Am I Depressed Or Just Sad? (Psychology Pdf Download)
In this article, we’re going to discuss Depression, Am I Depressed Or Just Sad? or am I down or am I legit depressed it’s a question some people have been asking right now all over the internet and in real life and the answer makes a significant impact on what you do to take care of yourself and help get yourself through it, what depression is, what depression is not and help you answer that question for yourself, So Let’s find out more.
What is Depression?
It’s a common term that a lot of people use but it’s often used incorrectly it’s often used in replacement as sad or going through a hard time and so depression is a medical condition that is defined by a set of symptoms that are found in what’s called the DSM are the diagnostic and statistical manual it’s the manual we use to determine if somebody legit depressed depression is a medical condition of the brain so these symptoms are impacting every part of the body because the brain controls all of the body.
The Symptoms of Depression?
Sleep
So to start with one of the symptoms is an impact on your sleep this can be I’m sleeping way too much sleeping maybe 10 to 12 hours a day maybe, even more, a lot of people who are depressed may be barely getting out of bed during the day or this can be sleeping too little I it’s hard for me to go to sleep I wake up a lot in the middle of the night or I wake up too early and I can’t go back to sleep at that point so I’m not getting enough sleep so either way, depression impacts sleep one way or the other.
Eating
Then there’s eating, eating is similar to sleep where you’re eating too much or eating too little when you measure it on the basic three meals a day either I’m eating a ton to kind of cope with eating and I’m eating a lot of sweets and I’m eating a lot of salts I crave a lot of those when people are depressed or I’m barely eating at all I’ve heard people say I don’t even notice that I’m hungry or my stomach or my body doesn’t really even tell me I’m hungry I have to eat because I know I should and even then it’s not enjoyable at all so one of those two extremes is impacted as well.
Excessive guilt
Another symptom is excessive guilt, now this can be I feel guilty over every little thing where I may have misspoken I may have made a mistake, and that just kind of haunts me and stays with me, and every time I think about it I get a lurch in my stomach and it’s hard for me to let that go or it can be there’s one big thing in my life that I really feel guilt over and I cannot let myself go from that and it keeps haunting me and this may be something that happened 10 years ago you haven’t thought of in 10 years and now it’s coming back and replaying in your mind these.
Isolation
The next set of symptoms are kind of some of the heavier harder symptoms that people go through one is isolation and isolation doesn’t mean you’re always alone it means you feel alone so someone who’s isolated maybe someone who goes in their room a lot does physically separate themselves from others does not enjoy the company of others like you did before but this also can be I’m in the middle of a crowded room and I feel so alone so unseen so this can be a very physical manifestation or this can be a perceptional feeling of feeling alone.
Feeling like a burden
Another layer of this is feeling like a burden on my presence my existence is a burden on others people have to take care of me or I’m always a mess up and that kind of that ties in with the guilt a little bit and notice some of these negative thoughts that can come from that of isolation feeling far apart from others feeling like a burden to others it can really fuel a lot of negative dialogue that keeps someone down and can feel really really heavy and feeling alone.
Suicidal Thoughts
Feeling very very heavy and having a lot of negative dialogue can lead to someone thinking about not being here anymore thinking of death and dying suicidal thoughts this is also a symptom of depression this can look play out like self-harm self-harming myself either punishing me or coping with the emotional pain that I’m going through or this can be thinking about not being here anymore thinking about would anyone care if I weren’t here anymore thinking about what I might do to take my own life think very scary heavy thoughts like that if you’re having thoughts like that reach out to someone right now, stop reading this article reach out to us or our (Contact numbers – 9152987821) reach out to a family member reach out to a friend you can tell them that you’re thinking about this or just talk to them share your life with them a little laugh with them a little meet them up somewhere don’t be alone if you’re having thoughts like that.
Hopeless
Someone who’s struggling with depression also may feel hopeless they’re it’s hard to see a positive future it’s hard to see a future at all that can contribute to the thoughts of death and dying uh but it’s like this weight this nothing can get better depression can lie to you it’s not true but that’s what someone with depression believes is nothing can get better this can’t move forward I can’t move past this that’s the weight someone with depression carries and again this is medical.
So this isn’t someone who’s lazy who’s making this up in their mind who is is something as flawed with them somehow this is their brain literally not producing what it should to feel hope to feel positivity to feel productive to have the motivation that’s another symptom you lose motivation to do anything things you used to really really enjoy to motivation productivity to feel productive to feel that good feeling after a long day at work I got something done that goes away and that goes away because our brain isn’t producing dopamine as it used to dopamine is produced any time our body really kind of feels good so this is something that’s produced after a long run after a really relaxing walk on the beach even using the restroom and eating is affected by dopamine so dopamine it gives us that Good feeling.
When our body stops producing that we lose the good feeling of living and so everything becomes hard everything becomes heavy and then that’s what leads to the what’s the point that can lead to the weight the hopelessness feelings so even your body starts to hurt a little more even moving can be painful and that’s why people stay in bed and just kind of want to hide from the world this is what real medical depression is and you notice I went through all those and I didn’t even mention sadness once.
