When To Reach Out For Help
If you’re having trouble stopping or reducing your drinking, Volpicelli suggests talking with your doctor about getting support from a mental health counselor or alcohol treatment program.
You can also call the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration’s helpline at 1-800-662-HELP who can refer you to nearby support groups and organizations.
Signs it may be time to consider seeking help for mental health or alcohol-related symptoms, according to Brandon:
- Withdrawal from social activities
- Drinking in the morning to cope with a hangover or mental health symptoms
- Experiencing gaps in memory, or “blackouts“
- Having strong cravings for alcohol
- Spending considerable time and money obtaining and drinking alcohol
- Intense mood shifts after a day of heavy drinking
A therapist or other treatment professional can offer support with identifying and exploring triggers and reasons for drinking and help you find a treatment approach that works for you.
Depression Sign #: Forgetfulness And Trouble Concentrating
Problems with memory and focus often go hand in frustrated hand. Forgetting appointments, being chronically late, and having trouble focusing on normally simple things like making a grocery list or composing an email are signals. Having to read paragraphs over and over, zoning out during a conversation, or staring at the TV but not following the plot are also telltale signs.
Common Causes Of Brain Fog
The causes of brain fog can be as diverse as the symptoms. But luckily, many of the causes of brain fog can be reduced with lifestyle changes, medication, or professional counseling.
Some of the most common causes of brain fog include:
Scientists have also discovered a few connections between mental illness and brain fog.
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You Live For Cancelled Plans
There’s something so nice about the occasional cancelled plan. It means staying in, putting on sweatpants, and doing your own thing. But if you live for those cancelled plans, it may be because you’re down in the dumps. When you aren’t feeling well, it may cause you to isolate yourself, therapist Craig Foust tells me. And that ain’t good.
Pain Without An Apparent Cause Or Aggravated Aches And Pains
As it turns out, depression and pain often co-exist. In fact, roughly 75% of primary care patients with depression report suffering some sort of physical pain. Depression may manifest itself in physical aches and pains with no obvious cause. Examples include unexplained muscle aches, chest pain, shakes, or hot flashes.
Depression can cause pain while pain can cause depression. This can be of particular concern to seniors, as they are more likely to experience chronic pain than the general population. Sometimes pain and depression fuel a vicious cycle in which pain worsens depression symptoms. The resulting depression can exacerbate feelings of pain. For first signs, take a look to see if you or a loved one experience physical ills without an apparent cause. This could be an indicator of the onset of depression.
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What If I Am Not Happy With My Treatment
If you are not happy with your treatment you can:
- talk to your doctor to see if they can suggest changes,
- get an advocate to help you speak your doctor,
- ask for a second opinion if you feel it would help,
- contact Patient Advice and Liaison Service and see whether they can help, or
- make a complaint.
There is more information about these options below.
Advocacy
An advocate is independent from the NHS. They are free to use. They can be useful if you find it difficult to get your views heard.
There are different types of advocates available. Community advocates can support you to get a health professional to listen to your concerns. And help you to get the treatment that you would like. They arent available in all areas.
You can ask an advocate to help you make a complaint. Advocates that do this are called NHS complaints advocates. They are free to use and don t work for the NHS. They re available in all areas.
You can search online to search for a local advocacy service. If you cant find a service you can call our advice service 0808 801 0525 . You can email us too at . We will look for you.
Second opinion
Talk to your doctor about your treatment to see if you can resolve the problem with them first. If you dont agree with their decisions about diagnosis or treatment, you could ask for a second opinion. You are not legally entitled to a second opinion, but your doctor might agree to it if it would help with treatment options.
‘PALS’
Complaints
- Advocacy by clicking here.
I Lost Sight Of My Gratitude
Every day of my life, I feel grateful. Not just running through a checklist of things I know I should be glad to have. But a deep and quiet sense of recognizing what’s good in my life.
It wasn’t that I wasn’t grateful when I was depressed, it was that I was numb to the sort of joy and love that reminds you of just how fortunate you are.
Gratitude isn’t something that can be forced, which is the same with happiness.
The people who say we need to choose to be happy are full of it, just like the people who say that you can simply decide to be grateful.
Sure, it takes practice, but when you’re depressed, sometimes you can’t be grateful until after you’ve sought treatment.
No matter how badly you may want to.
And here’s the thing: Waiting for my signs of depression to fit a standard mold was never going to work for me.
That’s why it’s so important we all prioritize our own mental wellness, and to not be afraid to ask the people around us for some help.
My mom finally stepped in and said she thought I was depressed, all while other people had no idea because I wasn’t crying or moping or wearing all black like a stereotypically depressed person.
