Depression changed me (How?)

In this article, we will look at the after-effects of depression. It means we will look at how depression changed me. We will look at the three factors under which depression might have changed you. In addition, we will look at what is depression, the symptoms of depression, and how to deal with depression. 

How does depression change you? 

Depression is a mental health disorder that once faced can change your entire life. Depression does change you in many ways. Some people come out of depression completely whereas others face relapse and certain residual symptoms. 

Depression is like one of the most life-altering experiences you may have faced. We do not realise how one small thing can change us. Byt when it comes to depression, there are major changes seen in individuals. 

In this section of the article, we will look at the different changes that might take place in an individual after they have dealt with depression. 

The changes due to depression are seen in all the dimensions of our life. Just because depression is a mental health disorder it does not mean that it will only affect the psychological makeup. In fact, depression affects the entire lifestyle from all the perspectives. 

Social 

Family and friends: when a person is depressed, they do not suffer alone. Their close ones like friends and family also suffer. To start with it is challenging to look at someone fighting depression..secondly, depression makes you push away people. When depressed you are so full of symptoms and feelings of depression, that you may avoid or just cut off the people who have tried to help you. At the end of the day, you are left with no one. your conflicts and acquisitions make it difficult for other people to deal with. There have been numerous cases where a person has either broken up or filed fro divorce because they are depressed even if they still love that person. Do for starters depression completely ruins our social life and changes all the dynamics. 

Work: two things can happen here. Depression can harm your ability to perform well. In general, depression takes away all your interest and ability to work. You are constantly fatigued and feel hopeless. Therefore you might be unable to work. Your reputation at work then is at stake. For someone who is regular and works efficiently, it is hard to deal with the fact that your work performance is going down. On the other hand, once you join back to work, it is very often that people will differ with you. Mental health to date has a stigma attached to it. People will only look at you from the perspective of the illness. It is like you never had a life before. 

Psychological 

Fear and anxiety: Once you have experienced a depressive episode, it is very normal that you are worried about another one. It goes to an extent that you start to live in the fear of anxiety about the relapse. It is normal that you do not want to fall back into the illness, but when these feelings go out of your hand, you are in trouble. After you have been depressed once, you constantly live with the fear that you might fall back into the illness. The fear is real, but living with this fear blocks you from knowing what you can accomplish. Due to the fear, you tend to avoid many things in your life as you are worried about any trigger possible. 

Memory: in addition to this, researches have found that recurrent depressive episodes are seen to impact the memory of the person. Due to these changes in memory, there are also changes in psychological makeup. Depressive episodes mainly affect short term memory. People find it difficult to remember the basic information given to them on daily bases. In addition, this also affects their work and social life. This is a common effect of depression, but unfortunately, it can continue after a depressive episode is over.

another researcher brings out another aspect of memory. Instead of looking at the memory loss, he emphasis on the influence of depressive memories. The researcher believes that depression keeps it affects through negative memories and thoughts long after it is gone. Those memories can dominate new occurrences and cause them to be deciphered adversely also. These recollections add to a repetitive pattern of burdensome thoughts regarding yourself and make you more helpless against another scene.

Biological 

In addition to these social and biological changes. There are evident biological changes. The best-reported change has to do with brain structures. The size of the hippocampus, a territory connected to memory development in addition to other things, is seen to be comparatively smaller in individuals who’ve lived with depression– the more drawn out the depression, the smaller the hippocampus. 

This could be identified with a decrease in the degree of BDNF, a protein that is essential in the arrangement of new neurons. As BDNF diminishes neuron cells lose the help they need to endure. BDNF is dynamic in the hippocampus, among different zones of the cerebrum, and a diminishing in its accessibility might be one of the reasons for its decrease in size.

In addition to this, depression is associated with a reduction in the brain chemicals serotonin, norepinephrine and increase stress hormones. 

