Depression symptom and prevention

Depression is a low mood that lasts for a long time and affects your everyday life. It’s a serious condition that affects your physical and mental health.

It feels like I'm stuck under a huge grey-black cloud. It's dark and isolating, smothering me at every opportunity.

Symptoms of depression

Depression causes many different symptoms, which last for more than two weeks and affect your ability to pursue everyday interests and activities. A person with depression may have some or all of the symptoms listed here.

1. A depressed mood during most of the day, particularly in the morning
2. Fatigue or loss of energy almost every day.
3. Feelings of worthlessness or guilt almost everyday
4. Impaired concentration, indecisiveness
5. Insomnia or hypersomnia (excessive sleeping) almost every day
6. Recurring thoughts of death or suicide (not just fearing death)
7. A sense of restlessness, known as psychomotor agitation, or being slowed down

Significant weight loss or gain

Best ways to prevent depression

Get enough sleep:-

According to researchers, disturbances in circadian rhythms have been linked to depression, and re-synchronising circadian rhythms using melatonin supplements or light therapy may actually have antidepressant effects.

Exercise:-

Depressed patients pedal a stationary bike, measuring their subjective symptoms and cortisol (stress hormone) levels before and afterwards. They found that after just 15 minutes of exercise, both the patients’ symptoms of depression and cortisol levels were significantly reduced.

Set goals:-

When you're depressed, you may feel like you can't accomplish anything. That makes you feel worse about yourself. To push back, set daily goals for yourself.

Eat healthy:-

There is no magic diet that fixes depression. It's a good idea to watch what you eat, though. If depression tends to make you overeat, getting in control of your eating will help you feel better.

Challenge negative thoughts:-

In your fight against depression, a lot of the work is mental - changing how you think. When you're depressed, you leap to the worst possible conclusions.

Do something new:-

When you’re depressed, you’re in a rut. Push yourself to do something different. Go to a museum. Pick up a used book and read it on a park bench. Volunteer at a soup kitchen. Take a language class.