression can make us feel fatigued and physically drained to the point where even small tasks, like getting up in the morning, can feel exhausting or difficult to do.
What A Day In Bed With Depression Is Really Like
Its 4 a.m. and the room is pitch-black. All I see is darkness. All I feel is numbness. My body aches from tossing and turning for hours on end. I want to sleep because mentally and physically Im exhausted, but my mind wont let me. Thoughts wont stop racing through my mind. They arent a steady stream or flow, but more like painful spikes hitting in the same spot over and over and over, just constantly screaming into the silence that fills the room.
I cant cry anymore. I havent cried for weeks. I dont really feel anything but numb. People think depression is all sadness and tearfulness, but its not. This is dreadful. I would rather be dead than to endure one more night like this.
Its 5:30 a.m. and Ive been mindlessly watching YouTube videos I dont care about to pass the time.
Now its 1:30 p.m. and Im awake again. I must have finally gone to sleep, but I feel awful. Im dehydrated and my body feels heavy like a bag of rocks, and every muscle hurts, but I havent moved from this bed in days except to go to the bathroom. I can feel a dull ache in my head, but I dont want to move and I cant move. So, I go back to sleep because thats the easiest and only option right now.
Its 3:30 p.m. My room is muggy and I still feel numb, but with a twinge of guilt and disgust at myself for staying in bed all day. My stomach growls, but Im too tired to move and get food.
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You Cannot Will Yourself Well
“It is not for a lack of will that you are not better,” said the psych registrar.
“You need to think of this as a medical illness that needs treatment, because it is. There’s no other way to explain that 11-15 per cent of Australians experience it every year,” he said.
Instead of white-knuckled will, it was more helpful to approach recovery with self-compassion.
“Compassion is when love meets suffering and stays loving. That’s compassion,” says author and clinical psychologist Christopher Germer.
Getting Out Of A Funk: How To Help Yourself Through Depression
Everyone has off days where they feel tired, irritable, and sad. Its normal to feel sadness as a response to challenging life events, loss, or changes, but sometimes these feelings can stick around for a while if left unaddressed and make it difficult for you to get through each day.
Heres how you can tell when youre in a funk or maybe even experiencing a mild depression as well as what you can do to help yourself feel better.
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How Can I Help My Adult Child With Depression
Dear GoodTherapy.org,
My adult daughter is incredibly gifted , but she has pretty serious depression. The sleeps-all-day, forgets-to-eat kind. It took her an extra two years to graduate from college because she kept turning assignments in late. Once she got her engineering degree, everyone thought shed get a job easily, but she bombed all her interviews. Eventually she ended up working as a waitress.
Shes been in therapy for a year now, and her more serious symptoms have improved. My daughter says she wants to quit her job and go to graduate school. However, she keeps procrastinating on applications and missing deadlines. When I try to ask about her progress, she clams up and shuts me out.
I know shes an adult now. I cant do everything for her. But I would hate to see my daughters depression sabotage her career. All she needs is a little support for her condition.
Should I take a more active role in guiding my child? Or is my daughters procrastination a sign shes not actually ready for graduate school? I want her to reach her full potential, but I dont want to push her into a situation she cant handle. Not an Empty Nester Yet
Dear Not an Empty Nester,
If she owns her choices and the results of those choices, good or bad, she will move into adulthood on better footing.
Best of luck,
The Intuitive Answer Is That A Lack Of Motivation Is To Blame
If you’ve personally suffered from depression or known someone who has, you know that when people are really depressed, they have a strong urge to stay in bed.
Why do depressed people lie in bed? It isn’t because of great snuggle time under the blankets. It’s because depressed people can’t bring themselves to get out of bed. Almost any activity or task becomes a painful ordeal, even things as simple as taking a shower or getting dressed. A perfectly able-bodied person can’t even bring him or herself to rise out of bed. How does this happen?
The intuitive answer is that a lack of motivation is to blame. Depressed people are directionless because they are undercommitted to goals. Without goals to drive future behavior, current behavior becomes frozen for long periods. Beds are the most natural location for a behavioral pause, as the place in the house most associated with inactivity.
The intuitive answer is okay as far as it goes. The problem is that it just doesn’t go very far. It begs the question of how a person loses the desire to pursue goals in the first place. The answer involves a surprising theory that takes us closer to understanding how it is that low moods intensify into more serious episodes of depression.
Jonathan Rottenberg is the author of The Depths: The Evolutionary Origins of the Depression Epidemic, available where books are sold.
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How To Help Someone Who May Be Experiencing Depression
If you are currently experiencing one or more of these symptoms, its okay to seek support. If you are having thoughts of suicide, call 303-492-2277 to access 24/7 crisis support from Counseling and Psychiatric Services .
