Depression: There's A Lot More to It Than Sadness
Depression is among the most underdiagnosed mood disorders in the world. It's not that doctors, psychotherapists, and other medical professionals don't believe it's real. It is just that people experience depression in so many ways that the disorder can be tough to pinpoint. Suffice it to say that there is a lot more to depression than just sadness.
If you have been diagnosed with clinical depression, you might find yourself wondering how you're supposed to feel. Such thoughts are normal. So many people associate depression with feelings of sadness alone. Collectively, we fail to understand that the disorder can affect thoughts and emotions in countless ways.
"So, How Do You Feel?"
Countless researchers have attempted to understand the feelings depression produces by asking patients how they feel. As someone who specializes in anxiety and depression therapy, I know the question has no single answer. There could be literally hundreds of answers depending on how many patients one is asking.
Here are just half-a-dozen possible answers to the question of how depression makes a person feel:
Like everything is happening in slow motion.
Like getting up in the morning requires too much effort.
Like everything around you is just 'off'.
Like you're looking at the world through a window.
Like you have no hope and nothing to look forward to.
Like the world is always cloudy and gray.
There are so many other ways to describe the feelings depression produces that they are nearly impossible to quantify. The many different feelings are what make depression therapy so complicated and simultaneously exciting.
You Aren't like Everyone Else
It's important that you know how unique and different you are. You aren't like everyone else. And even with a diagnosis of clinical depression, you are not like every other patient. You are you. You have your own heart, mind, and soul. Don't try to feel like everyone else feels or work through your depression like someone else does.
If you're worried you might have clinical depression but you have not yet been diagnosed, please help yourself by seeing a licensed therapist. Getting a diagnosis is the first step on the journey toward understanding why you feel the way you do and how you can begin to feel better.
There May Be Physical Symptoms
In addition to sadness and all the other feelings people with depression experience, there may be physical symptoms as well. Again, this is very normal. It's also something that we work through in depression therapy.
Some of the more common physical symptoms include:
headaches
loss of libido
fatigue and insomnia
chronic pain
inflammation
diarrhea or constipation
weight gain or loss.
It's not unusual for people living with depression to experience episodes of increased or decreased appetite. Likewise, changes in sleep patterns are pretty routine. A patient may sleep more than usual, then experience a period of not being able to sleep much at all.
A Very Treatable Disorder
To close this post, it is important for you to know that depression is a very treatable disorder. The first step is a medical evaluation to confirm the diagnosis. Once diagnosed, a combination of depression therapy and therapist-guided self-care can help you turn the corner. Over time, you can get a handle on things.
As a mood disorder, depression can be difficult to understand. But whether one understands it fully or not, depression is certainly more than just feeling sad. You may feel any number of emotions at any given time. Understanding those emotions and why you are experiencing them is part of the journey toward healing.
In case you are interested in getting online therapy, contact us and we will be happy to help you.
