Unless you are familiar with depression and other mental health conditions, it is hard to know when it is happening to someone close to you. Taking their actions and behaviors personally can cause a giant rift in your relationship as you become resentful toward them. Do any of these behaviors sound familiar? Your loved one might be struggling with depression.
- You can’t get them out of bed in the morning: Most people are able to wake up and recognize they are thirsty or need to go to the bathroom. Promptly, they get up and tackle such important issues. A lazy morning is something almost everyone can admit they have. For someone with depression, it isn’t about being lazy. Despite what might have been an extraordinarily long night of sleep, they wake up exhausted and unmotivated having no energy to do what they need to do.
- It’s hard to believe them when they talk about being tired, considering how much sleep they get: Depression isn’t always characterized by an extreme amount of sleep, but it isn’t uncommon. Sleeping until late in the day, then going to sleep early and starting the cycle over again happens frequently. You might think they are avoiding their life, getting addicted to sleep, or living in denial. Depression is exhausting.
- You’re concerned they might have a serious illness because they seem to feel sick a lot: You hear “I’m sorry, I just don’t feel good,” a lot. One minute they’re up and about. When you want to do something fun, go out, spend quality time together, or ask them to do anything they didn’t think of themselves, they’re suddenly feeling sick. Psychosomatization is common with depression. The adverse emotional feeling become adverse physical feelings.
- You get snapped at a lot when you don’t deserve it: Nobody deserves to be snapped at, spoken to rudely, or have anger thrown at them. Everyone is capable of having civil conversation which is fluent in emotional articulation and healthy boundaries. Unfortunately, most people don’t learn how to do that. Trying to be authentic in conversation and explain what is going on is terribly difficult for someone with depression because they can hardly tell which way is up as they tumble through the currents of mental illness.
- It’s impossible to walk through their house: That is, if they even invite you over. Typically, depression can result in a lot of isolation which is due to shame. If they invite you over, it probably took a lot of convincing themselves to do so. A messy house, messy kitchen, and unkempt living space is a sign of depression. They aren’t lazy or bad at being responsible for themselves. Instead, they are physically and psychologically exhausted- too exhausted to be concerned with anything other than their crippling emotions.
Avalon Malibu knows that living with depression is hard. That’s why we’ve created the outline for an effective and healing treatment program to help you feel better. For a confidential assessment, call 1 (888) 958-7511 today.
