Difficult times like the COVID-19 pandemic can contribute to experiences like depression, but it is not always easy to tell or realize if we are depressed.
So what is depression? This video discusses signs of depression and how to recognize symptoms of depression when they might come about.
Welcome back, this is Dr. Matt B with your Emotional Minutes. Today we’re talking about depression. Occasionally, I am asked how to tell if you are depressed or what depression is.
People may often ask: Am I depressed? Is what I am feeling part of feeling depressed? There are a couple of key signs to look for when assessing if you may have depression.
Symptoms of Depression: The Basics
When we talk about depression from a diagnostic standpoint, there’s a two key symptoms we look at. Typically what we look for is low mood and what we call anhedonia. Anhedonia is a lack of interest or pleasure in things that you previously enjoyed or got a sense of meaning from.
Additional Signs of Depression
Those are key indicators, but other symptoms that can be apparent are changes to your sleeping patterns. This includes a lack of sleep, sleep problems, or sleeping too much. Sleep problems might signal other conditions as well, but that’s something that people notice pretty clearly and readily.
Another thing people notice changes centered around how they talk to or about themselves; a lot of times people might be very critical of themselves. They may also tell themselves that they’re a failure.
In addition to these symptoms, you may notice a sense of wanting to not be alive. This can be an intense symptom for people. Sometimes that comes in the form of thinking that you’d be better off dead, but not necessarily wanting to harm yourself. And sometimes that comes in the form of actually wanting to do things like commit suicide.
When to Get Help
If you’re having any feelings like that, I definitely recommend contacting a mental health provider. I also recommend this if you’re having any of these experiences and you want to get some help and experience brighter mood or more enjoyment.
Contacting a mental health provider can be really helpful these days. You could go for just a couple of sessions to get some support, or more long term if there’s things that you want to work on in your life.
