Have you ever watched those commercials, you know the ones, they are all over the TV any more. Trying to sell you happiness in a bottle perscribed to you by a physician,
Images of sad faces, people who want to go no where, see no one, stop existing, crying, pain, and suffering. Colorless worlds, women with the weight of the world on their shoulders, curled up in a heap in a world filled with sadness, and of course dreary days of cloud cover and rain. There is no life, no music, no laughter, no color, and no reason to live. Now go take a look at a list of symptoms of depression ( from the fine people at webmd )...
- Difficulty concentratng, remembering details, and making decisions
- Fatigue and decreased energy
- Feelings of guilt, worthlessness, and/or helplessness
- Feelings of hopelessness and/or pessimism
- Insomnia, early-morning wakefulness, or excessive sleeping
- Irritability, restlessness
- loss of interest in activities or hobbies once pleasurable, including sex
- Overeating or appetite loss
- Peristent aches or pains, headaches, cramps or digestive problems that do not ease even with treatment
- Persistent sad, anxious, or "empty" feelings
- Thoughts of suicide, suicide attempts.
So, how do you know if you suffer from depression? I imagine it would be pretty easy if you had all, or at least most of the symptoms above. It took me WEEKS before I realized what was wrong with me....lets break this down.
Difficulty concentrating, remembering details, and making decisions....I have the WORST case of ADHD I have ever seen, these are they days of my life. Seriously, this is nothing new for me, I am the queen of scattered thoughts and forgetfulness. There is just so much going on in my brain.
Fatigue and decreased energy... I'm a mom, fiance, store manager, part time merchandiser and full time student. I'm a night owl I love to stay up late, and since my fiance works nights I get so caught up in what I'm doing that I don't go to bed when I should.
Feelings of guilt, worthlessness, and or helplessness....Nope, can't say that I feel this at all, unless you count feeling guilty for enjoying chocolate WAY to much.
Feelings of hopelessness and or pessimism - again, Nope.
Insomnia, early-morning wakefullnes, or excessive sleeping - Insomnia.(only when I'm gaming and time FLIES by), early-morning wakefulness (LOL, I hate mornings and sleep is my friend), excessive sleeping ( umm since I was like 2 )
Irritability, restlessness - Only when I'm hormonal, and only for about 2 days a month.
loss of interest in activities or hobbies once pleasurable, including sex - Ok, I plead the 5th here.
Overeating or appetite loss - I have my moments, when food fills a need that isn't hunger. But all in all I'm not an emotional eater. But I will admit to having moments when I've craved crap food because I just didn't feel right, and I've shoved it to the side and resisted.
Persistent aches or pains, etc - Nope, I'd have to say that's something that I haven't had. What little bit of trouble I do have is usually tied to something I've done, like walking around for a week without my heel lift in.
sad, anxious, or empty feelings - It's been a long time since I've felt any of these things. Panic and anxiety attacks are a thing of the past, long past. With the support of my fantastic fiance I've been able to work through the things that would have normally put me on edge.
Thoughts of suicide, etc - NEVER, seriously, I love my life, I love living and have way to much to look forward to in my life to even think about that. Besides, death scares the crap out of me!
And yet......there is no explanation for what I feel. I'm tired, I feel compelled to have food in front of me 24/7, if my coffee cup is not with me I panic, I just want to sleep, I just feel......off. They don't tell you these things, the little things that sneak up on you, the ones that you feel before all the other BIG symptoms start. So, what happens if you catch it early? How can you make it go away!!!
Without drugs....
