What To Do When Someone Is Having A Depressive Episode

How To Deal With It When It Comes

Depression, for you, might arrive like a violent storm or a creeping mist. If you are under the effect of an episode, these tips will certainly help you take control of your thoughts and get your spirits back up.

Identifying the onset of a depressive episode can be frightening. Feeling anxious and panicked is a natural reaction, but this response can worsen other symptoms.

Instead, find an anchor such as your breath or the sensation in your hands to keep you connected with the physical world around you. Bringing your body to a place of natural stillness will help promote a sense of calm.

One of the most unbearable characteristics of a depressive episode is that it makes you think that it will never end. As counterintuitive as it seems, accepting that you are going through a difficult episode makes it a little easier to cope with.

May it be playing with your pet or doodling away, spending some quality time doing what makes you joyful is one of the easiest ways to get through a depressive episode.

You could try painting, colouring, baking, or simply catching up on your favourite TV show.

Take some time out of your daily routine to be mindful and appreciate the present moment. Practices like meditation and deep breathing exercises can help keep you grounded.

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Whats The Difference Between Sadness And Depression

Whether youve lost a loved one, moved to a new place, or missed out on a job opportunity, there are plenty of stressful and upsetting events that can get you down. However, the difference between sadness and depression is that sadness usually passes with a little time, while depression is a mood disorder that can appear without any specific cause and last for two weeks or more.

Depression impacts almost every part of your life, interfering with how you think, feel, and go about your daily activities like sleeping, working, and socializing. Some common symptoms of depression include:

• Feeling empty
• Difficulty sleeping or sleeping more than normal
• Changes in appetite or weight
• Feelings of hopelessness
• Loss of interest in hobbies or activities
• Irritability or restlessness
• Aches and pains without clear physical causes
• Thoughts of death or suicide

To be diagnosed with depression, these symptoms must be present nearly all day, every day for at least two weeks.

The Risk Of Suicide Is Real

What to do in a crisis situation

If you believe your loved one is at an immediate risk for suicide, do NOT leave them alone.

In the U.S., dial 911 or call the 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline at 988.

In other countries, call your countrys emergency services number or visit IASP to find a suicide prevention helpline.

It may be hard to believe that the person you know and love would ever consider something as drastic as suicide, but a depressed person may not see any other way out. Depression clouds judgment and distorts thinking, causing a normally rational person to believe that death is the only way to end the pain theyre feeling.

Since suicide is a very real danger when someone is depressed, its important to know the warning signs:

• Talking about suicide, dying, or harming oneself a preoccupation with death
• Expressing feelings of hopelessness or self-hate
• Acting in dangerous or self-destructive ways
• Getting affairs in order and saying goodbye
• Seeking out pills, weapons, or other lethal objects
• A sudden sense of calm after depression

If you think a friend or family member might be considering suicide, dont wait, talk to them about your concerns. Many people feel uncomfortable bringing up the topic but it is one of the best things you can do for someone who is thinking about suicide. Talking openly about suicidal thoughts and feelings can save a persons life, so speak up if youre concerned and seek professional help immediately!

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I Engage All Of My Senses

I tend to get trapped in my own thoughts and feelings.

In therapy, Iâve learned how to use my senses of sight, touch, taste, smell, and sound to shift my focus. Each of my five senses is important and engages different parts of my brain, and affects my mood. The simple act of feeding my senses brings me back into the present moment, making me feel more safe and grounded.

I look outside â and really look â at the beauty of the trees and sky. I listen to music, which can soothe or energize me, depending on what I need to hear. I try new recipes so that I can experience different flavors and engage my sense of taste. I use touch to calm down by petting my dog. When I wash the dishes, I focus on how the water and soap feel on my hands. I love using essential oils to cope with anxiety â I carry a bottle of lavender oil in my purse and if I begin to feel afraid or unsettled, I pull it out and breathe in the aroma 10 times.

Recognize And Prevent Depression

The manic and depressive phases of bipolar disorder donât necessarily follow a pattern. You can have a few bouts of depression before you have a manic phase.

But over time, youâll notice things that cause changes in your mood and warning signs that depression could be setting in. When you catch those symptoms early, you can often avoid major depression.

Keep a mood chart to track how you feel, your treatments, sleep, and other activities. Take note of times when you feel stressed — maybe when youâre with certain people or in a specific place. The first signs of depression could be that you feel tired and canât sleep. Short periods of depression can be a sign that a severe phase is coming.

The people around you can help you recognize patterns, too. Ask your family and mental health professional to watch for changes in your behavior that signal an oncoming issue. They may be able to notice things that you donât.

