How Depression Affects Emotions
Everyone desires to live a happy life. But that does not mean that we don’t feel down at any point in our lives. On the contrary, everyone experiences some or the other form of sadness or grief. Depression affects emotions you get over it with time. Problems come and go in phases, but with the help of your mental strength, you are able to deal with them effectively.
However, when feelings of despair, self-doubt, and hopelessness refuse to leave your mind, you may be suffering from depression. This mental health disorder interrupts your daily life and routines. Simple things like eating, sleeping, or working become challenging to accomplish. In short, you simply stop enjoying life and struggle to get over each day.
Depression affects approximately a million people every year. It has become very common nowadays due to the rising stress, underlying medical conditions, and early life trauma faced by many individuals. In the absence of suitable treatment, depression increases the risk of becoming a significant health condition that can be fatal.
Some Common Signs and Symptoms of Depression
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The onset of depression manifests itself in different ways in different people. No two people suffering from depression exhibit similar symptoms. On the whole, however, if you find yourself exhibiting five or more of the symptoms listed below, it’s time to seek professional help.
Always feeling hopeless about yourself.
You feel angry, annoyed, and frustrated more often.
A feeling of exhaustion and tiredness always haunts you.
You find it difficult to sleep at night.
You don’t enjoy doing the activities that you earlier did.
You are troubled by consistent headaches, back pains or muscle pain in your body.
Your appetite and weight suddenly increases or decreases.
Does Depression Affect Your Emotions?
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Undoubtedly, depression turns you into a completely different person than who you were earlier. You’re not your old happy self anymore. Instead, you are always plagued by feelings of low self-esteem, self-worth, and hopelessness.
Contrary to what many may think, the feelings of despair, sadness, and worthlessness does not go away in a few weeks. On the other hand, they become stronger and worsen with time. Depression indeed has a strong effect on the emotions of a person. It wreaks havoc with them and changes your attitude towards yourself and others completely.
Some emotional and behavioral symptoms of depression that you should never ignore are:
Feeling anxious, lack of mental clarity, and consequently difficulty in making decisions.
Avoidance of social activities. Loss of happy emotions as they get replaced with numb emotions.
A majority of your thoughts deviate towards self-harm and death. You start talking more about death than other things in life.
Since you’re always tired and exhausted you wean away from doing work and exhibit an irresponsible behaviour.
Emotional feelings of guilt, regret, and shame are felt more often throughout the day.
When To Seek Help?
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Many people associate the early symptoms of depression with stress, or other medical health conditions that will go away in a while. It is because all the early signs and symptoms of depression are similar to what are experienced by most people at some difficult points in their life. So they overlook the thought of seeking help. But it is only at this stage that if detected and diagnosed, depression can be effectively treated before it worsens any further.
When depression begins to take hold in your mind and body, it becomes very difficult to get rid of it. Symptoms like slow thinking process, lack of concentration, poor memory, and sudden changes in sleeping patterns and body weight are the red flags of your depression having reached an advanced stage. So reach out for help before it is too late.
At the same time, certain non-medical treatments include maintaining a healthy lifestyle with plenty of physical exercise and a balanced diet. If you’re older, you should always exercise under the guidance of a medical specialist. Diet and exercise play a crucial role in your mental wellness.
Other treatments include talk therapy to help you freely talk about what’s bothering you. There is also a psychodynamic therapy to enable you to interpret your thoughts, fears, and other emotions.
Keep in mind that all these treatments and lifestyle changes will only be possible when you first begin to admit that something is wrong with you. Remember, depression is not incurable. Countless people have recovered from it with proper guidance and counselling. It’s time you took the necessary action towards preserving your long term health, too.