I’ve Never Been Depressed Before, Is This Going to Last Forever?
If you’re noticing that you have been feeling more depressed lately, hopeless, stressed, and are worried because this isn’t normal for you, I want you to know that you are not alone. Situational depression can affect anyone and everyone. It’s often a shorter period of depression than clinical depression. It can be brought on by a variety of events, including the COVID-19 restrictions.
Other common causes include “normal” life events such as:
+ Job Loss
+ Death of a loved one or friend
+ Death of an animal
+ Car Accident
+ A Move
+ Divorce
+ Basically, any major life change
In the mental health field, this is what we call Adjustment Disorder. Which most people will experience at least once in their lifetime and it’s important not to pathologize it, as this often makes it worse and people begin to see themselves as “failures” or “weak.” This then has the tendency to lead to more negative outcomes. It’s also important not to minimize it as not as important or debilitating as it can be. It very much has the same impact on quality of life as clinical depression and is only minimally improved with antidepressants. This is a great time to reach out for therapy to talk it through or better yet a great time to attend a psycho-education group or class to learn coping skills to help yourself through it and ideally make you more resilient for future events.
It’s important to pay attention to the symptoms you are experiencing such as the ones I listed above but also feelings of sadness, sleeping difficulties (falling, staying, or too much), crying spells, increase in anxiety/worry, difficulties focusing, and paying attention, difficulty remembering things or general forgetfulness, feeling like you’re “spaced out” or withdraw from activities you previously enjoyed or lack of motivation in our current state of affairs. It’s also hard because by nature we are social creatures so even if we’re “homebodies” we still need some human contact and right now it’s very difficult for us to do that. This feeling of isolation is a big trigger for situational depression right now. Not only that, but it makes it harder to get the help you need when you need it which is why we have seen an increase in suicides and suicidal thoughts.
So, what can you do to help yourself or someone you love?
First of all, acknowledge these feelings and validate them. One of the worst things we can do is beat ourselves up or make someone else feel worse than they already do. Then make some changes to help you get through this period. Check out some of my prior blogs to get creative in how you connect with people. Other things that can help include journaling, getting exercise, sticking with a routine, maintain healthy sleep habits, make sure you’re eating a well-balanced diet and drinking plenty of water, evaluate your use of marijuana and/or alcohol, both of which are depressants and can exacerbate the situation if you’re using excessively, take up new hobbies, order those meal delivery kits and cook something new, find online support groups, read a new book, take up coloring, download one of the many mental health-related apps or just get creative and find a way to have some resemblance of “normalcy.” You can also check out my blog “A New Year, A New You?” to learn how to challenge negative thinking habits.
And if you are feeling alone and are having thoughts of harming or killing yourself please call 911 or go to the ER. Also, check out my Crisis Resources page for resources to help you get support and/or keep yourself safe. Feel free to reach out to me at Colleen@ScatteredPotential.com, subscribe to my blog or my newsletter by filling out the form below. Follow me on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram