Let Your Appetite Draw You Out Of Bed
Our bodies have a way of telling us its time to move forward. If youre hungry, or if you really enjoy that 1st cup of coffee every morning, you might be tempted enough to actually get out of bed. The idea of a tasty breakfast might just spark your appetite. You might even discover that its a blueberry muffin and a glass of orange juice every morning that encourages you to get out of bed despite feeling depressed.
Plan For Days Like This
Bad days happen. If you know that mornings can be a struggle, make a plan for those rough days when youre feeling better. That might look like keeping a special cereal in the pantry, saving a favorite shirt to wear on a down day, or buying a new shampoo that smells irresistibly good.
Always have something youre excited about and looking forward to, which will help push you through those times you cant get moving, says Saranga.
How Is Depression Treated
In many cases, clinical depression is treated with antidepressant medication. This method is fairly straightforward and often boosts your mood to a level where you feel as though you can function normally again.
Another popular way to treat clinical depression is through exercise therapy, this can be extremely effective.
As you exercise, your body produces natural endorphins which elevate your mood, exercise also boosts your self-esteem and gives you something to focus on.
Some people may require counselling for their depression. A popular method is cognitive behavioural therapy which helps to manage your condition by changing the way you think and behave.
Other techniques include group or family talking therapies to help you express how youre feeling.
At Rehab Clinics Group, our expert team deliver a wide variety of therapies to treat mental health issues, thus helping you to manage depression at work.
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Has The Pandemic Affected Depression In The Workplace
According to the State of Mental health in America 2021 survey, the number of people seeking help for depression has increased significantly from 2019 to 2020.
The pandemic has led to many people working from home or seeing colleagues and clients less often, if at all. For many people, Zoom meetings are the new normal along with Zoom fatigue.
Not only are people feeling more anxious about their health, job security, and financial stability, says Matos, but many people are now more isolated and disconnected, which can trigger or worsen existing depression.
Indeed, the social element of work has disappeared for many people, making you feel lonely and even more low.
While working remotely can be convenient in some ways, it can also blur the boundary between personal and professional life even further.
can be really difficult to maintain focus and attention on a Zoom call when youre feeling depressed, says Matos.
You might also feel as if you have to work longer at home, especially if you havent accomplished enough, which creates a self-perpetuating problem: Your depression makes it hard to focus on work, so you work slower and less efficiently.
But then you force yourself to work longer, which worsens your mood and the cycle continues over and over.
If youre finding that depression is affecting your work life, there are many things you can do to gain a bit of motivation, rest, or relief throughout the day.
Depression Symptoms That Can Impact Your Work
The signs of work depression can be pretty similar to the symptoms of common depression. The key difference between the two types of depression is that the symptoms of work depression are specific to workplace settings.
Below are symptoms of work depression that can potentially impact your work.
- Feelings of complacency about your job
- Heightened anxiety levels, particularly when you are trying to manage stressful situations
- Feelings of worthlessness, helplessness, overwhelming guilt, and hopelessness
- Inability to concentrate on your work tasks
- Making plenty of errors when performing your daily work tasks
- Irritability and low frustration tolerance
- Coming to work late
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What To Do When You Are Depressed
There are millions of people who struggle with depression each year. Imagine how many lives could be saved if depressed individuals knew what to do when working on treating depression and relieving depression symptoms. This type of mood disorder is very serious, but that doesn’t mean it can’t be overcome. One of the best ways to fight depression and find treatment for it is to know how to handle it. In order to make that happen, you have to know what to do when you are depressed.
Set Plans
Sometimes just having a plan and scheduling your life can be a small treatment for some of your symptoms. Setting plans may sound basic and redundant, but planning is an excellent way of giving yourself something to look forward to. One of the best ways to set plans is either using a virtual calendar on your phone or a physical calendar. Taking notes of what needs to be done when is always helpful, and it can also prevent you from feeling overwhelmed or unsure of what to tackle next. Following through with plans has a way of keeping people focused and busy having something to do can furthermore take your mind off depression or additional triggers.
Interact with Other People
Exercise
Itâs common knowledge that depression makes you feel extremely lethargic and fatigued. When dealing with depression, you may have no interest in exercise as you may be experiencing very low energy levels.
