How Can I Take Care Of Myself
Once you begin treatment, you should gradually start to feel better. Go easy on yourself during this time. Try to do things you used to enjoy. Even if you dont feel like doing them, they can improve your mood. Other things that may help:
- Try to get some physical activity. Just 30 minutes a day of walking can boost mood.
- Try to maintain a regular bedtime and wake-up time.
- Eat regular, healthy meals.
- Do what you can as you can. Decide what must get done and what can wait.
- Try to connect with other people, and talk with people you trust about how you are feeling.
- Postpone important life decisions until you feel better.
- Avoid using alcohol, nicotine, or drugs, including medications not prescribed for you.
Depression Feels Like Darkness
Depression feels like youre on a planet where its always dark and gloomy. No matter the holiday cheer, the sunshine outside, the accomplishments your loved ones experience, the great news about absolutely any topic nothing turns on the light on the gloomy depression planet.
The darkness of depression is the darkest black youve ever seen. Its so black-dark, you cant see beyond your own nose. In the future ahead, theres just darkness, blackness, blackness, and darkness.
Depression darkness feels solid, concrete, sturdy, heavy, and tight. It feels like theres no way out, theres no way through. Theres just this dark heavy tight cloud taking over your planet forever.
For Annie Depression Feels Like A Fog
Annie L. is an English, Creative Writing & History student going into her third year at university. She recently finished a big move, but was still able to chat over email in between bouts of packing and unpacking.
My first visit from depression was when I was quite young. Annie explained. A visit from depression was a turn of phrase she used often. Annies depression, which she has nicknamed The Big Sad, has taken on various shapes and forms over the course of a decade of practice.
When she was younger, her depression was no more than a feeling of being different a sensation not too unfamiliar for many adolescents.
I felt estranged from everyone else who seemed to enjoy their hobbies and friendships, whereas mine always felt a little fake.
Since then, she has come to detach her depression from her sense of self, sometimes describing it as a different self. She avoids using language that connotes permanence or intrinsicness. This separation reminds Annie the depression is not her true identity, not her authentic self: its a thing separate from me that comes to visit rather than an integral part of me.
Nowadays, she typically settles on depression as a fog. Annie took me through what a day in the fog feels like:
I can usually see it in the distance I brace myself and wait. Then one day I wake up andthings that used to be colourful and familiar are just dark silhouettesIts lonely.
As the day continues, the fog becomes an even more formidable foe.
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What If I Am Not Happy With My Treatment
If you are not happy with your treatment you can:
- talk to your doctor to see if they can suggest changes,
- get an advocate to help you speak your doctor,
- ask for a second opinion if you feel it would help,
- contact Patient Advice and Liaison Service and see whether they can help, or
- make a complaint.
There is more information about these options below.
Advocacy
An advocate is independent from the NHS. They are free to use. They can be useful if you find it difficult to get your views heard.
There are different types of advocates available. Community advocates can support you to get a health professional to listen to your concerns. And help you to get the treatment that you would like. They arent available in all areas.
You can ask an advocate to help you make a complaint. Advocates that do this are called NHS complaints advocates. They are free to use and don t work for the NHS. They re available in all areas.
You can search online to search for a local advocacy service. If you cant find a service you can call our advice service 0808 801 0525 . You can email us too at . We will look for you.
Second opinion
Talk to your doctor about your treatment to see if you can resolve the problem with them first. If you dont agree with their decisions about diagnosis or treatment, you could ask for a second opinion. You are not legally entitled to a second opinion, but your doctor might agree to it if it would help with treatment options.
‘PALS’
Complaints
- Advocacy by clicking here.
You Can Just Shake It Off
Depression isnt dust on your shoulder or a passing feeling it cannot simply be brushed aside. When living with depression, its possible to learn how to manage your symptoms, but just snapping out of it or getting over it isnt an option because depression isnt a condition that can be switched off.
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Are There Different Types Of Depression
If you are given a diagnosis of depression, you might be told that you have mild, moderate or severe depression. This describes what sort of impact your symptoms are having on you currently, and what sort of treatment you’re likely to be offered. You might move between mild, moderate and severe depression during one episode of depression or across different episodes.
There are also some specific types of depression:
- Seasonal affective disorder depression that occurs at a particular time of year, or during a particular season. See our page on SAD for more information.
- Dysthymia continuous mild depression that lasts for two years or more. Also called persistent depressive disorder or chronic depression.
- Prenatal depression depression that occurs during pregnancy. This is sometimes also called antenatal depression.
- Postnatal depression depression that occurs in the first year after giving birth.