Even when you feel great, make sure to keep up with your treatment — it can prevent a relapse of depression. Eat a healthy diet, exercise, and try new ways to ease stress and manage your moods: Join a support group, take up a hobby, or practice relaxation methods like meditation, yoga, or massage.

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Pay Attention To Sleep Hygiene

Depression and sleep are closely linked. Almost everyone going through a depressive episode experiences sleep disturbances. The relationship is bidirectional, meaning poor sleep can cause depression and depression can lead to poor sleep.

If you are trying to bounce back from depression, pay attention to sleep hygiene. This includes sticking to a regular bedtime, avoiding alcohol and caffeine late in the evening, ensuring your bedroom is cool, dark, and quiet, and switching off all electronic devices 2 hours before bedtime.

Can Depression Be Prevented

You can help prevent depression by getting enough sleep, eating a healthy diet and practicing regular self-care activities such as exercise, meditation and yoga.

If youve had depression before, you may be more likely to experience it again. If you have depression symptoms, get help. Care can help you feel better sooner.

• Find a therapist to overcome depression

Click on almost any standard health site, such as Web-MD, and look up depression and it will report that depression is different than normal sadness. The site will normally proceed to proclaim that, unlike normal sadness, depression is a âtreatable medical condition.â Unfortunately, differentiating depression from sadness by describing the former as a treatable medical condition does not really explain what depression is it only tells you that you need to see a doctor.

So, lets be very clear about what depression is and then proceed to see why we can characterize depressive episodes in terms of depressive reactions, depressive disorders, and depressive diseases.

I was crestfallen and recall weeping profoundly in the hours following that discovery. But although I was deeply sad in the days that followed, I was not depressed nor did I become depressed.

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Signs And Symptoms Of Bipolar Disorder

Bipolar disorder can look very different in different people. The symptoms vary widely in their pattern, severity, and frequency. Some people are more prone to either mania or depression, while others alternate equally between the two types of episodes. Some have frequent mood disruptions, while others experience only a few over a lifetime.

There are four types of mood episodes in bipolar disorder: mania, hypomania, depression, and mixed episodes. Each type of bipolar disorder mood episode has a unique set of symptoms.

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Recognizing Depression Symptoms In A Loved One

Family and friends are often the first line of defense in the fight against depression. Thats why its important to understand the signs and symptoms of depression. You may notice the problem in a depressed loved one before they do, and your influence and concern can motivate them to seek help.

Be concerned if your loved one:

Doesnt seem to care about anything anymore. Has lost interest in work, sex, hobbies, and other pleasurable activities. Has withdrawn from friends, family, and other social activities.

Expresses a bleak or negative outlook on life. Is uncharacteristically sad, irritable, short-tempered, critical, or moody talks about feeling helpless or hopeless.

Frequently complains of aches and pains such as headaches, stomach problems, and back pain. Or complains of feeling tired and drained all the time.

Sleeps less than usual or oversleeps. Has become indecisive, forgetful, disorganized, and out of it.

Eats more or less than usual, and has recently gained or lost weight.

Drinks more or abuses drugs, including prescription sleeping pills and painkillers, as a way to self-medicate how theyre feeling.

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How To Spot An Impending Depressive Episode

Feeling down once in a while is not necessarily a sign of depression or even an oncoming depressive episode. Feeling blue on occasion is a part and parcel of everyones life and something we cannot hope to eliminate completely.

So how do you discern between an oncoming depressive episode and general sentiments of anxiety and/or sadness? Here are some signs to look out for:

A feeling of hopelessness and depression that is persistent and intense.

It is common to feel insignificant or shameful at the onset of an episode.

You may endure acute panic and have feelings of impending doom, heart palpitations, or shortness of breath.

A substantial loss of interest in activities you once enjoyed. Performing daily activities like chores or even hobbies might seem like a burden.

Feeling exhausted and weary, along with slowness in movements and thinking. This is the kind of loss of energy that cannot be amounted to lack of good quality sleep.

You might lose your appetite or crave sugar and carb-heavy foods. Overeating can additionally cause blood sugar dips and spikes that end up making you feel worse.

Either excessive sleep or trouble sleeping and insomnia. If your thoughts are keeping you up, or you have difficulty getting out of bed, a depressive episode may be lurking around the corner.

Support Them In Continuing Therapy

On a bad day, your friend might not feel like leaving the house. Depression can zap energy and increase the desire to self-isolate.

If they say something like, I think Im going to cancel my therapy appointment, encourage them to stick with it.

You might say, Last week you said your session was really productive and you felt a lot better afterward. What if todays session helps, too?

The same goes for medication. If your friend wants to stop taking medication because of unpleasant side effects, be supportive, but encourage them to talk with their psychiatrist about switching to a different antidepressant or stopping their medication entirely.

