What To Do About Depression Fatigue

How To Deal With Fatigue And Depression

You feel lethargic. Youre exhausted. You cant seem to find an ounce of motivation. Your energy level is completely zapped.

Sound familiar? If so, youre likely dealing with fatigue.

You feel hopeless and sad. You dont want to do anything you usually enjoy doing. You blow off friends and family, opting for self-isolation. Youre having trouble concentrating and are more irritable and angry than usual. You find yourself thinking about suicide and death more than ever before.

How about this? Does this hit home? If so, youre likely dealing with depression.

Fatigue doesnt always equal depression, of course. But depression and fatigue almost always present themselves together. A 2018 study revealed that 90% of individuals with clinical depression also deal with fatigue.

But there are ways to fight fatigue and depression some things you can do at home regarding lifestyle changes, and others youll need some help achieving.

Know That Today Isnt Indicative Of Tomorrow

Internal emotions and thoughts can change from day to day. Tracking experiences through journaling or keeping a mood diary can help to remember this.

If you were unsuccessful at getting out of bed or accomplishing your goals today, remember that you havent lost tomorrows opportunity to try again.

Give yourself the grace to accept that while some days will be difficult, some days will also be less difficult. Try to look forward to tomorrows fresh start.

Treatment Of Major Depressive Disorder

Treating major depressive disorder usually takes the shape of a two-pronged approach: antidepressant drug therapy and psychotherapy. These treatment elements are the cornerstone of depression treatment, although to varying degrees of success. Antidepressants come in various forms and act in different nuances ways upon brain chemistry. The four categories of antidepressants include SSRIs, SNRIs, MAOIs, and TCAs. Antidepressants take 4-6 weeks to produce various degrees of symptom relief, although 30%-50% of patients do not achieve symptom relief from these drugs.

Psychotherapy is designed to treat the particular features of the depression, so for some individuals that may involve delving into childhood trauma to help process and heal these emotional wounds, while others may benefit from cognitive behavioral therapy . CBT helps patients confront their negative self-messaging in response to various triggers, and then change those thought patterns toward more productive, positive ones.

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What Is Muscle Weakness A Sign Of

Muscle weakness is a very common complaint but there is a huge range of possible causes. People feel tiredness or reduced strength in their muscles.

Are you suffering from muscle weakness? Well, you might think its a symptom of your anxiety. Well, anxiety is one of the common causes of muscle weakness.

Nervousness or being afraid can cause your body to feel weak and tired. Daily psychological stress can also cause your body muscles to weaken and eventually lead to muscle loss.

Muscle weakness can be a sign of lack of exercise or aging. Muscle injury or pregnancy can also lead to muscle weakness.

There are many medical causes for muscle weakness. Chronic diseases such as diabetes, cardiovascular diseases can also eventually lead to muscle weakness. Other possible causes of muscle weakness include stroke, cancer, depression, fibromyalgia, and multiple sclerosis.

Muscle weakness at a very young age is a sign of either congenital muscle disorders or malnutrition.

If you feel fatigued or tired or you feel like your body has become very weak, its best to discuss your symptoms with your doctor.

How To Tell If You Are Depressed Or Just Tired

With both depression and fatigue, symptoms include low energy, low motivation, and anhedonia, or a loss of interest in pleasurable activities, Dimitriu says.

One distinguishing factor can be the desire to engage in activities people who have fatigue wish to do things, but lack energy, whereas people with depression have lower interest in activities, he says.

“Another important consideration is the duration of the low mood and if it improves with sleep,” Dimitriu says. A single good night’s sleep can improve a tired person’s mood, he notes.

But depression-related fatigue permeates every facet of a person’s life, says Ricke. The effect is felt:

• Physically: Everyday tasks eating, showering, getting dressed, and so on may become difficult. “The body can feel heavy, slow, and stiff due to depression,” Ricke says.
• Cognitively: Due to depression, you may experience “difficulty sustaining focus, concentrating, and processing information,” Ricke says. Of course, lack of sleep can have a similar cognitive impact, making it challenging to concentrate.
• Emotionally: Here is where the effects may be most profound. “Fatigue makes it more difficult to weed through the already confusing thoughts and feelings that are part of depression,” Ricke says. Forming emotional connections with friends, family, and the people around you may be more challenging when you’re fatigued, she says. And that, in turn, “can perpetuate feelings of aloneness and hopelessness,” Ricke says.

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Depression Acts On Neurotransmitters To Make You Tired

Depression is likely associated with changes in brain neurotransmitters, such as dopamine, norepinephrine, and serotonin. “These neurotransmitters play important roles in regulating energy levels, sleep, appetite, motivation, and pleasure,” Ricke says.

According to Harvard Health Publishing, depression is a complex disease with many possible and interlinked causes, including genetics, medical conditions, stressful life events, and brain chemistry. And it can be challenging to tell the difference between everyday tiredness and depression-related fatigue.

“Fatigue and depression can look quite similar,” says Alex Dimitriu, MD, psychiatrist and sleep medicine expert, and founder of Menlo Park Psychiatry & Sleep Medicine.

