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Depression symptoms
I'm 21/f. I was having a fight with my boyfriend (23/m, not that it matters) the other night because he's convinced he needs to be medicated for depression - he has been before, but he isn't acting the way he did when he had to be medicated before. Out of curiosity, I looked up a checklist for ten depression symptoms just to see if I could identify the ones he's said he was feeling, and instead I identified 7/10 that I'M feeling.
* A persistent sad, anxious or "empty" mood
* Sleeping too little or sleeping too much
* Reduced appetite and weight loss or increased appetite and weight gain
* Loss of interest or pleasure in activities once enjoyed
* Restlessness or irritability
* Persistent physical symptoms that don't respond to treatment
* Difficulty concentrating, remembering, or making decisions
* Fatigue or loss of energy
* Feeling guilty, hopeless or worthless
* Thoughts of death or suicide
1. I'm constantly anxious - I thought it was because I have a lot on my plate, but it never seems to go away.
2. I have serious sleep problems that no one can seem to fix - my anxiety interferes with my sleep, too. I've been taking ambien for awhile in hopes that I'll eventually retrain my body (I have almost perfect sleep habits), but every time I don't take it, I wake up every 45 minutes - 1 hour, feeling like I missed an exam, and having to calm myself back down.
3. I have absolutely no appetite lately. I used to be anorexic, but I got past that. I had trouble getting 2,000 calories a day, but I got by and I was eating every 3 hours, and all that. I'm normally adamant about eating the right things at the right time, but recently I just don't get hungry, and I always feel like crap. I can see that I've lost weight.
4. I got a guitar in July. I used to play it 5 or more hours a day, and go running every day, but I have no desire to do either of those things. I also define myself as a singer, and I have no desire to sing, or write, as I also used to do constantly.
5. I can't seem to remember anything lately. I'll go to work in the morning, and by that night, I'll forget that I was at work earlier. I feel like I'm in a fog.
6. I have absolutely no energy lately. I started drinking caffeine after months of staying away from it because I felt like I was utterly incoherent without some boost. I used to be an extremely high-energy person, and I'm realizing now that all I ever want to do is lay down and do nothing.
7. I've been getting really bad headaches for months, and nothing I do, no pain pills I take, make them go away. I thought it was from PMDD (I have that too, but there's no way I'm having those issues month-long...) I also started drinking caffeine because of these. When I was anorexic, I got headaches from lack of nutrients, but these are different. When I was in high school, I slept 2.5 - 5 hours a night on purpose, and got sleep deprivation headaches, but again, these are different. I liked the way I felt when I was running on adrenaline because I never had enough "real" energy to function.
I don't feel sad, really. I don't feel worthless, I don't want to die...I'm just...tired. I dunno.
Is there a way I can combat this feeling? I have no motivation, and I miss the person I was in high school. I refuse to take medication - I have crohn's and I'm on medication for the rest of my life to begin with. I don't want any more.
Has anyone had any experience with this? =(
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I am not a doctor but I think you are suffering from some kind of depression. a doctor should give you the answers to this question.
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If you aren't sad, don't feel worthless, don't want to die then its unlikely you are suffering from clinical depression as those are the defining features of depression.
Has your crohns medication been changed recently? Because a lot of my meds interfere with my memory and motivation and that could be a reason.
While I don't think you are ill as such, I think there are ways you could help yourself not feel like this. Do more things. Go out more, do courses, volunteer, see your friends, make things, bake cakes, it doesnt really matter what, just the more you force yourself to do things, the more your body will get used to doing things and sleep better hopefully at night. Also the more you do things, the more your motivation increases. Behavioural therapy in very basic steps!
I hope I've explained myself well enough, if not, drop me a line and I will!
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I'm no doctor, but as somebody who has been in your boyfriend's position, I think I might know what's happening.
When I finally recovered from my latest big battle with depression, my fiance, who has no history of it whatsoever, started to exhibit symptoms himself. We think it's sort of a delayed response to the stress of helping someone get through a depressive episode.
He had a time where he was anxious, lacked energy and motivation, and was feeling sick all the time. It lasted a couple of months, but once I was feeling better, he started to feel better.
What I would suggest is not medication. Is there any way that the two of you can go see a counsellor together? The two of us did, and it worked wonders for us. It helped both of us to deal with the other's emotional needs without leading us to an overload.
Hope that helped a little, and feel better :)
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Maybe you're just in an emotional slump? I've kind of been in the same situation too and get in the same rut a couple times a year. It takes one thing to throw you off-track and next thing you know, you start to notice other things off and that aren't the same. You lose morale and motivation and you just feel like you've changed and don't like it.
This is how i've felt a bit lately and it sounds the same for you. Also, do you think the stress of this argument with your boyfriend and the potential of him going back on depression medication affecting you as well?
You may be depressed, but I don't think it's enough to turn to medicine and I think it's good you're assessing the situation. Some people are way to quick to jump to the solutions of medicine before thinking if their problem is severe enough for it.
I think you need to start one by one on things and you'll find a chain reaction will occur.
-Maybe, going for a short walk when you first wake up or when you get home from bed or before bed will help you calm down and relax. Even if it's just around the block or even to the corner and back. Bring a mp3 player for musical motivation. It'll get endorphins going and perk you up (hey, that's the body's natural anti-depression dosage!).
-Cutting back on the caffeine is next. Caffeine is addictive and it might be hard to stop. Maybe get a caffeine free 5-Hour Energy Shot for the energy boost. But, getting those chemicals out of your system may make you feel a lot better.
-For even more energy, maybe change up your diet. Have more vegetables and protein and less carbs and startches as those can make you groggy.
-Try to make yourself pick up the guitar even just for 5 minutes in a day. Sit down, strum some chords, play a song that feels good to play.
These are just some things that come to mind. It's the baby steps that matter. But you're gonna have to give yourself a big kick in the pants to start. But that's the best part. "Oh, i'm too tired from work" you say? Tell yourself it's a mere 5 minutes of guitar playing. A short walk to the corner and back. Pass on that burger for a chicken salad. Even if these are little tasks, they're tasks you can feel good about that you did. You pushed yourself even just a little bit in the day to do something even after working and feeling pooped. It'll give you a sense of accomplishment and hopefully you can build it up from there.
It's all about builiding morale and it doesn't take a giant leap. Just built up to it. Heck, I feel motivated just after typing all this up.
You can't just wish for something. You must do. So, force yourself if you must to spare that small amount of time. It may just make a world of difference.
I hope I didn't sound like some corny motivational speaker or something. I really believe these steps can help.
Best of luck!
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