Abruptly stopping antidepressants without the supervision of a healthcare professional may have serious consequences. Typically, reaching out to a healthcare professional before stopping medication use can prevent health complications.

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Understand And Accept Depression

Learning more about depression can help people deal with the condition. Depression is a widespread and genuine mental health disorder. It is not a sign of weakness or a personal shortcoming.

Accepting that a depressive episode may occur from time to time might help people deal with it when it does. Remember, it is possible to manage symptoms with treatments, such as lifestyle changes, medication, and therapy.

What Are The Symptoms Of Depression And How Is It Diagnosed

The NHS recommends that you should see your GP if you experience symptoms of depression for most of the day, every day, for more than 2 weeks.

Doctors make decisions about diagnosis based on manuals. The manual used by NHS doctors is the International Classification of Diseases .

When you see a doctor they will look for the symptoms that are set out in the ICD-10 guidance. You do not have to have all of these to be diagnosed with depression. You might have just experience some of them.

Some symptoms of depression are:

• low mood, feeling sad, irritable or angry,
• having less energy to do certain things,
• losing interest or enjoyment in activities you used to enjoy,
• reduced concentration,

You may also find that with low mood you:

• feel less pleasure from things,
• feel more agitated,
• find your thoughts and movements slow down, and
• have thoughts of self-harm or suicide.

Your doctor should also ask about any possible causes of depression. For example, they may want to find out if youve experienced anything traumatic recently which could be making you feel this way.

There are no physical tests for depression. But the doctors may do some tests to check if you have any physical problems. For example, an underactive thyroid can cause depression.

On the NHS website, they have a self-assessment test which can help you to assess whether you are living with depression: www.nhs.uk/mental-health/conditions/clinical-depression/overview/

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Quick Primer On A Bipolar Disorder Manic Episode

Leading up to a manic episode, you may notice a loved one with bipolar disorder exhibiting energy levels or giddiness not typical for them.

Maybe theyve become increasingly obsessive about a project, really impatient, or super chatty. This unpredictable behavior may start negatively affecting their relationships and interfering with work or home life.

Reach Out To People You Care About

Especially during the COVID-19 pandemic, isolation makes depressive episodes even worse. In fact, there is evidence that loneliness and social isolation can greatly worsen an individuals mental health. But by making plans with people you care about, you can get some much-needed social interaction, which can help you get out of your depressive episode. You dont have to do anything big or special eitherjust inviting someone over to sit and talk or watch TV for a few hours can make a world of difference.

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Coping With Depressive Episodes: 4 Effective Steps

Depression isnt necessarily constant in a persons life. In fact, depression has been known to come and go over time.

Those moments when you are struggling with depression are known as depressive episodes. Generally, they last at least two weeks and can have a variety of symptoms associated with it. These can include fatigue, irritability, interrupted sleep, and especially a loss of interest in things that you typically like to do.

When you are stuck in a depressive episode, its important to know effective steps to cope with it.

Thoughts Of Death And Suicide

A person going through a major depressive episode may have repeated thoughts about death or suicide , or may have made a suicide attempt. Suicidal ideation can be common amongst victims of depression, which is where a person often thinks about not being alive anymore, but they don’t yet have a plan to carry out. The frequency and intensity of thoughts about suicide can range from believing that friends and family would be better off if one were dead, to frequent thoughts about committing suicide , to detailed plans about how the suicide would be carried out. Those who are more severely suicidal may have made specific plans and decided upon a day and location for the suicide attempt. When this happens, they often keep to themselves about it, and may do it when and where they think no one would suspect.

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Signs And Symptoms: How To Identify Depression

Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disordersdiagnosed with major depressive disorder

Do you:

• Constantly feel tearful, empty, or worthless?
• Have little interest or pleasure in your work, hobbies, friends, family, and other things you once enjoyed?
• Notice dramatic changes up or down in your appetite or your weight not related to dieting?
• Often feel listless or fatigued for no obvious reason?
• Have trouble concentrating or making decisions?
• Find yourself wringing your hands, pacing, or showing other signs of anxious restlessness or the opposite, moving or speaking more slowly than usual?
• Struggle with insomnia or sleep too much?
• Have recurrent thoughts of suicide or death?

To be diagnosed with MDD, one of your symptoms must be a persistent low mood or a loss of interest or pleasure, the DSM-5 states. Your symptoms must also not be due to substance abuse or a medical condition, such as thyroid problems, a brain tumor, or a nutritional deficiency.

Of course, its normal to have any or all of these symptoms temporarily from time to time. The difference with depression is that the symptoms persist and make it difficult to function normally.