See Your Personal Physician

If extreme tiredness is getting in the way of your daily routine, the first thing you should do is see your doctor. They can rule out health-related conditions such as anemia, hypothyroidism, sleep apnea, heart disease, diabetes, chronic fatigue syndrome, or certain medications that may cause excessive sleepiness. They can also talk with you about a referral to a mental health professional.

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Prioritize Getting Good Sleep

Since depression may be causing you to have disordered sleeping habits, it can be helpful to develop better sleep habits.

Sleep hygiene pretty much just means good sleeping habits. Here are some ways of implementing sleep hygiene:

• Be consistent with sleep and wake times. Try going to bed at roughly the same time each night and getting up at the same time each morning. This way, your body becomes accustomed to a certain routine that optimizes healthy sleeping.
• Make sure your bedroom is quiet, dark, relaxing, and at a comfortable temperature. You can experiment with different room temperatures or try out a white noise machine. With patience, you might discover the best room environment to promote sleep.
• Remove TVs, computers, and smartphones from the bedroom. This may seem like an impossible task sometimes, but avoiding harsh blue light will help you fall asleep faster.

Healthy Sleep Habits Are An Excellent Way To Alleviate Depression And Fatigue There Are Plenty Of Ways You Can Do That:

• limit screen time before bed
• avoid alcohol and caffeine close to bedtime
• exercise regularly
• limit your naps during the day
• wake up and go to sleep at the same time every day
• create a comfortable, sleep-promoting environment in your bedroom
• eat a healthy, balanced diet

Exercise it seems like the answer to any question about improving your health. While it may require a little more motivation to exercise when you suffer from depression fatigue, its something you definitely want to practice.

Were not saying you need to hit the CrossFit gym and take up marathon running. In fact, research has shown that just 20 minutes of low to moderate-intensity exercise helps to relieve fatigue and depression.

There are some excellent low to moderate-intensity exercises you can do that include movement and deep breathing, which can help relieve depression.

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Sleepiness Fatigue Or Depression Mental Health Awareness Month Part 2

May is Mental Health Awareness Month! Project Sleep believes that mental health and sleep health are closely intertwined. We are excited to share interesting connections between sleep and mental health.

Why am I always so tired?

When your energy feels off, it can be hard to know whats wrong and what to do about it. Feeling sluggish could be a sign of many things including anemia, thyroid issues, a sleep disorder, diabetes, depression, nutritional deficiencies, and so on. You may also wonder, Will this go away or should I talk to a doctor about it?

In everyday life, we use various terms interchangeably feeling tired, exhausted, sleepy, fatigued, sluggish, weighed down, foggy, burnt out, like a zombie, or low-energy. But these terms may have different meanings.

For example, at Project Sleep, we often hear from people with sleep disorders who faced excessive sleepiness for many years before finding an accurate diagnosis of sleep apnea, narcolepsy, or idiopathic hypersomnia. Even when an individual mentions sleepiness to a healthcare provider, it may be easily confused for depression or fatigue.

Sleepiness, fatigue, and depression can all be invisible, sneak into a persons life, and be difficult to explain to loved ones or doctors.

If Youre Up For Exercise Consider A Walk Around The Block

On days when you feel as if you cant get out of bed, exercise may seem like the last thing youd want to do. However, exercise and physical activity can help to lower symptoms of depression and boost energy levels.

future depressive episodes.

Even when you have the feeling that youre unable to or have very little energy, see if youd be willing to do the opposite of what your mood is telling you to do, such as curling up in bed. Instead, set a small goal for yourself, such as taking a walk around the block.

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Or Spend Time With Loved Ones

Depression can tempt you to isolate yourself and withdraw from people you love and trust, but face-to-face time can help wash away those tendencies.

If youre unable to spend time together in person, phone calls or video chats can also be helpful.

Try to remind yourself these people care about you. Resist the temptation to feel like youre a burden. You need the interaction and they likely do, too.

Research has shown that keeping a journal can be a beneficial add-on method for managing mental health conditions.

Writing down your thoughts can help you express what youre feeling more clearly. It can also help you keep track of what symptoms youre having each day and identify what causes them.

You can make a goal to write for a few minutes each day or week. Most importantly, what you want to write about is completely up to you.

When you do the same thing day after day, you use the same parts of your brain.

Research shows doing new things can feel rewarding improve your overall well-being and strengthen your social relationships.

To reap these benefits, consider trying a new sport, taking a creative class, or learning a new cooking technique.

Diagnosing Depression And Fatigue

To make a depression diagnosis, your doctor will ask you about your medical history and give you a questionnaire that assesses depression. They may use other methods, such as blood tests or X-rays, to make sure another disorder isnt causing your symptoms.

Before diagnosing you with chronic fatigue syndrome, your doctor will run several tests to rule out other conditions that can cause similar symptoms. These may include restless leg syndrome, diabetes, or depression.

