Hello Moms,

A lot of times the last thing we think of when we are sad or upset or even depressed is ‘healthy habits’. We throw a lot of things away to remain in that state. According to nhs.uk Depression is when you feel persistently sad for weeks or months, rather than just a few days. Some people think depression is trivial and not a genuine health condition. They’re wrong – it is a real illness with real symptoms. Depression isn’t a sign of weakness or something you can “snap out of” by “pulling yourself together”.

I have been through depression and one thing I know is a lot of people are living in self denial because they feel people will consider them weak or even the fear of stigmatization. A lot of things can cause depression. Relationship, Life-changing events, such as bereavement, losing your job or even having a baby, can bring it on.
People with a family history of depression are more likely to experience it themselves. But you can also become depressed for no obvious reason (nhs.uk)

Symptoms of depression as outlined by netdoctor.co.uk

Stress can lead to you to feeling ‘down’ and ‘miserable’. What is different about a depressive illness is that these feelings last for weeks or months, rather than days.

In addition to feeling low most or all of the time, many other symptoms can occur in depressive illness (though not everybody has every one).

Being unable to gain pleasure from activities that normally would be pleasurable.
Losing interest in normal activities, hobbies and everyday life.
Feeling tired all of the time and having no energy.
Difficulty sleeping or waking early in the morning (though some feel that they can’t get out of bed and ‘face the world’).
Having a poor appetite, no interest in food and losing weight (though some people overeat and put on weight – ‘comfort eating’).
Losing interest in sex.
Finding it difficult to concentrate and think straight.
Feeling restless, tense and anxious.
Being irritable.
Losing self-confidence.
Avoiding other people.
Finding it harder than usual to make decisions.
Feeling useless and inadequate – ‘a waste of space’.
Feeling guilty about who you are and what you have done.
Feeling hopeless – that nothing will make things better.
Thinking about suicide – this is very common. If you feel this way, talk to somebody about it. If you think somebody else might be thinking this way, ask them about it – it will not make them more likely to commit suicide.

How to deal with depression

Speak to your doctor

Eat healthy

Exercise

Speak about it

seek help

Stay positive

It can be very hard to do any of these things when you are facing depression but I went through mine changing my lifestyle, giving myself reasons to love me. I pulled out of it rediscovering myself. A lot of things I know today I learnt them when I was depressed. Learn new things, make new friends, change environment if you must.  Speak up when you have to, there’s always someone ready to help.

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