Depression Can Creep up on the Best of Us!

A frog put into a boiling pot of water instinctively hops out. However when put into water at room temperature that is slowly brought up to a boil, it stays there and dies. Things that creep up on us like the rising temperature typically aren't instinctively noticed. Depression sets in on many of us in this same way, where things feel OK as one small support after another are removed. Eventually enough 'structural integrity' is gone and the Jenga tower collapses. Unfortunately, this means that we have a marked snap in our psyche where just about everything leads down a vicious spiral of anger, despair and powerlessness.

The end of year and holidays cause some of these problems for many people. This could be due to a range of things such as the reduced sunlight (seasonal affective disorder,) memories of lost loved ones or other just from decreased outdoors activity due to the weather.

Common Symptoms

A small list of the common symptoms, which some can be seen during the 'slow bringing the water to boil' period include:

• Difficulty concentrating, 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
• Persistent 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

-Source

Not every item in this list occurs for everybody. My personal symptoms for during the onset of depression were highlighted by the lack of energy, changes in sleep patterns (both lack of and too much,) effects on appetite, no motivation towards hobbies and irritability. Usually the feelings of pessimism or hopelessness are the last to hit me, which tend to be the tipping point for me since I tend to pride myself on being a steadfast optimist.

While each person is different in what symptoms occur, in what order, and which are the more tipping points, the important thing for all of us is to be able to be mindful enough to see these patterns. Since these tend to happen slowly over time they can be hard to spot right away, so self reflection is the key to spot these personal trends. Look back at yourself over the last two weeks, maybe a month or more...but reflect. You may find that it's not due to depression and caused by something else instead, which is just fine. The self-monitoring itself is still very important.

Please don't take this to be advocating being a hypochondriac, but rather simply take stock of what you want your normal day to day life to be, compared to where you are right now. YOU know yourself better than anybody else! Still listen to others, especially friends and family giving you feedback (especially when it's not exactly what we'd want to hear,) but the decision in the end is always yours alone.

My underlying point out of all of this is that we have to keep that feeling of empowerment and control over ourselves. I've found that the worst thing for me is when I begin to run out of things I can pro-actively try towards a solution. Feeling that I have to have somebody else fix things for me, or purely get lucky, is when I really tend to lose my hope and self-worth.

Be willing to reach out to others for help but remember that's still you being empowered.

Ways to Break the Downward Spiral

Natural Depression Treatment List

Just like everything else, each person finds what helps to break the cycle of depression. This cycle for me typically includes the line of thinking:

I don't feel like I'm connecting with people or doing anything, which makes me angry. -->
I don't like to be around people when I feel angry. -->
I feel angry that I'm not connecting with people or doing anything.

Getting in a Routine

In the end I don't feel like doing anything, just numbing the moments that I can to feel OK for shorter periods of time. While it is a temporary fix, the largest pattern still exists outside of this. This is why the tip of getting in a routine is so helpful for me. Often my depressed periods coincide with having too much time on my hands, commonly when unemployed.

Setting Goals, Baby Steps and Little Wins

To help from keeping myself in my home all day, I commonly try to have at least some reason to leave the home. This could be as simple as going to the grocery store, visiting a friend or anything else that gets the job done. Setting goals, even when small, go a long way. I view the climbing out from the vicious spiral in the sense of baby steps and little wins. Trying to deal with everything that I feel being 'off' at once quickly gets overwhelming at those times and typically just causes me more short term harm than good. Making small, achievable goals (baby steps) that can easily be achieved (little wins), help comfortably build that foundation of motivation. Self empowerment is very important for me, letting me get back to the feeling of 'I can.'

Challenge Negative Thoughts

Challenging negative thoughts, while not always fun, has been helpful for me during this process. When I'm depressed I notice the marked shift in my mind set where things that I either saw in a positive or indifferent light, instead are viewed in a negative or frustrating way. Being aware that I am CHOOSING to interpret things in this way is an important piece to clawing my way out of that habit, allowing me to get back to viewing the world, people, etc in a more positive, useful and/or empowering light.

Doing Something New

Doing something new definitely has helped me get out of my depressed routines. This really is the name of the game...changing the default negative routine. This can be as simple as when going on a walk, choosing a route I'd not taken before, or playing a new game with friends. New activities require more attention and learning than the automated ones which directly helps the temporary fix of getting my mind off things. Having any kind of fun works along these exact same lines.

I've found that my worst times occur when I feel that I've got nothing else to try and am at the mercy of the universe. Staying proactive is essential to maintaining my sense of empowerment and hope towards clawing my way out of the hole of depression.

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Image Sources:
Depression
Holding Head
Mind Poison
This Too Shall Pass Quote