Mental Health Awareness Month: Signs you are depressed

These days, we hear the word depression being tossed around a lot. The truth is that very few people truly know what it feels like to be depressed and what is sad is that there are many others who don't even know that they are depressed.

Depression can really steal the joy away from your everyday blessings. And in extreme cases, a patient might choose suicide to escape the pain they're feeling if they don't get help soon enough.

For you to truly know that you have depression, you need to go for a proper diagnosis but, there are ways you can see the warning signs. Below are some of the things you should be on the lookout for if you've not been feeling like yourself lately:

Depression floods your mind with so many negative thoughts. They will be stuck in your mind to the point where you feel you're unable to break free and that is why advice like 'just be positive' never works.

The way to differentiate depression and a general emotional phase is how long the feelings of despair, hopelessness and worthlessness last. If you've been having these thoughts for months or years, it could be an indicator.

The risk of suicide can basically be categorized as mild, moderate or extreme. But the common factor in all these stages when you have depression is that those thoughts will be recurrent, almost to an obsessive level.

If you constantly think of how it would be better for you to exit this world and you haven't come up with a plan yet, that is still dangerous. Don't wait until you actually start thinking of a plan on how you can end your life to get some help.

Depression can also make you fatigued, it can cause you to struggle with concentration and it can also rob you of your sleep, which is necessary for a productive life. The result is decreased productivity and the signs will show in your work, family life or school life.

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In children and teens with depression, one sign is poor performance in students who would generally perform well.

The same happens for adults and you can tell by checking how long you've not been as productive as you would be. This isn't always the case with all types of depression but it can be a sign.

Your relationship with food can also indicate the state of your mental well-being. For some, food becomes comfort and for others, their interest in eating completely drops.

This can make people rapidly or gradually become overweight or underweight. If your relationship with food has drastically changed, you should investigate.

Engaging in reckless behaviour shouldn't always be dismissed as normal. This can come in the form of reckless sex, overdrinking, drug abuse or even a discreet habit like reckless driving.

Recklessness shows that a person doesn't care what happens to them, even if what they're doing might cause them to lose their life. You sort of become numb to what happens to your body and that is a major sign you need to seek professional help.