Sadness often creeps into our lives, but when do we know if the way we feel is more serious than the normal lows that life presents? When do we know if we are depressed? Here are some common signs and symptoms to be aware of:
• Diminished interest or pleasure in almost all activities
• Feelings of worthlessness
• Feeling hopeless
• Having excessive or inappropriate guilt
• Diminished ability to think, concentrate, or make decisions
• Significant weight loss or gain when not dieting
• Fatigue and loss of energy
• Recurrent thoughts of death or suicidal thoughts
• Unexplained aches and pains
If you are feeling depressed, there is help! Exercise, diet, counseling, and possibly even medication are ways to fight off depression. Counseling is a very effective way to gain insight and to develop tools to help you feel better. Therapy can help you learn to recognize your patterns of depression, to teach you how to gain the confidence and energy to make positive life changes, and to help you be proactive in keeping the depression away in the future. There is hope…and there is help… for a life without depression!
This blog was authored by Ellen Clauss, M.A., LPC, Clinical Counselor at EDTC.
Visit her page on our website for more information about Ellen: http://eatingdisordersabq.com/team/ellen-clauss/