It is very difficult to find out whether you are suffering from mild depression. These symptoms are hard to stop and mingle in your daily activities and it is even hard for you to notice the differences in you.
As the word suggests that it is not a severe condition, alternations in your mood will become severe, and it will frequently assist you to notice this mental health condition in an initial stage.
With the help of this article, you will be able to detect mild depression at an early stage, how far it can you take, how it will affect your mood, and when will you need professional assistance.
What are the indicators of mild depression?
Losing empathy with others, irritability, having unexplained minor aches and pains, negative thoughts, wanting to be left alone, feeling unusually tired, feeling unmotivated, feeling hopeless, unable to focus on the things, feeling overwhelmingly sad, self-loathing, and being frequently on the verge of the tears are the signs and common symptoms of mild depression.
Sudden alterations in your behavior can also indicate that the person is suffering from depression. Changes in your eating habits and abnormal changes in your sleeping pattern may also indicate depression in a person.
People who are suffering from mild depression will be addicted to alcohol, drugs, and cigarettes. So, if you notice these signs in a person or in you, better consult a physician who can solve your problem. Sometimes, the solution will be in your hands only as you are suffering from mild depression. But, if you don’t take action at the proper time, this mild depression can become severe and damage you mentally and physically.
What are the types of depression?
It has been observed that there are 6 kinds of depression based on the report given by the Harvard Medical School.
- Bipolar Disorder
- Persistent Depressive Disorder
- Premenstrual dysphoric disorder
- Major depression
- Perinatal and Postpartum depression
- Seasonal affective disorder
Bipolar disorder is a state in which your mood shifts very fastly and a sudden drop in your energy levels is considered as a bipolar disorder. You will not behave in the same way that you were behaved in an hour ago due to your sudden shifts. People who are suffering from this mental illness also suffer from the symptoms of mild and severe depression. Extreme tiredness, sadness, listlessness, difficulty remembering, loss of interest in doing work, difficulty in sleeping, suicidal thoughts that too in rare cases.
A persistent depressive disorder is also called dysthymia or mild depression. It will be difficult for the person to do their daily tasks who are suffering from this disease. Symptoms include unable to concentrate on day-to-day activities, insomnia or difficulty in sleeping, changes in appetite, lack of self-confidence, regretting about the guilt all the time, not having adequate energy levels, not showing interest in social activities, difficulty in concentrating, unable to face the work-related problems, giving up on tasks, unable to complete the challenges, and fear about facing the deadline, and hopelessness are the symptoms of persistent depressive disorder.
People with the premenstrual dysphoric disorder can manage this illness by making small changes to their lifestyle. Heightened sensitivity, severe fatigue, easy bruising, crying unexpectedly, sleeplessness, paranoia and issues with self-image, fainting, forgetfulness, swelling of the hands, worsening of cold sores, decreased libido, gastrointestinal upset, painful menses, heart palpitations, vision changes, eye complaints, fluid retention, decreased urine production, and numbness or tingling in the extremities are the symptoms of premenstrual dysphoric disorder.
People get suicidal thoughts in their minds due to the major depression. The symptoms of major depression include suicidal attempts or making arrangements to commit suicide, unable to make the important decision in life, loss of interest in daily activities, a sudden drop in the energy levels, sleeping problems, and difficulty concentrating are the symptoms of major depression.
Postpartum depression experienced by some women following child birth. The indicators of postpartum depression include recurrent thoughts of suicide, sadness, loss of libido, unable to tolerate the feeling of rejected by someone, and in extreme cases, mothers try to harm their own child.
Seasonal affective disorder condition occurs when you are not getting enough exposure from sunlight and alterations in your daily routine may contribute to this condition. Unable to concentrate on things, becoming hard for you to making decisions in your life, not being self-confident, changes in appetite, not having sufficient energy levels, and sleeping for too long are the signs and symptoms of seasonal affective disorder (SAD).
Balanced or Bearable Depression
The way you experience depression will differ from time to time. Not having enough sleep, and difficulty concentrating are the new indicators that may happen at this stage.
Actual symptoms will get worse. These symptoms will make you focus more on negative thoughts and at this stage, you might get continuous thoughts about suicide or making arrangements to commit suicide. Also, your relationship with your pals will get worse and there are chances of ruining your relationship with them. That is why, detecting this depression at an early stage and taking preventive measures will keep you far away from getting diagnosed with depression and also, we would advise you to consult a physician immediately if you notice any one of the symptoms.