Soak up Some Sunlight and Fresh Air
Take it One Day at a Time
Embrace Positive Thoughts
How Does Depression Affect Productivity
Depression and workplace productivity can significantly counteract each other. This is a common challenge for many people suffering from depression. Employers suffer, too: The estimated cost, due to loss of productivity related to depression and its effects, is in the billions of dollars.3
Why is it hard to keep up workplace performance when youre depressed? The symptoms of depression can be debilitating. Depression can affect productivity in these ways:4
- Lack of concentration
- Lack of initiative or motivation
- Low energy, fatigue
- Poor communication with others
Depression at work is a challenge for many. Self-care and daily changes in your routine may help, but its important you talk to your doctor, a therapist, or behavioral provider for long-term management of depression. Without treatment, depression can worsen.
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Causes Of Workplace Depression
Several reasons explain why you might feel depressed at work. While the causes of workplace depression may be different for different people, some causes of workplace depression are evident in all individuals struggling with this condition.
Besides feeling too depressed to work, there are other possible causes of workplace depression that include:
- Experiencing workplace discrimination or harassment
- Working during irregular hours
Feeling Down And Low On Energy At Work
You may find yourself sad at work, unmotivated, or feel like you want to go home and go back to bed.
Its hard to motivate yourself to show up at meetings, organize your daily work tasks, or even connect with your colleagues or clients when youre feeling low.
It can feel like someone drained your battery, or like everything you need to do at work feels far more difficult or challenging than it normally does, says Melissa Matos, a licensed psychologist in California. Depression can hijack your ability to get things done.
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Counter Depression With Exercise
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention , getting regular physical activity can make you less likely to develop depression. Exercising three to five times weekly for 30 to 60 minutes can provide mental health benefits because exercise is a good way to get “out of your head” and focus on moment-to-moment sensations, such as your breathing and movements.
Accept That Youll Have Bad Days
Recovering from depression is often a marathon, not a sprint. Many people with depression go through bad days, even when theyre making steady, consistent progress toward feeling better and functioning properly.
If you wake up and notice that your depression symptoms feel particularly intense, dont feel like you have to have a perfect morning. Instead, accept that youre going through one of those days and let yourself make a few simple, comfort-inducing compromises.
This could mean treating yourself to something indulgent in the morning, letting yourself spend a little more time in bed or just taking it slow in the morning.
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Are The Signs Of Untreated Depression In Men Different From Those In Women
Men who have untreated clinical depression may exhibit more anger, frustration, and violent behavior than women. In addition, men with untreated depression may take dangerous risks such as reckless driving and having unsafe sex. Men are not aware that physical symptoms, such as headaches, digestive disorders and chronic pain, can be symptoms of depression.
S To Take If You Feel Too Depressed To Work
Home> Steps to take if you feel too depressed to work
There are more people dealing with depression and anxiety at work than you may think. If youre suffering from depression, it can impact many aspects of your life, your career is one of them.
When you go past the point of just having a bad day and you begin to experience frequent negative thoughts combined with a low self-esteem, you could be suffering from clinical depression.
Despite the stigma which still surrounds depression, it is an extremely debilitating condition which can leave you struggling to function in your everyday life.
The effects of clinical depression can leave you finding it very difficult to perform tasks which are necessary for your job. Of course, depression can also make it feel almost impossible to get up and go to work in the first place.
Its important to remember that youre not the only one who feels this way, although it can feel like you are sometimes.
The Office of National Statistics announced that in 2018, mental health conditions such as stress, depression, and anxiety were the fourth most common reason for people to be absent from work in the UK.
Thus, highlighting the prevalence of mental health issues and the demand for these conditions to be spoken about, showing others how to manage depression in the workplace.
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How Does Depression Affect Work
For people with severe depression, getting out of bed to go to work may not always be possible, said Steve Joordens, a professor of psychology at the University of Toronto.
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Many of the people who are most severe are not going to work. Theyre literally not leaving their bed, not leaving their bedroom, and thats when it gets really dangerous, he said.
People experience different levels of depression, he explained, meaning those with mild or moderate cases may still maintain professional commitments even if its very challenging.
A critical feature of depression is nothing seems to matter there seems to be no point in doing anything, he said.
At work, depression can make it harder for people to concentrate and be productive, said Nasreen Khatri, a registered clinical psychologist and clinician scientist with Baycrests Rotman Research Institute in Toronto. Depressed workers may also feel exhausted or overwhelmed.
Depression can also make employees more socially withdrawn, and all of this impacts workplace productivity.
Mental illness costs the Canadian economy $51 billion a year, and 500,000 Canadians call in sick every week due to a mental health issue, Khatri said.