See our page on postnatal depression and perinatal mental health for more information. The PANDAS Foundation also has information and support for anyone experiencing prenatal or postnatal depression.
Is premenstrual dysphoric disorder a type of depression?
PMDD is a severe form of premenstrual syndrome . Many women experience PMS, but for some women their symptoms are severe enough to seriously impact their daily life. This is when you might receive a diagnosis of PMDD.
Where Can I Go For Help
If you are unsure of where to go for help, ask your family doctor or health care provider. You can also find resources online including the NIMH website at www.nimh.nih.gov/FindHelp, or check with your insurance carrier to find someone who participates in your plan. Hospital doctors can help in an emergency.
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What Happens If I Dont Get Professional Treatment
When depression goes untreated, it can make the symptoms and management much more overwhelming. The longer you wait to seek professional help, the further you get from reducing the severity of your depression.
You truly deserve to feel like yourself again, and you can make that process easier by seeking help.
If youre unsure where to begin, here are a few inclusive resources to consider:
Depression Feels Like Clarity
Daniel elaborated on what exactly the complexity of depression entails. He described how many individuals experience their depressed state not as an impairment but a level of newfound clarity.
In general, I have kind of found that people perceive depression as a veil being lifted, he said. So when you actually get depressed, the veil is lifted, you see the world for how it really isnow they are aware of their surroundings in a proper way.
A lifted veil hardly seems to jibe with how depression is commonly understood, but this seemingly paradoxical concept of clarity has some support in the literature. Depressive realism, as it is technically referred to, is an often overlooked phenomenon in many cases of depression. Depressive realism suggests that an individual experiencing depression might interpret the meaninglessness not as the adoption of a pessimistic bias, but the removal of an optimistic bias the veil.
Hanna, in her own practices, has come across a similar phenomenon.
Depression will make you think that all of these negative pessimistic thoughts and feelings that you have, it is also reality. Everyone else living happy lives are the ones fooling themselves. It is very common to think that depression is the truth.
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Depression Feels Like Despair
Depression feels like despair. Youre so discouraged and hopeless, there seems to be no way to continue living. What does it feel like to be depressed? It feels like your only hope to rid yourself of misery is suicide.
I am a two-times suicide survivor and I know first-hand how deceptive depression is when it makes us believe that we will finally feel better if we kill ourselves. The truth is that if we do it, we will be dead, not pain-free. Thats the depression deception. Never give into it. Keep living. It gets better. It really does. Heres a video that describes my thought process as I was suicidal in 2017. Every single thought I had about being unloved, not mattering, not making a difference, all of it was BS. Pure lies! Im glad to be here, alive, healthy, and excited about my future. Dont let depression win.
How To Recognize The Signs Of Treatment
You may be wondering: How do I know if I have depression or treatment-resistant depression? The truth is, the best way to untangle this answer is by working together with your psychiatrist and healthcare team to help understand your medical history.Depression itself is more than just having a bad day, says Posey. Its when you feel depressed every day, almost all day for a period of longer than two weeks. But then treatment-resistant depression, youll see a combination of different effects on your routine and response to medications.Signs of treatment-resistant depression can include:
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What Depression Feels Like
Have you ever wondered: what does it feel like to be depressed? I experienced severe suicidal depression in 2016-2017 while enduring narcissistic abuse in my marriage. Let me tell you what its like to be depressed. Ill also explain what it looks like in everyday life.
Depression feels like darkness, dullness, and despair. It feels like hopelessness, anguish, sorrow, emptiness, pain, and profound sadness.
Table of Content
What Are The Different Antidepressants And How Do They Work
The most commonly prescribed cause changes in brain chemistry that affect how neurons communicate. Exactly how this improves mood remains somewhat of a mystery, but the fact that they do often work is well-established.
- SSRIs This category of drug includes Prozac , Celexa , and Zoloft and targets , a neurotransmitter that helps control mood, appetite, and sleep.
- SNRIs SNRIs include drugs like Cymbalta , Pristiq , and Effexor XR , which block the reabsorption of both serotonin and another neurotransmitter, .
- NDRIs This class of medications includes bupropion.
- TCAs include such drugs as Tofranil and Pamelor . These drugs were among the earliest antidepressants to come on the market. These days, doctors generally only turn to them when treatment with SSRIs, SNRIs, and NDRIs has failed.
- MAOIs MAOIs, including Nardil and , were the first antidepressants developed. Theyre rarely used today, in part because people who take them require careful monitoring to prevent negative interactions with certain foods and other medications.