Serious or Critical Depression
Others or your colleagues or your family members may notice changes in your behavior if your depression condition gets severe. Severe depression defined as if you are unable to perform and manage your daily activities, or you keep failing at something or unable to concentrate on the things all are the indicators of serious or critical depression.
A person with this mental health condition may experience thoughts about doing self-harm, delusions, and hallucinations. It is advisable to consult a physician if your depression symptoms get severe.
Your physician may recommend you to use SSRIs (selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors), and the examples of SSRIs include sertraline, citalopram, escitalopram, paroxetine, and fluoxetine.
Even benzodiazepines also work well on treating this condition but doctors usually don’t prefer these drugs to patients as they are highly addictive with prolonged use. Generally, physicians suggest benzodiazepines to their patients when other antidepressant medications have failed to show the improvements in your problem.
How to get rid of mild depression
Consulting a physician who is having vast experience in that field is the first step in taking care of your problem. Because that physician will assess your condition and will ask a lot of questions in order to find out the symptoms of your problem. Because some symptoms are unable to find out only the doctor can rule out those symptoms otherwise your condition will get worse.
In 1999, a PHQ-9 test was introduced to diagnose this mental illness. This test consists of multiple-choice questions and you have to pick one answer which is apt to your condition. This test is helpful for the people who don’t want to consult a doctor.
Making small changes to your lifestyle can ease the symptoms of this mental illness. Balancing your professional life and personal life, following a proper diet, change in your sleeping patterns such as going to bed early and doing exercises after waking up may contribute to getting rid of mild depression. It is also mandatory for you to reduce your screen time and stop wasting your time on social media.
Change your way of living
Grabbing great opportunities and spending time doing your favorite activities may give you a pleasurable life and also keeps you far away from getting depression. Whenever you feel low, play your favorite sport or explore the world, as maintaining that sad mood and staying in the same place will make your mood get worse and you will eventually fall into the trap of depression.
We would advise you to follow the below points. These include:
- Early morning walks
- Going to gym daily
- Following a diet which consists of healthy foods
- Doing meditation for at least ten minutes a day
- Reduce your time spent on using electronic devices such as a computer, and television
- Helping someone
- Making friends
Even though, it is not possible for the people to follow some of the points due to many factors such as age, and health issues.
Types of treatment options available for mild depression
Mild depression is caused due to sad events happened in your life such as the death of your family member, loss of opportunities, and divorce. In this scenario, your depression symptoms may become critical, and your physician will recommend certain talking therapies. These include
Counseling: You may opt for counseling if you are suffering from depression and don’t have anyone to share your feelings and sorrows. Therapists will try to know all the good and bad events in your life and they try to increase confidence levels in you and will try to know the exact cause of your depression and give you counseling based on that.
IPT (Interpersonal Therapy): If your problem is due to relationship conflicts then interpersonal therapy is the best suitable option for you. Because it is designed to make relationships easier.
Psychodynamic therapy: This therapy will be based on the thoughts that are running in your mind all the time. In this session, the therapist will try to identify your problem based on your behavior. Because there are chances of a person maybe not aware of his/her behaviors that are contributing to this serious mental illness.
CBT (Cognitive behavioral therapy): By being a part of this therapy, people will be able to understand their problem clearly and this therapy will also help them to find new ways to solve their problem.
How can you identify people with depression?
It has been observed that depression is one of the leading causes of other illnesses, based on the report given by the world health organization in the year 2017. As there are a lot of causes contributing to depression, it will become a widespread illness.
Depression affects women more than men. The depression symptoms may appear in the women during the stages of menstruation, puberty, and pregnancy. Certain medications may cause mental illness. That’s why we would advise people to consult their physician before using it.
Conclusion
Spotting the symptoms of depression during the initial phase is vital for you. If you are not aware of the symptoms of depression or unsure about it, better consult your mental health provider.
If you are suffering from moderate depression, then making small changes to your lifestyle is enough for your problem in order to ease the symptoms of depression.
Anyone getting frequent suicidal thoughts or making arrangements to commit suicide or harming others, please contact your healthcare provider immediately.
References
- https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6296391/
- https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5563525/
- http://www.indianjpsychiatry.org/article.asp?issn=0019-5545;year=2017;volume=59;issue=5;spage=34;epage=50;aulast=Gautam
Sirisha B