I am happier now, and I hope other people can find the same hope.
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Uncommon Signs And Symptoms Of Depression
Symptoms of depression sometimes show up in uncommon ways. Imagine you are out to lunch with a friend. While chatting over Cobb Salads and Diet Coke, she tells you about her cousin who has been severely depressed. She discusses how her cousins depression has steadily become more intense and that shes worried about her mental health. You picture your friends cousin laying in bed, crying, and sleeping the day away.
Then, your friend states that her cousin is angry, irritable, and at times seems happy and even makes jokes at her own expense.
Wait, what? Shes angry? Making jokes? That doesnt sound like depression or at least not the typical signs of depression that youve known.
At some point, we all may experience a temporary feeling of sadness, whether its not getting the promotion at work, being sad over a breakup. Furthermore, depression is much more than a temporary feeling of sadness. The signs of depression may look very different to both the person experiencing them and to the loved one who is witnessing the suffering.
For someone who is facing Major Depressive Disorder , internally they may feel lost, hopeless, helpless, guilty, angry, sad, anxious, or even suicidal. They may experience a lack of sleep, lack of pleasure, and decreased or increased appetite. Depression can feel debilitating. Someone may still feel isolated even when surrounded by a sea of loving people.
What Are Symptoms Of Dissociation
When you have dissociation, you may forget things or have gaps in your memory. You may think the physical world isn’t real or that you aren’t real.
You may notice other changes in the way you feel, such as:
- Have an out-of-body experience
- Feel like you are a different person sometimes
- Feel like your heart is pounding or you’re light-headed
- Feel emotionally numb or detached
- Feel little or no pain
Other symptoms you can get are:
- Have an altered sense of time
- Not remember how you got somewhere
- Motor vehicle accidents
- Natural disasters
If you’ve had disturbing experiences over and over, you may get severe forms of dissociation known as dissociative disorders. You may leave your normal consciousness, forget things, or form different identities within your mind.
Hypnosis. When you daydream or let your mind wander, you are in a type of “auto-hypnotic state.” You may no longer have a strong awareness of your body. Other types of hypnosis may put you in a deeper dissociated state. A trained professional may use therapeutic hypnotherapy to help you manage pain, anxiety, addictive behaviors, or posttraumatic stress disorder .
Certain drugs. You may lose your sense of identity or reality if you drink alcohol or take illicit drugs. Research shows that people who take psychedelics, like psilocybin and LSD, report briefly losing their sense of self.
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I Felt Like I Was Never Going To Be In Love Again And I Didn’t Even Care
When I was in my darkest darkness, I felt nothing romantic for my husband. I loved him, but my heart felt like a flat line.
For perspective, I’m that annoying woman who thinks my husband is basically the hottest and greatest guy on the planet. I moon over him and count the minutes until he comes home. It’s sickening, I know, but it’s just the truth.
So, when that disappeared, and I finally realized that things were bad.
Causes Of Depression In Women
The causes of depression in women can be due to several things. As girls begin experiencing puberty, their risk of developing depression increases to twice what boys risks are at the same age. Some researchers attribute this to changes in hormone levels that naturally occur around puberty in a young womans life.
Women can also have an increased risk of developing depression due to genetic, reproductive, and biological factors. Interpersonal relationships, personality traits, and psychological characteristics may also come into play.
Women might have an increased risk of depression due to the following:
- A family history of depression or other mood disorders
- Loss of a parent in the formative years
- History of other mood disorders in earlier reproductive years
- Ongoing social or psychological stress relationship stress, divorce or separation, loss of a job, or other loss or trauma
- Physical abuse as a child
- Sexual abuse as a child
Additionally, women might experience a specific type of depression after giving birth known as postpartum depression.
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What Does Dissociation Feel Like
Everyday examples of dissociation can range from zoning out, to daydreaming, to your mind going completely blank, to having an out of body experience.
You can feel disconnected from your surroundings, get a sense that the world around you doesnt feel real, or even feel like youre observing yourself from the outside looking in. From other peoples perspectives, you might have glazed eyes, or look like youre staring off into space.
One article describes dissociation like a computer that reaches overload for input and then has to shut down for a bit to reboot itself. While the computer, your brain, is rebooting, you can feel like youre in a fog.
This is what happens when weve been walking for a bit when we suddenly realize we have not noticed a thing weve walked past, or when we mindlessly eat our way through all of the food in front of us.
One person described a more intense dissociative experience in a swimming pool, where they could no longer feel the water around them.
They saw that people were talking around them, but they couldnt understand what anyone was saying they were focused on how they didnt feel wet.
Depression Is On The Rise
Americans are more depressed now than they have been in decades, even if they dont know it, research finds .