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Take In Some Sunlight

Exposure to daylight, particularly in the morning, is known to improve night-time sleep, so try to spend some time in natural light every day.

A lack of daylight can be a particular factor in depression in the winter months, when the sun sets so early, affecting circadian rhythms, Dr Davies confirms.

I keep a SAD lamp on my desk so I can top up my light levels on days when its hard to get outside.

A Challenging Life Event

An event that completely turns your life upside down can put a great deal of strain on your mental health.

Oftentimes, people experience different types of grief as a result. Normal or uncomplicated grief causes short-term mental fatigue. Complicated grief, like the death of a loved one or a divorce, can bring on mental fatigue that impacts your mental health over a long period.

Other factors contributing to mental fatigue include poor nutrition, lack of sleep, or clutter. Once you identify the causes, start by taking steps to alleviate your symptoms.

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Feeling Tired From A Depressive Condition

Anyone who has endured a major depressive episode knows full well the debilitating impact of the accompanying fatigue on daily functioning. This is not just a matter of feeling unmotivated or lazy. Fatigue that is associated with major depression is in a class all its own. This kind of fatigue gets into the bones, affecting not only physical functioning, but also psychological and cognitive functioning as well. In this pervasive state of exhaustion, apathy and despair are bedfellows.

So, can depression cause severe fatigue? You bet. It surely is not your imagination if you find yourself struggling with persistent feelings of sadness, the cornerstone of depression, while stuck in bed all day. Depression can truly demobilize a person, causing such severe fatigue that even the most basic tasks seem insurmountable. It isnt difficult to see how depression can have a significant impact on ones career and home life when considering the effects of fatigue on your ability to be a fully productive and functioning person.

When wondering if you may be experiencing depression, and asking can depression cause severe fatigue, the most important step to take is to schedule a physical exam with your primary care doctor. Severe fatigue is also a common symptom in various medical conditions, which should be ruled out as a potential cause. If no health issue is diagnosed, the doctor will likely refer you to a mental health practitioner.

Treating Depression And Fatigue

Therapy or counseling can help treat depression. It can also be treated with certain medications. These include antidepressants, antipsychotics, and mood stabilizers.

Taking antidepressants can sometimes make symptoms of chronic fatigue syndrome worse. Thats why your doctor should screen you for depression and chronic fatigue syndrome before prescribing any medication.

Several treatments can help people with chronic fatigue syndrome, depression, or both. These include:

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Why Depression Makes You Tired And How To Deal With Fatigue

• Fatigue is one of the most common symptoms of depression.
• If you are depressed, it’s likely that you will lack energy and feel tired physically, emotionally, and cognitively.
• Depression can also make sleep less restful and restorative here’s how to get better sleep and feel less tired.
• This article was medically reviewed by David A. Merrill, MD, PhD, psychiatrist and director of the Pacific Brain Health Center at Pacific Neuroscience Institute at Providence Saint John’s Health Center.
• This story is part of Insider’s guide to Depression.

For people with depression, feeling tired is an all-too-common symptom. “Tiredness or fatigue is one of the hallmarks of depression,” says Amy Ricke, MD, of Your Doctors Online.

With depression, energy levels dip, and many of the symptoms, such as profound sadness and loneliness, can further exacerbate fatigue. Here’s why depression makes you tired, how to tell if it’s the cause of your fatigue, and how you can feel more refreshed and well-rested.

Do The Opposite Of What The Depression Voice Suggests

The automatic, unhelpful voice in your head may talk you out of self-help. However, if you can learn to recognize it, you can learn to work through it.

If you believe an event wont be fun or worth your time, say to yourself, You might be right, but itll be better than just sitting here another night. You may soon see the automatic thought isnt always helpful.

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Sleep Problems And Depression Fatigue

If you have depression, you likely suffer from poor sleeping patterns as well. Insomnia , hypersomnia , and non-restful sleep are all common symptoms of depression.

A 2019 study on depression and sleep revealed individuals with depression are less likely to cycle through rapid eye movement sleep. And when you dont cycle through all four sleep cycles efficiently, when you wake up, youre not going to feel rested, even if you got enough sleep.

Another sleep disorder linked to depression is obstructive sleep apnea . According to the National Sleep Foundation , 18% of those with major depressive disorder have OSA, and 17.6% of those with OSA experience depression.

The bottom line is that when you dont sleep well, you cant think as clearly and have trouble controlling your emotions. In turn, these things can contribute to depression and depression fatigue.

How To Break Free Of Lifestyle Fatigue

“Lifestyle fatigue” lives and breathes in sameness and repetition breaking free starts with one powerful word: change.

Any change in your daily routine, such as waking up earlier, going to bed earlier, contacting an old friend, or going to a concert or the theater, will do. Look for new activities that disrupt monotony or predictability.

It doesn’t matter how big or small. Change is a powerful antidote. For example, a patient in psychotherapy with me says that she started to break free of “lifestyle fatigue” just by reorganizing her kitchen another patient felt better after enrolling in a dance class, and another patient booked a trip to a tropical island with friends.

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