Do I have depression? So these are the thoughts that bother you lately? How to identify that you are really depressed? Depression slows down your thoughts and movements, takes away your dreams, and paints everything black. Life seems hopeless. You feel lonely, as if you were on a desert island – no one can hear you, and help you. You are “cut off” from friends, and lose interest in work; your hobbies don’t make you glad. If you are familiar with this condition, you may have come under the influence of one of the worst epidemics of the XXI century. Here are a few symptoms that can help you to identify depression and distinguish it from depressive feelings – short-term condition, that you can overcome by yourself without the help of a specialist.

So do you have depression? Let’s find out

Apathy and Impuissance

The lack of power – is one of the symptoms of depression. For people, who did not pass through it, it is hard to believe that sometimes apathy leads to the condition when a person cannot just get dressed, brush his teeth and freshen himself up. Depression is accompanied by a loss of energy and extreme fatigue.

Negative thoughts

Depression penetrates into all spheres of life. So any changes in your food habits, sleep and rest can help to make a diagnosis. Insomnia or early awakenings – is a disturbing, although not the only symptom. Lack of appetite and refusal to eat symbolize rejection of life, as well as excessive sleepiness can sometimes be a way to move away from the unsatisfying reality.

Loss of focus

Depression reduces our ability to concentrate. For some people, reading books becomes an impossible task – they instantly lose the clue of what is happening, often distracted by negative thoughts. Many people also complain that they find it difficult to make even the simplest decisions.

Thoughts of suicide

We all think about what is at the end of our life, from time to time, and suicidal thoughts, at least once, come to each of us. But if they are accompanied by apathy, reluctance to get out of bed, and go out and / or you are planning your death – this is a serious reason to ask for help.

What is depression like?

Of course, People feel depression differently. But, besides, the feelings that we mentioned above, depression can evoke some images. Here we describe the most popular images, and the ways to deal with them.

Loneliness

Whether it is a desert, an abyss or a frosty field – the main theme of the image is loneliness. There is nobody around and you have to wander in the desert, or sit in the pipe completely alone.

This is often accompanied by the feeling of powerlessness and helplessness, and the feeling that it is impossible to change.

How to cope with these feelings by yourself

Ask yourself: Am I really alone? Is it true?  Was there ever anybody next to me? Has anyone ever helped me with anything? Of course, it was and still is: you are not alone on this planet. Now you find it difficult, but you must fight.

Isolation

The second common theme of the images – is isolation from the world, people. The main features are offishness, barriers, walls, obstacles, gulf, for example, an image of the closed world, in which you sit.

How to cope with this image

Any wall, even the strongest, can be destroyed. There are no impenetrable walls. Are there obstacles weak points” in your image? What kind of? Maybe barriers is not very high. What can you do to destroy this wall, at least a little bit?

Falling down

The next group of images is related to the theme of falling down: it is an abyss, gorges and spiral staircases that go down, etc. It seems that you walk on the edge.

How to cope with the image of falling down

Remember that if your depression is characterized by a specific negative “broadcasting” in your head: “I’m hopeless, I fell down, I’m a loser, everything is horrible,” and so on, but it’s just thoughts in your head, nothing has changed in the world.

In order to cope with depression, you need to work on yourself and try to resist this “broadcasting”. Remind yourself that “thank you, but I do not need to fall down, I have other goals.”

Vast spaces and emptiness

Often images of depression (or how a person feels when depressed) are associated with huge, endless, empty spaces: deserts, the space, snow-covered plains.
By the way, here we can add a particular feeling of “cold in the head,” which conjures up these images. Typically, such pictures are in black and white. It is difficult to go through this infinite space without any direction, so sometimes it seems that it is easier to sit or lie down where you are, and stay there.

Depression “disconnects” the ability to perceive the world in all its glory. Imagine that you are wearing black, nearly opaque glasses. The spectrum of colors that you can perceive fell sharply. And ability to move in space became too limited.

How to deal with such feelings

To move forward is difficult, but still possible and necessary. Remind yourself that depression limits you in your possibilities, but it does not mean that you have become someone else. Do not set yourself unrealistic goals, which will be difficult to achieve: divide the goal into small steps, so it will be easier to complete it.

Bad weather

Another “classic” image of depression – is a cloudy, rainy, gray day. The day lasts forever, and because of the clouds there is not even a slight glimpse of the sun in the sky.

How to resist this feeling

Fall and winter are not eternal. Spring and then summer follow them. You can stand in the rain, getting wet and suffer, and you can wear rubber boots, take an umbrella and go take pictures of water droplets on the leaves, or sit in the warm, drink  tea and read a  book. The choice is yours. What really can help you ride out the bad weather? What can you do, not to “soak in the rain”?

If you have two or more of the above symptoms, you, probably, need to go to a specialist. Depression can be treated quite successfully, if it is diagnosed in time.

Read more: What is Depression – Signs & Causes

Also, you should remember that no matter how lonely and lost, you feel, you are not alone. You have friends, family, acquaintances, who are able to support you in difficult times. And moreover, you have something more valuable – a healthy, strong and cheerful part of your personality that is not affected by depression. Even though it is very difficult to understand it right now, your task is to remember it, and to allow it to appear.