Depression & Low Mood

 

 

 

 

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 What is Depression?

 

The Black Dog, known as a metaphor for depression, is a mental state where one feels extremely low mood, lasting over a long period of time, or returns in bouts, which highly impacts on one's overall wellbeing, and everyday living.

We can often feel down due to life changes, or outside influences, known often as 'the blues' - however, under such circumstances, we can relatively work through, and bounce back after a period of time passing.

But what if you don’t bounce back?

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What if your feelings of sadness linger, are excessive, or interfere with your work, sleep, or recreation?

What if you’re feeling fatigue or worthlessness, or experiencing weight changes along with your sadness?

You may be experiencing depression.

Depression Symptoms:
 

*Depressed mood, sadness, or an “empty” feeling, or appearing sad or tearful to others.

*Not feeling joy in anything - feeling little to no emotions.

*Loss of interest or pleasure in activities you once enjoyed.

*Significant weight loss when not dieting, or significant weight gain (for example, more than 5% of body weight in a month).

*Inability to sleep, or excessive sleeping.

*Restlessness or irritation (irritable mood may be a symptom in children or adolescents too), or feelings of “dragging”(sluggish, lethargic).

*Fatigue or loss of energy.

*Feelings of worthlessness, or inappropriate guilt.

*Difficulty thinking or concentrating, or indecisiveness.

*Feeling a lack of focus in all you do.

*Feeling very overwhelmed.

*Isolating yourself from everything, and everyone.

*Recurrent thoughts of death or suicide without a specific plan, or a suicide attempt or specific plan for committing suicide.

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When we feel depressed our body is depleted of serotonin (and usually dopamine too). Serotonin is responsible for our decision making, and motivation. If we feel low, our serotonin levels are low, and this is why we feel we just can’t motivate ourselves to get out of the situation we find ourselves in.

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If we do motivate ourselves, even just a little bit, our mind kick starts our serotonin levels, and the more we do it, the more our serotonin levels increase.

This is why we feel great when we get a job done, we feel proud of our achievement, and in turn it motivates us to do more. The serotonin levels are rising, and giving us that ‘can do’ motivated attitude.

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Low serotonin is also caused by us suppressing our emotions and our voice. You will find, where there is a lot of anger (there are always suppressed emotions underneath the mask of anger) there lies extremely low mood.

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This is why many turn to substance, or medical abuse to get that lifted feeling - however; when our brain is chemically operated, our serotonin and dopamine production comes to a halt, as our bodies feel we have enough already.

 

This is why it is important, not only to find a good therapist, and coach, who can help you kick start your serotonin, and dopamine levels naturally, to help you in your fight against depression, but to also, within a safe space, allow you to express the unexpressed.

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"Even though the lack of chemicals in the brain may be one reason for the cause of depression, my theory is that it can also be due to unresolved past trauma, a sense of feeling defeated in life, or a negative self concept; how we view ourselves."