In today’s society depression is talked about a bit more than it used to be, therefore bringing awareness to both the hardships of it as well as how to recover from it. 

Young adults, ages 18 to about 25, are the group of people who are affected by depression the most. That’s not to say that anyone outside of this age range can’t or doesn’t get depression, but this is the most common age. 

The reason for this is because this is the time of each person’s life when a lot of changes happen. This could be changes in hormones, physical changes as you grow up, mental changes with moving out or familial/friendship changes. Things like going to college or not going to college can affect the way someone of this age thinks and reacts to things. 

Depression is a hard thing to deal with and is an even harder thing to climb out of. But if you can recognize the signs and get the help you need, it may be just a little bit easier to handle.

Mental

A good chunk of depression comes from the mental state that you get into. A lot of people don’t even realize that they are in this state until they are so far gone that they don’t care anymore. 

Some of the mental things to watch out for are:

• Sadness: If you catch yourself being sad, down or crying a lot of the time, it may be time to reflect on if you are experiencing a lot of sad things, or if you are experiencing depression. 
• Wanting to be alone: Often when you are depressed, you don’t want to interact with others very often, it can be draining and you may not really care about others in those moments. 
• Lack of energy: Depression can suck the energy out of you. Even everyday tasks like brushing your teeth, eating a meal or even getting out of bed can be exhausting and very hard to be motivated to do. 
• Irritable: Having a short fuse and being bothered or annoyed by just about anything could be a sign that you are depressed. Now this can be hard to decipher from just regular monthly hormones (If you are a woman and experience this) vs. depression. But if you are finding that it is a consistency, it may be a sign pointing to depression. 
• Hopelessness/feeling of guilt: Thoughts like, “I can’t do this anymore.” or “ what’s the point” or “I’m hurting those around me” are thoughts of feeling guilty and hopeless. Just like the lack of energy feeling, this can be combined with the lowest parts of being depressed. 

Watch out for some of these signs. It can be hard to notice these signs by yourself, especially if you are used to living in this way, but if those around you begin to point out these kinds of signs about you, maybe take a moment to reflect on them and ask yourself if it’s depression that you’re experiencing. 

Physical

Now, since so much changes in your mood, energy levels and mental health while experiencing depression, a lot of physical changes can occur. 

• Appetite changes: When you are feeling down, you may not have the energy to eat food all the time, or you simply might not even think about food. For others, it could be the thing they hyperfocus on and eat a lot of food. Either way, the change in appetite in large and strange ways can occur. 

• Physical weight change (gain or loss): With those appetite changes that we spoke about previously, it could cause weight changes. It could be that you’re not eating enough and you suddenly get very thin, or you are overeating and you gain a lot of weight suddenly. 
• Sleep changes: When your mind is on overdrive mode and won’t turn off, this could cause you to have a lack of sleep. Those feelings of hopelessness and guilt and other emotions can be very loud, therefore not allowing a proper night’s sleep. On the other hand, there could be nothing going through your brain, because of those same hopelessness and guiltful feelings. This could cause the body to shut down in a way and be exhausted a lot, causing you to sleep a lot at night and take lots of naps during the day. 
• Physical aches and pains: With all of these inconsistent things happening to the body, whether it be the weight changes, the sleep changes and other symptoms, it can cause physical pain throughout the body. Whether it is constant headaches, body pains or body weakness, those extreme and constant pains for you may point to depression. 
• Suicidal thoughts: Now, this is a darker topic and isn’t talked about as much, but having dark thought of not wanting to be here anymore are extreme signs of depression and you should seek instant help from those around you or emergency services. (Suicide hotline: 1-800-273-8255 or 988)

Some of these may be just your body changing and adjusting to life, but if they are on the extreme side…it may be a sign pointing to depression and you should seek help. 

How to help

These dark times while dealing with depression can be overwhelming and you may feel even more hopeless than you ever have, but there are always people there to help.

• Therapy: therapists are always there to help with depression and other mental illnesses. There are some therapists out there that will do the work for low prices and others who do have higher prices, but know that there are countless opportunities for anybody to seek the help they want and need. 
• Reach out to family and friends: those around you will be the most important people with depression. They know your behaviors and sometimes recognize it before you do. Going to them and asking for help could be key to your recovery. In some cases, these people will come to you first and begin the healing process before you even notice the depression yourself. 
• Write about it: talking to others about what you are going through can be hard for some people. It is something that does not always feel like a safe thing for everyone to do. So, getting a journal may be your cure. Writing down what your feeling and sometimes going back and reflecting on what you’ve written can help you to realize what you’re going through and what the next healing steps could be.

Depression is a serious thing that a lot of people go through. It is not always something that can be recognized right away. Taking the time to really be in tune with your body, mind and emotions will help you to sort out what you’re feeling and begin the healing process. 

Remember, there is always help available for when you need it. 

Sucicide and Crisis hotline:

1-800-273-8255