With this, when a person is depressed, their entire life is shaken. Emotionally they are broken. They feel worthless, helpless, and just broke. Having faced such emotional changes have to lead to the thoughts of suicide. When a person recovers from depression and the emotional trauma, there is always a part of them that will remember these things. It is inscribed in their minds that they went through the worst of emotional trauma. These emotions have a great impact on how the peon sees the world after. They become more quiet, shy and keep things to a minimum. They only want their work to be done. 

Additionally, there are various lifestyle changes too. A person fighting depression has lifestyle changes such as lack of sleep. Their entire sleep routine is disturbed. They do not know when they wake up when they sleep. With sleep, their appetite is also messed. They either have no appetite or giant appetite. 

Hence if you feel that depression has changed you, you are not alone and you certainly are not wrong. When a mere college experience can change who we are, then depression certainly can. Depression takes away things from us, things that we love and sometimes also gives us insight into things. It might help us grow or might just leave us stunt. But it depression does change you for the better or for worse. 

What is depression? 

Now that we know what depression does and how it changes us, we will also look at what is depression. 

Depression is the most common and the serious mental health conditions of the day. In the United States, one in every five people faces depression. 

Depression is a condition with extreme sadness associated with loss of interest in activities and constant fatigue and feelings of guilt and worthlessness. A person who is depressed, if left untreated can lead to suicidal thoughts and eventually suicide. Suicide due to depression is the 10th leading cause of death in the United States. 

In addition, depression does not have a specific cause that can be eliminated from the environment. Psychologists believe that depression is caused by the combination of biological social and psychological factors of an individual. This means that a person needs a predisposed, precipitating as well as perpetuating factor for depression to occur. 

Symptoms of depression

The symptoms of depression vary from one person to the other. However, there are certain basic symptoms that are usually seen in all cases of depression. They are: 

• extraordinary peevishness over apparently minor things 
• tension and anxiety 
• The issue with outrage
• loss of interest in exercises, including sex 
• obsession with the past or on things that have turned out badly 
• contemplations of death or self-destruction 
• a sleeping disorder or sleeping late 
• incapacitating weariness 
• expanded or diminished hunger 
• weight gain or misfortune 
• trouble thinking or deciding 
• unexplained a throbbing painfulness

If you notice any of these symptoms for more then 2 weeks, you should visit a mental health professional. 

How to deal with depression 

Depression is a life-changing event. Therefore it is important that you deal with it rightly. 

For starters, visit a mental health professional. A therapist or a psychiatrist can help you ease the burden of dealing with depression by giving you the right treatment. For our good, depression is treatable. It is best cured with the use of medications as well as psychotherapy. Therefore, visiting a therapist will help you with depression 

In addition to official treatment, it is important that you try to get out and get some fresh air. Go for a walk or run. Take your pet for a walk, but engage in physical activity. By doing so, you keep your body and brain both active. This helps you deal with depression better. 

Depression takes away your will to live. Therefore, it is important that you make yourself happy. You can do this by engaging in activities that actually make you happy. If you like dancing, push yourself to dance, if you like pottery go for those workshops. This way you can do things that will release the happy hormones and make you happy. 

With this, it is also vital that you get enough rest. Depression squeezes out most of your energy. therefore, enough rest is important so that your body can actually function. 

You can also energize your body by eating appropriate and healthy food. Nutrient-rich food like Mediterranian cuisine or omega 3 rich food, healthy carbs, green leaves are all known to fight depression better. 

In conclusion, I would like to say that yes depression changes you, but it is something that you can adapt and make better with help both personal as well as professional. 

Conclusion 

In this article, we have looked at the after-effects of depression. It means we have looked at how depression changed me. We also looked at the three factors under which depression might have changed you. In addition, we have looked at what is depression, the symptoms of depression, and how to deal with depression. 

FAQs: Depression changed me

References 

How Does Depression Change You? Can You Ever Be Yourself Again?

https://themighty.com/2017/09/depression-changed-me-not-myself-anymore/

https://mindyourmind.ca/expression/how-clinical-depression-changed-my-life