You’ve heard of depression and how common symptoms include feeling sad or down in the dumps.
These symptoms often go unnoticed or are misinterpreted as being caused by other problems, not depression.
Here are some subtle signs of depression that often go overlooked.
1. Exhausted or Low on Energy
One subtle sign you’re experiencing depression is you feel like all the energy has drained from your body.
Keep in mind this isn’t a one-day occurrence. You certainly don’t have depression if your only symptom is you’re tired from staying up late the night before.
This is something that’s been happening for a while, and you can’t explain why you feel this way. It could be linked to changes in the seasons (Seasonal Affective Disorder – SAD) or other life changes.
Low energy makes it a struggle to do the things you actually want to do, and it may seem impossible to deal with the everyday tasks you have to do.
2. Unexplained Body Aches
Another subtle sign of depression is experiencing body aches or pain you can’t explain. Meaning, you haven’t been injured or have a medical condition.
For example, you feel pain in your shoulders and they hurt all the time. Taking over-the-counter medication or getting a massage only works briefly, then the pain comes back.
It could be that these are areas of your body where you also hold stress. Body pain only adds to the misery you experience with depression.
3. An Inability to Focus
We often associate an inability to focus with being distracted or even ADHD. But someone with depression can also have trouble staying focused on the task at hand.
You can feel pulled by depression, which can occupy a lot of your mental energy. Completing projects, whether at home or work, becomes harder to do because all that mental energy is being diverted by depression symptoms.
4. Emotions Run the Gamut
Although sadness is a common symptom, depression isn’t always about feeling sad. It’s not the only feeling associated depression.
Some emotions many people experience when depressed include:
- Guilt
- Shame
- Embarrassment
- Apathy
- Anger
Yes, you can be depressed and still have strong emotions like anger. Your ability to tolerate stress becomes diminished with depression, so you’re more quick to get angry or be irritable.
This makes it hard to be patient when you need to be calm and in control.
5. Altered Relationship with Food
How and what you eat can easily be affected by depression.
On one hand, you may find it difficult to eat anything at all. On the other hand, you may use food as a means of coping with depression symptoms, overeating until you feel stuffed.
Both can cause drastic changes in weight and negatively affect your physical health. Not surprisingly, this can lead to a separate disorder requiring additional help.
What Does All This Mean for depression?
When you take a step back, you can see depression is more than simply feeling down or the other stereotypes associated with this disorder.
Depression is something that affects every facet of your life, from the way you eat to how your body functions.
These subtle symptoms can be difficult to recognize, occurring for weeks or months before you detect them. Diagnosing depression can sometimes call for “connecting the dots.”
Depression therapy Columbus Ohio
You don’t have to live with these symptoms of depression. A therapist can help you identify the more subtle signs of depression and counseling can support your recovery. If you’re looking for a high quality counseling practice in the Columbus, OH area, please reach out and contact Blue Boat Counseling today. Our skilled mental health therapists can help you overcome depression. Let’s start your journey toward healing today, so you can be you.
