There are signs of depression you shouldn’t ignore
Depression symptoms aren’t always obvious, especially if you are already depressed.
You might not realize that you are struggling, let alone think to ask if are you depressed or not. Life feels so hard, and you just don’t care.
Yet, it doesn’t have to be this way. Your life can be richer and more rewarding.
However, it starts by recognizing that something’s wrong.
Depression isn’t impossible to solve at all, and it’s well worth the effort to resolve if it means having a life you deserve. Here then are signs of depression you shouldn’t ignore.
An Apathetic Mindset
One of the signs of depression you shouldn’t ignore is feelings of apathy. Apathy, when you think about it, means more than simply not caring, although that’s a big part of it. Rather, apathy implies a sense of detachment and lack of investment. You are not concerned about the consequences because they don’t really matter anymore.
For example, let’s say that it’s Monday morning and you know that you should get up and prepare for work. Most people don’t want to miss work because they don’t want to face the repercussions: a warning from the supervisor, or even being dismissed. But depression causes you not to care about those issues anymore.
Loss of Enthusiasm
Another depression symptom to be aware of is that things don’t get you excited like they used to. For instance, you always looked forward to Saturday and watching sports on TV. You really got into watching the games, following the commentary, and rooting for your team. In fact, it used to be that you couldn’t wait until the weekend and game day.
Yet, now that enthusiasm has disappeared. What’s left is a numbness that you can’t describe, but that feels unbearable.
Your Motivation Disappears
Because you have become apathetic and have lost your enthusiasm, your motivation disappears too. You once had goals and dreams. Perhaps it was graduating from college or moving across the country. Maybe there was that trip that you had always planned to take. But now, just getting out of bed has become insurmountable. How could you possibly accomplish your dreams now?
The hard part about a loss of motivation is that you haven’t forgotten those things. In fact, the knowledge that you once had objectives you wanted to accomplish only creates more pain.
Not Feeling Good Enough
It’s common for people struggling with depression to believe that they are somehow not good enough or are deserving. Whether that’s kindness, love, or even success—the result is the same. And that’s really hard, as the reality is that everyone deserves those things.
This mindset also makes it difficult for others to understand what’s happening. That’s because you push them away. Maybe you don’t want them to be bothered by your depression. Or you feel that they shouldn’t have to “deal” with you. Yet, that’s the furthest from the truth.
Hopelessness
If you are questioning whether you are depressed, consider whether you have had feelings of hopelessness. All of the depression symptoms listed above can be consolidated into that one word.
When you are hopeless, you don’t believe that things are going to get better. Thus, you lose motivation, enthusiasm, and are apathetic. And that ties into your self-worth and the thinking that you don’t deserve anything better. Once in the depression rut, it can be really hard to get out.
Reaching Out for Help with Depression
After considering the aforementioned signs of depression, perhaps you realized that you shouldn’t ignore certain things any longer. If you even have the slightest suspicion that you are depressed, get help. You don’t have to suffer with depression indefinitely.
Therapy for depression can help you to resolve those depression symptoms so that you don’t have to feel this way anymore. It will allow you to unlock the door that’s keeping all your positivity shut-in. With the support and guidance from an experienced therapist who understands depression, you do have the power to change your life for the better.
Please, feel free to contact me to find out more about my approach to depression counseling.