How To Identify Common Depression Symptoms
Attention Deficit Disorder is a chronic condition by which it’s afflicted are continually inattentive, hyperactive, and occasionally impulsive. ADHD starts in childhood and often lingers into adulthood. As many as 2 out of every 3 children affected by ADHD continue to have symptoms well into adulthood. This includes inattention, hyperactivity, and impulsivity – which are the key behaviors of those with ADHD.
Often characterized by a mental breakdown, crisis management is dealing with extreme situations in an effective manner. People who suffer from this are typically incapable of thinking of practical solutions and will negate the issue at hand. The patient suffering from crisis management tends to need help very early on in the process. This means reaching out to family/friends and contacting a doctor or mental health provider.
After loss, some individuals have a difficult time returning to their lives before and require special attention and help. The grieving process is very individualized; there is no actual timetable for it to end. Grief encompasses shock and disbelief, sadness, guilt, anger, and fear.
Dealing with stress and stressful situation with calm, level-headed intentions and charisma. Physical symptoms of stress range from low energy and headaches to chest pain and dry mouth. If left unchecked, ongoing stress can cause serious health issues including depression, cardiovascular disease, obesity, sexual dysfunction, and gastrointestinal problems.
Abuse, consistent use, or addiction characterizes the plight of substance use disorders. The substance could be interfering with the person’s personal or professional life or even life-threatening. Common Substance Use disorders include Alcohol Use Disorder, Tobacco Use Disorder, and Cannabis Use Disorder. Regardless of the substance, many of the same behaviors are prevalent and require the same course of treatment.
Anger management is dealing with the inability to cope with stressful situations, controlling one’s anger, attitude, and ability to deal with situations productively and responsibly under calm duress. Suppressed anger can also be an underlying cause of anxiety and depression. Doctors suggest deep breathing and positive self-talk as the first steps in helping manage anger.
People with issues resulting from medicating chronic pain issues require specialized healing that can come in numerous forms and must be discovered individually with guidance from a trained professional. Chronic pain is often defined as any pain that lasts longer than 12 weeks. Whereas acute pain is a normal sensation that alerts us to possible injury, chronic pain is very different. Chronic pain persists—often for months and sometimes even longer and may be complicated by issues associated with prescription medication.
Controlling feelings or actions that are immediate and often reactionary. These individuals need assistance in finding new psychology in dealing with their intense immediacy and needs. Scientists are still researching the cause of these types of disorders but many think that there are a good handful of factors including physical or biological, psychological or emotional, and cultural or societal issues.
Caused from a moment or moments of extremely stressful situations, environments, and individuals. This disorder can cause the afflicted to avoid people, places, or activities in fear and completely disrupt their personal and professional lives. Not every traumatized person develops ongoing (chronic) or even short-term (acute) PTSD. Not everyone with PTSD has been through a dangerous event. Some experiences, like the sudden, unexpected death of a loved one, can also cause PTSD.
Anxiety disorders are a cluster of mental disorders marked by feelings of anxiety or loathing. Anxiety is a worry about the future and loathing is a reaction to current happenings. These feelings could manifest in physical forms, such as a faster heart rate or trembling. Disorders in this category include Generalized Anxiety Disorder, Panic Disorder, Social Anxiety Disorder, and Sleep Disorders.
Mood disorders refer to a plethora of swinging, bipolar, or mood control disorders. These disorders often ruin relationships and take control of the individual’s free will. About 20% of the U.S. population reports at least one depressive symptom in a given month, and 12% report two or more in a year. Depression is a common feature of mental illness, whatever its nature and origin. People are more easily demoralized by depression and slower to recover if they are withdrawn and unreasonably self-critical or irritable, impulsive, and hypersensitive to loss.
Trauma is caused by a personal experience with another individual. Often characterized by mental, verbal, and physical abuse inflicted on the sufferer. Women experience remarkably high rates of relational trauma including child abuse and neglect and intimate partner violence (IPV) during adulthood, and the childbearing years are no exception.
Personality disorders are disorders in which a person may forget who they are or become another person they think they are. It causes major disruptions in their daily lives and relationships. Symptoms of each personality disorder differ and can be either mild or severe. People with personality disorders often have trouble identifying that they have a problem; they believe their thoughts are normal and that it is other people who are to blame. Treatment usually includes talk therapy and sometimes medicine.
Body image issues are when an individual sees themselves in an extremely negative light. It could stem from mental and verbal abuse from any age and typically attacks the psyche by focusing on what the sufferer perceives as a flaw. Researchers have noted that people with body image issues or disordered eating have difficulties with visual processing.
Issues pertaining to family are treated with the help of clinicians who know how to break down communication barriers in relationships in order to fix the problems at hand. Conflicts are a part of family life. A lot of different issues, such as Parenting Issues can lead to conflict, including illness, disability, addiction, job loss, school problems, and marital issues. Listening to one another and actively working to resolve conflicts are key to reinforcing the family.
Problems between loved ones typically stemming from communication breakdowns and the inability to compromise or change to make the other person happy. These issues can arise from a couple spending too little – or even too much – time together. They can stem from fighting over the same issues, from insecurities over your future to feeling misunderstood. Money is also a common root of relationship issues.
Sexual disorders are involving sex, perversion, or acts that have nothing to do with sex in the standard definition but have been fetishized and cause a disruption in the individual or society’s regular agenda. Psychotherapy is a common treatment for desire disorders. Treatment focuses on bringing awareness to any unresolved conflicts and how they impact the patient’s life. While improvement is possible, the sexual dysfunction often becomes autonomous and persists, requiring additional techniques. Various hormones have also been studied for the treatment of sexual desire disorders.
Depression symptoms are caused by one of the most common mental health illnesses in the world. In the United States, major depressive disorder is the leading cause of disability for people ages fifteen to forty-four, and in any given year, about seven percent of U.S. adults will suffer from a depressive episode. In addition, depression increases the risk of drug and alcohol abuse and addiction through the act of self-medicating.
While it is a common misunderstanding among non-professionals that depression is merely one, all-encompassing term, the disorder is more nuanced. There are several different types of depression, and while there are clusters of symptoms that are stable across each type, certain subsets will have specific symptoms attributable to them.
Types of Depression
Major Depressive Disorder
Major depressive disorder has a sudden onset and depression symptoms must last for at least two weeks for a definitive diagnosis. Symptoms are extremely disruptive, and the longer it goes untreated, the higher the risk for suicide.
Dysthymia
Characterized as a lower-grade form of major depressive disorder, dysthymia tends to last for several years. Sufferers may often take on a negative, pessimistic personality and outlook. Because the symptoms of depression are not as pronounced, sufferers can go a long time without treatment.
Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD)
SAD is a major depressive episode triggered by periodic and seasonal changes in weather and sunlight. Most who are prone to SAD experience it in the winter months when sunlight is low, but there are rarer forms where people get it during the spring and summer with increased sunlight and warmth.
Psychotic Depression
This is a rare type of depression where the individual is suffering from depressive symptoms in addition to hallucinations and delusions. Drugs and substance abuse must be adequately ruled out for a definitive diagnosis, since some drugs can cause bizarre thoughts and beliefs.
Postpartum Depression
A major depressive episode caused by the birth of a child. Plummeting and fluctuating hormone levels coupled with the normal stress of caring for a newborn can cause postpartum. Postpartum and the following PMDD are the reasons why women are more likely to suffer from depression than men at some point in their lives at a ratio of 2:1.
Premenstrual Dysphoric Disorder (PMDD)
PMDD causes women at the start of their menstrual cycle to experience depressive symptoms. Symptoms tend to clear as hormone levels change, then peak again. PMDD is extremely disruptive and can be alleviated with hormonal birth control.
Types of Depression
- A general, pervasive feeling of sadness and lack of motivation
- Lethargy, malaise, and fatigue
- Thoughts of guilt or shame
- Slowed movements and speech
- Random, unexplained aches and pains
- Changes in sleep patterns — trouble falling asleep, staying asleep, or insomnia
- Withdrawal
- Lack of interest in usual activities — may miss work or school
- Self-harm
- Suicidal thoughts and attempts
- Emotional numbness
- Irritability
- Crying for no reason
- Changes in appetite
- Weight gain or loss
- Self-medication
Do depression symptoms lead to self-medicating?
People suffering from mental disorders like depression are at an increased risk of self-medicating and experiencing the harm that comes with that. Self-medication is the act of using illicit drugs, alcohol, or the off-label abuse of prescription drugs to alleviate depression symptoms. 27% of substance and alcohol abusers have co-occurring depression.
Drug addiction with co-occurring depression is particularly concerning for loved ones and healthcare professionals for several reasons. Drug addiction compounds and worsens the symptoms of depression while also adding its own unique risks to the mix.
With drug addiction, sufferers are at increased risk of legal troubles, physical health complications, and further disruption in their family life and careers. Also, drugs can cause psychotic breaks, hostility, an increased risk of accidents, and a lack of impulse control.
What are the risks of resulting drug abuse?
Government surveys indicate that for those treated for depression in an inpatient setting, the rate of death by suicide is four percent. For a person with depression who is already experiencing suicidal thoughts, adding in a substance which further impairs their ability to make rational decisions exponentially increases their risk of attempting suicide.
If a person presents in a clinical setting with co-occurring drug addiction and depression, the person must undergo detox first. Without it, symptoms and the underlying, specific causes of the person’s depression cannot be fully understood and therefore, treated effectively. Once the drug dependence is broken, the depression can be addressed, and a custom-made treatment plan can follow.
Types of Depression
Depression is a multifaceted disease and the entire range of causes and risk factors isn’t fully understood yet. Furthermore, each individual case comes with its own set of unique circumstances, triggers, and events, requiring individualized custom care and treatment.
Once any co-occurring drug addiction is addressed and treated, individuals will need the care and attention of trained therapists, doctors, and social workers for their treatment plan. Family and loved ones must be involved as well. Depression sufferers need a strong, informed support system to prevent relapse and make a full recovery.
Therapy, in the form of talk therapy or cognitive behavioral therapy, is effective for helping depression patients cope with symptoms and develop better coping mechanisms and emotional responses to negative stimuli.
While incredibly important and effective, therapy cannot be the only treatment option. Pharmacological options must also be explored and administered.
SSRIs and SNRIs are among some of the most common prescription treatment options for depression. Light therapy has been found to be effective for SAD sufferers, and for intractable cases, electromagnetic and electro convulsive therapy is still administered and proven effective.
When confronting someone with depression, offer emotional support and non-judgement. Most depression sufferers are already experiencing shame and guilt. Since depression will make the person lethargic, sapping their energy and motivation, consider composing a list of resources for them. Offer to accompany them to appointments and therapy sessions.
If the individual is making overt suicidal threats or threats of harming others, immediately call 911. Also, the National Suicide Prevention hotline is available 24/7 and staffed with caring, dedicated professionals who can offer support and resources for depression sufferers and their loved ones.