If you notice a roommate, friend or classmate experiencing any of these symptoms, here are a few things you can do to help:
Plan To Spend Time Outside
Being outside can help a person feel more energized. Fresh air and sunshine can often improve a persons mood. A person should plan to spend at least a little bit of each day walking, reading a book, or doing another activity outside.
According to one review of studies , exposure to green space can help a person replenish themselves and reduce mental fatigue and stress. The authors conclude that more research is necessary to determine exactly what causes this, but evidence suggests that being outdoors can help a person feel better overall.
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Eft Tapping Helps Resist The Urge To Stay In Bed All Day
By , Certified EFT Practitioner
It was not unusual for my client “Sarah” to still be in bed after 9.30 a.m. on a workday. When she came to see me she claimed that she needed a lot of sleep and was tired all of the time. She confessed that she didn’t always sleep well and she felt this was the reason why she had trouble getting out of bed in the morning.
Sarah had a school-age child, but her partner was the one who got her breakfast and off to school while Sarah snoozed on. She knew that successful people get up early in the morning and she felt lazy. In her business, Sarah often didn’t make calls to prospective clients that should have been made and she often used the excuse that she never had enough time in her day.
As we talked through her sleeping problem, we identified a secondary gain that she would have more time to be rejected by clients and more time for things to go wrong if she started her workday at an earlier time.
Sarah’s mother was an alcoholic and when Sarah was young her mother would still be in bed when she left for school in the morning. Her mother would still be in bed when Sarah returned home from school in the afternoon. There would always be a long list of chores waiting for Sarah as soon as she walked in the door. It seemed to Sarah that the only thing her mother did was stay in bed all day and come up with a exhaustive list of chores for Sarah to do, rather than get out of bed and do them herself.
The EFT Setup statements used:
Recovery Is Possible But It’s Not Linear
On one of my first days in hospital when I could barely sit up or make eye contact, the psych registrar said, “Recovery is possible but it’s not linear”.
It’s probably what stays with me the most that I need to think of recovery as a long-term process and not a one-off result.
My depression is a condition that needs to be managed as opposed to a spell of poor health .
There will be better days and good days, not-so-great days and bad days. In any order.
A bad day is just a blip it doesn’t undo all my efforts to manage my condition it does not wipe me back to zero with a fail mark. Even if it sometimes feels like that.
“Think about blips and how you respond to them,” said the psych registrar on the day I was discharged.
“Compare the blip to previous worsts. Are you catastrophising? Can you see things as setbacks, not failures?”
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A Day In The Life With Depression
Steven Gans, MD is board-certified in psychiatry and is an active supervisor, teacher, and mentor at Massachusetts General Hospital.
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Picture someone with depression. Whats the first image that comes to mind? Lying in bed all day? Crying? These arent wrong, and they may be fully accurate for me or someone else actively going through a depressive episode. But day-to-day life with chronic depression doesnt usually look like that. Not every day threatens to crush me, but many days I feel like I carry more weight on my shoulders than most.
I am in grad school right now to become a therapist, and one of the ways we assess the severity of ones mental health condition is to find out how much their symptoms affect their day-to-day life. As a person with depression, theres a low hum of how my daily functioning is affected some days. Other days, its a deep guttural internal scream, imperceptible to almost everyone else.
Like many others, I try to mask it as well as possible. I would never judge a client or a friend for feeling depressed, but theres obviously a double standard for myself, deeply rooted in internalized stigma.
Heres a look at what one day of life with depression looks like for me.
Create A Morning Routine Worth Waking Up For
Many people myself included get stuck in a routine of dragging themselves out of bed to get to work and thats it. We barely have time for breakfast in our routine. Were just trying to get out the door.
But if you create a morning routine worth waking up for, you may have a different outlook for your morning.
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Depression Wants You To Be Alone So Don’t Be Alone
Depression wants me all to itself. Depression says I deserve to be alone. Depression wants to sing Mariah Carey’s I’ll Be There to me at our commitment ceremony.
Depression knows I can’t get out of bed or shower to get ready for a commitment ceremony. Depression says, “Don’t worry! I’ll come to you.”
Now when I feel like hiding from everyone, I ask myself if it’s because depression wants me to stay unwell.
When family, friends, colleagues reach out to see if I’m OK, I remind myself that once I’m spending time with them Connection, Enjoyment I generally feel better.
I also remind myself that it’s all the people around me family, friends, colleagues, nurses, doctors, specialists and their companionship, unwavering care, and kindnesses that make it possible to live a life and not merely endure a condition.