Surprising signs of depression

Discovers some of the lesser-known indicators that your loved ones may be struggling with their mental health

The most well-known symptoms of depression include a continuous low mood, lack of motivation and feeling hopeless and helpless, anxious, worried or tearful. But these are not the only warning signs you should be looking out for in yourself and loved ones.

“These are all symptoms someone experiencing depression might have, but in reality depression can show itself in many different forms, both physical and behavioural,” says Jenna Quinn, therapy lead at independent mental health care provider the Priory Group.

“A survey we conducted at the

Priory showed there are many symptoms of depression that many people are unaware of, but they are no less important than the better-known symptoms,” she adds.

“When a person continues to live with depression unknowingly and without accessing the right treatment, symptoms can worsen and serious health issues may arise. Once people know what to look for, they can access the right help and support faster.”

Here, Jenna explains what to look out for and what you can do.

Being indecisive

Dopamine and serotonin are chemical messengers in the brain that bring a happiness boost, and work to stabilise mood. When depressed, our levels drop and with that, focus and concentration are reduced, along with our ability to make decisions, but half of those we asked were unaware it could be an indicator of low mood.

Depression also leads to sleep disruption and lethargy – this lack of energy can affect a person’s ability to make decisions.

Depression can feel like anxious distress, so feeling edgy, irritable or ruminating can keep your mind too busy to sleep.

How to cope: Breaking big decisions down to smaller ones or creating a checklist when there are multiple steps to a decision are a few ways such dilemmas may be made to feel less daunting and more doable.

Writing about your thoughts and feelings can also help clear your mind for sleep.

Feeling guilt-ridden

People with depression struggle to achieve perspective on negative life events. This can make them feel wholly responsible for negative things that happen, making them feel guilty. How to cope: Journalling is one technique that may help understand your feelings of guilt better.

Tools like the My Possible Self app’s mood tracker (mypossibleself.com) can help to identify correlations between feelings of guilt and specific events, while the app also features a Tackling my Depression guided series inclusive of elements such as reframing negative thoughts into more positive ones.

Changes to your menstrual cycle

During a depressive phase, the stress hormone cortisol rises.

This sends messages to the brain and the reproductive system, delaying or ceasing ovulation, leading to a delayed or absent period – yet 85 per cent are unaware mood can impact in this way.

How to cope: Tracking your symptoms throughout the phases of your cycle can help build awareness of mood changes.

Relaxation techniques and light exercise including mindfulness, yoga and stretching can help reduce anxiety and lower cortisol levels.

Moving or speaking more slowly than usual

The slowing of both thought processes and physical movements is a well-established symptom of severe depression, but only a quarter of people are aware of it as a symptom.

It is partly due to decreased energy levels, but it is also known that certain chemical and structural changes in the brain can cause this.

How to cope: Identifying potential triggers can be a good starting point, for example if there is a particular situation or time of day which worsens your symptoms, so then you may plan your day around this.

Scheduling things you enjoy at these times can help elevate mood. With proper treatment, psychomotor slowness can be improved, but it is important to acknowledge it can take time and not be too hard on yourself.

Unexplained aches and pains

People with depression often experience various physical ailments, including pain. While quite often there will be no underlying cause, the pain and distress is very real. The body-mind connection is powerful, but pain is more pronounced, you have a lower tolerance and it’s more likely to bother you when you’re depressed.

In depression, as emotions are not processed properly, people tend to focus on the physical symptoms they experience rather than underlying emotional problems.

How to cope: As a starting point, it can be beneficial to try to understand what emotional stressors might be causing you to experience physical pain. Triggers can be identified as either a person, place or thing. Also, it’s been proven to be helpful introducing a cold shower into your daily routine as it calms inflammation, which is linked to low mood.

Constipation

‘‘ You have a lower tolerance to pain when you are depressed

Low serotonin levels in depression have been shown to slow gut movements, but that is not the only reason the way you feel could impact your bowels.

If appetite is adversely affected and dietary intake is quite poor, they will lack essential nutrients and fibre. This can lead to bowel disturbances including constipation. Low fluid intake can also worsen constipation. Yet 90 per cent of those we spoke to had no clue this could be a symptom.

How to cope: Fibre-filled foods such as wholegrains and pulses, as well as dried fruit and staying properly hydrated, may be beneficial to some, but as with most depressive symptoms it is important to consider the bigger picture.

Techniques such as CBT (cognitive behavioural therapy) are more readily available than ever before and can help manage feelings of anxiety and depression. For example, the My Possible Self app, created in collaboration with our team of experts at the Priory Group, offers clinically certified tools and resources.