Feeling sad
Sadness is a part can be a part of this but it doesn’t always have to be so that’s one of many of these symptoms if you have five of these symptoms you can be considered clinically depressed.
Situational Sadness vs Medical Depression
One thing in my counseling practice that I distinguish between is this situational depression sadness or this true medical depression here’s the difference if you lost someone very important to you that you loved dearly and you’re feeling sad you’re feeling that weight every day is hard that could be very much because of your grief that is a representation of grieving not so much medical depression if you’re facing an extra big challenge covered 19 everyone’s facing that right now and life is a little bit harder and there’s a lot of indecision and there’s a lot of unknowns we may be feeling the weight of that but that doesn’t necessarily mean that you’re medically depressed medical depression is when your brain is not functioning the way it should a part of your body an organ in your body isn’t working at its optimal level and it’s causing a set of symptoms which then is diagnosed as depression so another way of thinking about this is someone with diabetes with someone.
With diabetes, your pancreas isn’t working the way it should and that’s measured by inconsistent insulin levels inconsistent sugar levels, and then the symptoms that result from that it’s a medical condition we cannot tell our pancreas hey it’s time for you to work now or will your pancreas to do something different just like we can’t will our brain to produce dopamine or do something different produce more serotonin giving us that natural drive that natural motivation or that natural calm that can come from it.
Pandemic like Covid 19
With the Pandemic right now what I’m seeing a lot of in my prep counseling practice and amongst other counselors I know is someone who may have had a touch of depression or a touch of anxiety could manage they could do basic coping skills to get through the day I’m okay with Covid 19 happening I’m not okay anymore I can’t get through the day anymore it’s now too hard it’s I’ve got the extra pressure of what’s going on today and I had the medical pieces as well and the combination I can’t muscle through it anymore I need that extra help and that’s okay if that’s you but that means it’s a combination of situational and medical coming together and so if we can help you work through finding ways to manage the medical and help you with coping with the situational it can help you get to the next step and help you work through this tough phase.
Am I down or am I legit depressed
So am I down or am I legit depressed I went through the symptoms you can do kind of a check-off with yourself if any of those feel familiar or something like you’re going through right now but the big key indicator that I look for in my practice when I’m talking with someone sitting with them for the first few times to really assess are we dealing with medical depression or are we dealing with a situation situational type depression or down is.
Let’s say fishing is your favorite thing in the world let’s say that’s something you love to do after a long hard week you look forward to getting out on the lake when you’re depressed the idea of going fishing feels like so much work I can’t even bring myself to get the tackle box together the idea of driving there the idea of sitting in the heat when before just the idea of going fishing got you through some tough moments maybe extra stress at work or a long work day I’m going to like tomorrow I can do this but now it’s like that is a big key indicator for me if this is something going on with the brain or this is just an extra hard time that I’m dealing with whether it’s stress whether it’s a big change whether it’s a loss of a loved one or it’s an uncertainty with the future for dealing with one of those things I may be feeling the weight like I’m depressed but my brain still operating in its full capacity I’m not medically depressed.
How to Take Care of Yourself
So after you’ve kind of figured out for yourself which one am I legit depressed or am I just going through a tough phase and I’m down right now it impacts what you do next it impacts how you decide to help yourself through it.
If I’m medically depressed you do need the support and care of either a counselor or a medical professional to help me through it just like someone with diabetes needs to see a doctor they need to talk about their diet they need to talk about getting on the medications they need insulin measuring their levels they need to stay on top of it now this doesn’t mean they can’t live full life tons of people diabetes live with a full life but they have to take care of themselves and they have to go through different steps and stages to make sure their body is working as it should that same way with mental health it’s the same way with depression or anxiety I take the medication that helps my brain work the way it should.
You know with a diabetic eating right I take care of myself in certain ways that help me get through the day or help me get through some tough symptoms and that’s the combination of seeing a medical professional and working with a counselor because even if you start medication and that really starts to help if I’ve got a habit of a thinking pattern with a lot of guilt that guilt thinking pattern isn’t going away on its own with the extra with the medication I’ll help so the counseling part is helping identify that’s not a true thought or that’s really excessive guilt it’s time for me to let go of that now this is how I do it and feeling that validation and feeling that sense of I can move past this that’s what the help of a therapist can do.
If you’re down or having a tough time that can look a little different now it doesn’t mean you still couldn’t benefit from the help of a counselor especially if you’re really down are really having a tough time with everything that’s going on a counselor still could help you with that walk but if it’s a lighter down if only a few symptoms really spoke to you then this can be something where you watch different youtube videos on different ways of coping it can be journaling can be really beneficial using your faith practices prayer and the support from others it can be adding some different things into a self-care routine that can kind of bump you up from just being down and that’s something you can do on your own.