Depression affects many of us around the globe. Many Teenagers face this disorder.
Depression is a sneaky mental disorder. It's difficult to catch during the early stages.
Most of us realise we have depression when we are deep in the grips of it. Those with this mental disorder feel hopeless, empty or sad, fatigued, irritable and restless.
Depression not only takes your motivation away but you can have problems concentrating and making decisions. Those of us with this disorder can act in ways that will worsen the situation.
Here is a list of 10 things depression makes you feel and do.
There is no pleasure or joy in life
A person with depression may not enjoy things they once loved and feel like nothing can make them happy.
Everything feels hopeless
Depression may make people feel that there is no way to feel good or happy again.
Self-esteem is often absent
People with depression may feel like they are worthless or a failure at everything. They may dwell on negative events and experiences and cannot see positive qualities in themselves
Living in fear
People with depression fear that terrible things will happen to them.
In severe cases some will sabotage a good situation believing that it will turn bad. Other times Teenagers will reject opportunities and stop pursuing their dreams. It's a twisted way to protect yourself because this prevents you from living and gaining amazing things.
Dodging your problems
Depression by itself is overwhelming. You can feel devastated and out-of-control most days so trying to face situations and problems head-on is difficult enough. Instead you ignore all said problems aside and this in turn can bring trouble because it will continue to pile up.
Those without depression may see this behaviour as lazy but the truth is showering or changing into clean clothes is exhausting and painful at times.
Struggling with sleep
Depression affects your sleeping schedule. Some of you may stay up and sleep very little. It keeps you up with your intrusive unwanted thoughts that may end up making you feel anxious all through the night. In other cases some of you will sleep excessively and still feel unrested.
Being disorganised
Dirty dishes and clothes pile up. It becomes an even bigger physical challenge to work around your room because everything is on the floor. Living in a cluttered place leaves you feeling uneasy but the lack of energy doesn't help.
Terrible eating habits
Those with depression will either eat too much or hardly anything at all. Some of you may find yourself in the kitchen eating everything trying to eat away the emptiness of the sadness you're feeling while others don't have appetite and may even feel disgusted by food. In other cases some of you may feel so exhausted that the thought of preparing a meal is overwhelming.
Lack of motivation
Depression steals your interests and desires right from under you. Your favourite hobby is no longer satisfying. Slowly you see yourself feeling dead and numb inside. If you are not careful you end up staying in bed all day.
Concentration or focus becomes harder
Making decisions, reading, or watching television can seem taxing with depression because people cannot think clearly or follow what is happening.
Exaggerating every situation
Depression plays tricks on your mind making you believe negative things. It can get to a point where you are constantly looking out for bad things to reassure your negative thinking.
Every time something bad happens, you use it as evidence to prove how bad life is. This slippery slope makes it difficult to see life under a brighter light.
Feeling guilty and feeling self-hatred
If you allow depression to take over your thoughts, then you will most likely feel self hatred.
You continue to talk down to yourself and this often leads to development of self-esteem issues along with poor self-image. Eventually you will believe you aren't worth it anymore.
Some people (Teenagers) with this mental disorder can even feel guilt by thinking all their problems are their fault.
Poor hygiene
Depression takes your energy. It's difficult enough to get out of bed. So showering, brushing your teeth, washing your hair and taking care of your body goes out the window.
And finally…
Isolating yourself
Individuals with depression, especially teens isolate themselves for different reasons. Some will keep to themselves because they feel overwhelmed socialising and others believe it's better to be alone. In other cases the person may feel so much self hatred that they prefer to not interact with people. Those with severe depression may even stay in their house for weeks.
Depression affects us in different ways, the list mentioned above is from personal experience and some of the common behaviours those with the disorder have.
Do you agree with these points?
Let's hear other people's experiences.
Any of the following behaviours however it really depends a person;
When you have depression you will cry more easily.
It's hard to get out of bed.
You don't enjoy any activities anymore , you actually hardly smile.
You feel an emptiness, what can not be filled in any way , how hard you try.
Some People isolate themselves.
Thoughts of death
You are so tired ,even when the sun is shining it still feels so dark , like it's raining heavily outside, it would not feel any different.
Some people who struggle with depression either oversleep or don't sleep enough.
Negative thoughts play over .
Feeling hopeless.
Everything feels too much .
Substance abuse
Lack of appetite or eating too much
Aggression
Don't feel pretty/ handsome or good enough.
Some people who suffer depression can also get anxiety issues .
If you know someone who is suffering from depression just try to be there for them.
If you notice any of these feelings in your friends or loved ones just be there for them and talk with them. And tell them you know a good psychologist or psychiatrist you can refer them to.
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Noticing the symptoms of depression may be hard. There are usually small changes signalling the beginning of depression which could be difficult to notice if you don’t have a close relationship to the person. People who are depressed can laugh and joke and act like anyone else and you won’t notice they’re suffering depression. When I was 14 one of my best friends had been battling severe depression for several years and I hadn’t noticed until she trusted me enough to tell me. But I’d say some of the most common symptoms is an empty look in their eyes, forces smiles and laughter, they stop enjoying something they loved to do before, increased isolation , change in personality, sometimes a sudden change in appearance, trouble sleeping, saying goodbye to friends and family as if they won’t ever see them again. These are just some signals but everyone is different so just look for changes in the person and try to get them to open up for you.
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Depression comes in all forms, some may have acute depression and be laughing all the time, whereas one may have the exact same symptoms of depression and that person could be eating all day long, then there's another case where depression can make one so sensitive they are offended by the boldest things said, then there's another case whereas one having depression can be in front of the television but their minds aren't into the picture but is elsewhere in lala land, then there's another case of depression whereas one having depression will be a work-aholic, then there's another case of depression whereas one having depression, they will be in total isolation even if they are around family and relatives, so depression comes in all forms of behaviours. Some even having suicidal thoughts. Some being an alcoholic or even an addict of some sort whether it's to steal, or even into pornography, depression comes in all forms. There's just too many to know how an individual will act, so don't judge!
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Not everyone with depression is obviously depressed. They may seem normal to you, smiling and interacting on the outside. Everyone is different. Some are obviously sad, some are irritable. There isn’t a signature look.
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Everyone is different. If you see someone withdrawing from social contacts and avoiding these situations, it may be a sign. Not eating much or eating too much. That depends on what the person usually does. It is the same for sleeping too much, or too little. Lack of concentration too. That are signs. So, there are things you can look for, but, like I sid, not all are equal.
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They won't be able to separate their thoughts from feelings. If they think bad, they'll feel bad as well.
I always had control…I'd have the worst thoughts but they had no effect on my feelings/emotions. But when I was(am) depressed, I can't seem to differentiate between the two.
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In my experience (own and and observed) it really depends on how depressed the person feels (depression can vary from mild to extreme aka clinical depression). However, there are some similar characteristics in all of them like not wanting to do much, feeling low, feeling sad, feeling tearful. They may not be very enthusiastic about events/ subjects they used to be, they might tend to isolate themselves and start avoiding contact with people. They might also lose their appetite, not want to move much, talk about dark subjects, act and look numb or in pain. Sometimes even the speech of depressed person can become affected - i.e. they start to speak slower or with lower voice. They might stop caring about how they look and even about their hygiene (for example I have stopped wearing make up for some time because in my depressed period as I didn’t care anymore and even taking shower felt like a painful exercise). Also, often there is general feeling of tiredness and depressed people might want to sleep a lot, or alternatively stay up with insomnia(sleeplessness).
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What other behaviours have you noticed let us know in the comment section below.
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