Data from 6.9 million adults and adolescents from across the US found that Americans now report more symptoms of depression than similar studies in the 1980s.
Compared to their counterparts in the 1980s, teens in the 2010s were 38 percent more likely to have memory problems and 74 percent more likely to have trouble sleeping.
Teens were also twice as likely to have seen a mental health professional about these issues.
Amongst college students, 50 percent said they were overwhelmed, while adults reported poor sleep, lack of appetite and feeling restless.
All of these are classic signs of depression.
Dr Jean Twenge, the studys author, said:
Previous studies found that more people have been treated for depression in recent years, but that could be due to more awareness and less stigma.
This study shows an increase in symptoms most people dont even know are connected to depression, which suggests adolescents and adults really are suffering more.
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You Have A Hard Time Making Decisions
Self-doubt is one of the hallmark symptoms of depression, so take note if you can’t seem to make up your mind. “Questioning whether you’re in the right job, the right relationship, or having trouble making decisions may be signs of depression,” says Hershenson. “If you find yourself questioning every move you make, this may be more than normal indecisiveness.”
The reason for this feeling, according to Hershenson, is that “depression ‘lies’ to you by telling you that youâre lazy. It can also make you focus on opportunities you didnât take or time lost because of bad days.” And thus all your thoughts are clouded by a sense of confusion and doubt. If this is the case for you, a therapist can help you uncover the root of these doubts, as well as ways to cope with your symptoms.
Youre Obsessed With Perfection
If the threat of coronavirus has you scrubbing your kitchen counter until it shines every day, its understandable. But if you’ve suddenly developed an obsession with perfection thats affecting your moods, there may be a deeper issue, and it could be a sign of depression.
According to Neurocore Brain Performance Centers, For those with depression, perfectionism can stem from a cognitive distortion believing that making mistakes will cause others to stop loving or accepting them. This can lead these individuals to set exceptionally high standards, and if those standards arent met, they can end up feeling like a failure. Your perfectionism and disappointment can make you spiral into a cycle of depression. If youve noticed this obsession with perfection, you may need to seek help from a counselor.
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Who Can Experience Depression Symptoms
Depression can happen to anyone and depression causes can vary from person to person. However, your age, gender and other circumstances in your life can have an impact on the likelihood of you suffering from a type of depression, whether that be dysthymia, bipolar depression or clinical depression. It might also impact the types of symptoms you experience.
Why Do People Stare At Me
When someone looks at you, it may also be a sign that they want to communicate, so your body goes on alert, anticipating the interaction. Babies, the researchers said, prefer it when people gaze directly at them, so Cliffords team wants to further explore whether this behavior is learned or innate.
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Work Became Really Really Hard
I have ADHD, so focus is something that requires considerable effort from me on a normal day. But depression made it even harder.
At my job, I also worried about everyone being mad at me, that I wasn’t up for the task, or that I was about to screw something up. I felt profoundly inadequate, even when I was doing good work.
Now I’m able to really enjoy work again, and it feels great. I’m so grateful for my job and my community of co-workers. Feeling valued and useful is so vital when you’re fighting depression.
Known To Zone Out The Dangers Of Dissociation
By: Victor Jeg
We can all space out now and then. We get to work and realise we havent noticed a thing we walked past. Or find we are have mindlessly eaten our way through the entire pack of biscuits.
And when biglife change comes, again, its a normal response to feel overwhelmed. Anyone who has lost their job, or lost a loved one, knows that days can roll together in a sort of fog.
But what if you zone out more often then most? If you constantly find that at the very moment you need to be sharp-witted or share your feelings, you are lost in the clouds? And unable to come down?
Then you could be suffering a more serious psychological response called dissociation.
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You Give Up On Reaching Out
Right now, it’s hard to stay in contact with friends and family members. Social media, video chats, or text messages feel impersonal or awkward, which can make you want to give up on reaching out for social interactions. But if you’re hopeless about maintaining relationships and feel yourself pulling away, it may be a sign you’re depressed.
A study published in the Journal of Counseling Psychology analyzed people living with depression and their daily social interactions. The study concluded that “people with greater depressive symptoms feel that they experience worse social interactions” and “people with greater depressive symptoms reported less satisfaction of their need to belong.” Your listless attitude toward socializing may be a sign that depression is creeping in.
Struggling To Look After The House
General household tasks can feel like insurmountable obstacles. We end up leaving our sheets for months on end. Brushing the crumbs from the table to the floor instead of getting a cloth out. Resorting to crockery we havent seen in ten years instead of washing up . We dont invite people over because were embarrassed by the mess we live in. Our houses stop feeling like homes but we dont have the energy to fix it.
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