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Am I Depressed?

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gone-zombieYou might be wondering "am I depressed, or maybe just sad?". 'Depression' is often given out as a very quick and common diagnosis to people who are feeling emotionally low or 'out of sorts'. Often that depression diagnosis can be wrong, and people can be given inappropriate treatment by mistake.

There are a few things that can mimic many of the signs of being depressed. Even if you have a formal diagnosis of depression, it does't necessarily mean that you are depressed. It's well known that there is quite a high misdiagnosis rate, especially among certain groups, such as teenagers and the elderly.

Here you’ll get some straight questions you can ask yourself to help you decide if it’s likely or not that you are depressed. This article might also help you identify if it could be something else.

There can be many things that give the impression of depression, yet they are not 'depression'. So if you treat them as if they were 'depression', and they are something else, then your treatments will be less successful. If you treat what is actually going on, then your results should be far more effective.

Why are you trying to figure out if you are depressed?

overcoming-depression-without-knowing-howYou might be trying to find an explanation for changes in how you feel, how you're thinking or behaving.Or, maybe someone else has brought these changes to your attention and it's started you thinking. You may already have been reading things in magazines or online about depression.

Sometimes we encounter people who’ve been told they are depressed by a medical practitioner. If that is the case for you, it's a good idea to independently confirm this diagnosis. We're starting to see studies now that show how often depression has been misdiagnosed. Because it’s so commonly diagnosed, it's almost become the default diagnosis these days. There are however many other plausible explanations for changes in people's feelings and behaviours.

There are a few invaluable questions that you can ask yourself. Here on the site, we do go into details about the many  definitions of depression. There are numerous depressive symptoms, and you need not have all of them to be classed as depressed. We even briefly cover tests for depression that exist online. However, there is one big question that is at the heart of it all...

Are there things in your life that you usually would be getting pleasure from, that you're not?

There may be things that you previously got pleasure from, and you no longer enjoy doing them. Alternatively, there may be new things in your life that you should be getting pleasure from, and you're not. In both of these situations, it starts to raise the question of whether or not you're simply sad or depressed. It's not whether somebody else says you should get pleasure from it, is whether you think you should.

You may be in an amazing job. However, if it's not what you want to do, then why would you necessarily get that much pleasure from it?

Do a sanity check on your life.

  • Are you actually doing things that should be giving you pleasure?
  • Has your life turned into 'work and other commitments', leaving very little pleasure time for you?
  • If there's not much going on in your life that would normally give you pleasure, then perhaps this is a plausible explanation of why you're unhappy or not feeling right.

Are you getting enough sleep?

wrestling-with-unwanted-thoughtsLack of sleep can mimic depression, and so can sleeping too much. Your mind can't function properly if you are chronically tired and sluggish, so it's vital that you get enough sleep.

If you have ever tried to figure out what the right amount of sleep you should have is, then I expect you're thoroughly confused. Here you'll get a simple test to see if you're short of sleep or not. It doesn't matter how much you're actually getting, what matters is whether you're getting enough for your needs right now.

Here's a very simple test that only takes 15 minutes. Find a quiet place where you can be undisturbed. Make sure it is dim or darkly lit. Find a comfortable chair, preferably reclining. With no stimulation such as music or radio on, just sit there in the quiet. If within 15 minutes you find yourself drifting off to sleep, even in the slightest way, then you're short of sleep.

Sleep problems can be caused by a variety of issues. However, sometimes it comes down to the simple issue of not 'winding your mind down' and going to bed early enough.

Are you overly stressed?

Chronic Stress can look and feel like depression. When people are stressed, they can have fuzzy thinking, make bad decisions, be highly frustrated, and even become 'numb' an so have a lack of feeling.

Are you overwhelmed? Do you feel on top of your workload? Once again, dealing with stress is a big topic. However, if it's likely that prolonged stress is the cause of your symptoms, then stress management is where your solution lies.

Are you Bored?

unhappy-professional-manChronic boredom can feel like depression. When we think of being bored, often an image of a teenager sitting in their room comes to mind. However, we can all be bored at times. It's too easy to get into boring life habits that fill your time but don't constructively engage your mind and body.

Is your job sufficiently challenging? Some people love and need repetitive work. Other people need variety. What about you? Are you excited about your day? Do you feel stimulated about what you have to do?

It's too easy these days to get stuck in a rut of doing the same things. Many people have learned to entertain themselves with technology, instead of going out and doing new and interesting things.

Once again, boredom is another circumstance where we can find ourselves feeling  like we're depressed. The solution to boredom is not an antidepressant; it's putting good things in your life that you will find stimulating and rewarding. 

Conclusion

The question "Am I depressed?" really should be modified to "Am I depressed or is it something else?" If you recognize some of the above issues in your life,  then help yourself by doing something about solving them. You'll be surprised how much better you can feel.

Original article: Am I Depressed?.


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