Most short- and long-term disability claims are made for a mental health issue.
Speak With Your Work Counselor
Not all jobs provide access to a mental health professional. If yours has one on-site, you may find an occasional meeting beneficial to work through feelings of depression on the job.
If you arent able to have on-site meetings, your company may offer mental health incentive programs that support speaking with a professional on your own time.
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But Know That The Initial Excitement Can Fade
Unfortunately, job searches can be gruelingeven without the added challenge of dealing with depression. And those initial feelings of excitement may fade they did for Mulvihill.
I would have days where I couldnt get out of bed because in my head all I could think about was how hopeless the whole situation was and how undesirable I was in all aspects of my life. This, of course, led to a lack of productivity, which made me anxious and sent me into a further depressive spiral, she says. Depressive episodes are the quickest ways to drain me of my mental fortitude and emotional stability.
What Mulvihill experienced is not uncommon, especially because job hunting often involves frequent rejection. Suffering from depression while looking for a job can lead to feelings of defeat and worthlessness, which are not healthy ways to think about yourself, says Adina Mahalli, MSW, a certified mental health consultant for Maple Holistics. The longer it takes you to get hired, the harder it will be for you to pick yourself up and get out of bed each day.
Make It Harder To Switch Off Your Alarm
Sometimes, the simplest techniques are the most effective. One way to make getting out of bed easier is to move your alarm just out of reach of your bed, forcing you to get out of the covers to turn it off.
This way, even if you want to hit snooze, youre forced to at least complete the first step in your morning routine.
If youre prone to getting up, hitting the snooze button and going back to bed , try putting your alarm on the other side of the room, or in another room. Or set one alarm inside your bedroom, then set the alarm on your phone and put it in the kitchen.
Once youve switched off the first alarm, walked to the kitchen and switched off the second, its much easier to just brew some coffee and make breakfast than to go back to bed.
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What To Do When Youre Too Depressed To Work
Are you too depressed to work?
Everyone gets sad from time to time, but the major depressive disorder is a serious mental illness
If you have DMM, there are massive consequences.
Your symptoms of depression can be crippling, and the statistics back it up!
The World Health Organization lists depression as the leading cause of disability worldwide.
If youre having trouble working during a depressive episode, dont beat yourself up over it. This is not something you can snap out of with willpower.
Mental health issues can be just as detrimental to your ability to work as physical health conditions.
Thankfully, there are options available for what to do, to get you back on your feet and confident at work.
Set Your Messages Aside
A common symptom of depression is difficulty concentrating. If a constant flow of e-mails and phone calls is interrupting your train of thought, you may be diverted from the more important tasks you need to accomplish. If this is a challenge for you, resist the urge to constantly check your e-mail, and allow your phone calls to be handled by voicemail. Set aside several times throughout the day to respond to these messages.
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Take It One Step At A Time
When youre warm and cozy in bed, getting to work or the kids off to school can feel impossible there are so many steps between where you are and where you to need to be. Instead, dont look at the big picture.
When you wake up in the morning, if you look at everything you have to accomplish for the day, youre going to become overwhelmed, says Dr. Vinay Saranga, a psychiatrist based near Raleigh, North Carolina.
Instead, break the day down into smaller, more manageable tasks. Go one by one and only focus on the task that it is in front of you.
Tell yourself to put your feet on the floor. Then go to the bathroom. Then brush your teeth. Then get dressed and so on. Think just one step ahead until it feels more manageable to look further out.
The idea is to avoid overwhelm and make things simple to knock out, he says.
What If I Work From Home
Whether you have a remote work office or a desk near your bed, you can innovate ways to compartmentalize your work hours and your off time. You can try:
- putting a door hangar on the knob to alert family and roommates youre in a meeting or deep focus
- setting an alarm to end your workday and to begin your down time
- powering down your devices instead of just putting them to sleep mode
- physically putting something on your workspace to remind you hands off until the next day
These other resources might be helpful:
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Potential Triggers Of Work Depression
The relationship between work and depression is one that can work both ways. Depression can impact your ability to perform your job well, and stress at work can also contribute to a person becoming depressed. Some work-related triggers that can cause major depression or stress include:
- A high workload
- Being asked to do things outside your competency level
- Sudden changes or difficulties with colleagues
- Inflexible working hours
- Poor management processes and/or communication
- Unclear objectives and a lack of support for your work