When does having a bad couple of days or feeling down become depression? Depression interferes with normal day life, your mood makes everyday functioning become extremely difficult for a long period of time. Some feelings you may experience when dealing with depression:
Feeling sad or anxious often or all the time, Not wanting to do activities that used to be fun, Feeling irritable‚ easily frustrated‚ or restless, Having trouble falling asleep or staying asleep, Waking up too early or sleeping too much, Eating more or less than usual or having no appetite, Experiencing aches, pains, headaches, or stomach problems that do not improve with treatment, Having trouble concentrating, remembering details, or making decisions, Feeling tired‚ even after sleeping well, Feeling guilty, worthless, or helpless, Thinking about suicide or hurting yourself
What causes depression and how can you try to decrease your risk of development,
The use of drugs and alcohol in our society are one of the main causes of depression. “Estimated ⅓ of people with depression have an issue with substance abuse”, Drugs and alcohol may seem like a quick and easy solution to their current feelings. In the long run, in most cases it will cause their situation to worsen. Addiction can cause devastating consequences in people’s lives such as loss of jobs and relationships, guilt, shame, family strain, financial hardship, and other severe stressors that are not easily resolved and understandably lead to extended periods of difficult emotions. Substances such as drugs and alcohol are highly addictive because they trigger artificially high levels of neurotransmitter release in the brain, which leads to artificially inflated “feel good” feelings. Not only are these “highs” unattainable through normally pleasant stimulus and neurotransmitter release. You can only describe it as a vicious cycle.
People who suffer from obesity are 55% more likely to develop depression throughout their life. “These findings align with what I see in the clinic. When patients have obesity, a lot of their value and self-worth is determined by their weight status. This can start really early in life — as young as 3 years old,” says Fatima Cody Stanford, MD, MPH, “When one looks at how obesity causes depression, immediately what jumps out is social and environmental determinants. For example, if a person has insufficient access to healthy food due to economic insecurity, that would be a factor related to both obesity and depression,”
inflammation may also contribute to mood disorders, Many people with obesity have an elevated state of inflammation, and that may impact the brain’s process in a way that puts a person at higher risk of depression. Low self esteem, isolation and lack of motivation can happen when someone is obease. These feelings can lower moods and eventually a person may become depressed. This in fact can make that person’s weight increase even more.
Self care tips and tricks:
. Be active
.Read books
.Sleep well
. balanced diet
.Hobbies
.Be around positive people
.Good hygiene
.relax
.listen to music
.walks
.have something you enjoy to look forward to
.spend time with friends