All antidepressants can have side effects, but some may be more problematic than others. You may need to try several different medications, or a combination, guided by your doctor, before you find what works best for you.
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The Switch From Deep Depression To Considering Suicide
Looking back, the change that should have signaled to me that something was wrong was when I started to have passive suicidal thoughts.
Iâd feel disappointed when I woke up each morning, wishing I could end my pain and sleep forever.
I didnât have a suicide plan, but I just wanted my emotional pain to end. Iâd think about who could take care of my dog if I died and would spend hours on Google searching for different suicide methods.
A part of me thought everyone did this from time to time.
One therapy session, I confided in my therapist.
A part of me expected her to say that I was broken and she couldnât see me anymore.
Instead, she calmly asked if I had a plan, to which I responded no. I told her that unless there was a foolproof suicide method, I wouldnât risk failing.
I feared the possibility of permanent brain or physical damage more than death. I thought it was completely normal that if offered a pill that guaranteed death, I would take it.
I now understand those arenât normal thoughts and that there were ways to treat my mental health issues.
Thatâs when she explained that I was going through a major depressive episode.
Sometimes You Feel Nothing At All
People who are struggling with depression will often talk about a complete lack of emotion and feeling:
Nothing, that was what I felt. All day, every day, NOTHING.
After a while they might even forget what it feels like to feel, leaving them unable to know how to respond to things that happen each day:
I didnt have the energy, empathy or motivation to feel happy for my friends. I vividly recall a friend telling me shed got engaged and I felt nothing. I think I said congratulations but in a dull, emotionless way that led her to believe I didnt care. And I didnt. But that wasnt me talking, it was my depression. I really hurt her but I didnt intend to, Id just lost the ability to care for and be happy for her. You can see me in all of her wedding photos. The unsmiling bridesmaid. I wanted so much to be able to smile and feel happy for her but I just couldnt remember how.
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Seek Support For Symptoms Of Depression
Depression is often not recognised and can go on for months or even years if left untreated. Its important to seek support as early as possible, as the sooner a person gets treatment, the sooner they can recover.
Untreated depression can have many negative effects on a persons life, including serious relationship and family problems, difficulty finding and holding down a job, and drug and alcohol problems.
There is no one proven way that people recover from depression. However, there is a range of effective treatments and health professionals who can help people on the road to recovery.
There are also many things that people with depression can do for themselves to help them recover and stay well. The important thing is to find the right treatment and the right health professional for a persons needs.
They May Start Needing More From You
A depressed person legitimately cant function like a mentally health person. There will be things they will no longer be able to do as much of, as often, or at all. Pestering or shaming them about it will only hurt, not help. If theyve been keeping their depression private, it will be that much harder to deal with others getting irritated with them because they cant perform at the level thats expected of mentally healthy people.
This is why its always best to be understanding with those in your life, both work and personal. You dont know if someone isnt just slacking off, but is struggling with a real health problem.
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Depression Feels Like Burden
Depression feels like a heavy burden you must carry around at all times and cant get rid of. You cant shop your way out of depression. You cant give your depression burden away. No matter what you do, the burden is following you, and you must carry at all times.
The burden doesnt get lighter if you drink, travel, sleep around, or do drugs. In fact, it only gets heavier, unless you face the burden, look inside, and piece-by-piece figure out whats there, how it got so heavy, and then you begin processing every heavy component of your depression burden.
Things You Should Never Say To A Depressed Person
10 Things You Should Never Say to a Depressed Person
More and more people are struggling with clinical depression. If you have never suffered from mental illness, it may be difficult for you to completely understand what it is like. But instead of blurting out what seems like rational advice to someone with depression, try to take a moment to consider the depths of their despair and the effects of your speech. Words have power.
1. “Cheer up.” When you say a phrase like this, you are equating a dip in mood with an all-consuming, insidious illness. Having depression is different than having a bad day. We can all bounce back from a bad day. A person with depression may need treatment for weeks, months, or years before they feel well again. Do not make light of a serious affliction. Instead, validate their feelings by saying “I know it might take time to feel better, but there is hope.”
3. “What do you have to be depressed about?” A person might have a terrific job, a nice home, a beautiful family, and many friends. But depression does not discriminate. All kinds of people are vulnerable to clinical depression. Just because things seem terrific on the surface of their life, does not mean that they are not hurting. Open your mind to the possibility that everything is not as rosy as it seems.
If you or someone you know are suffering from depression, we are happy to hear how we may be able to help. Please call us at 719-505-4404, we look forward to talking with you!
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