Moods Change Often, Recognize Signs Of Depression Early

Depression Illustration (Vickie Intilie / Pexels)

JAKARTA - Depression often goes unnoticed. Even if you are aware, the sign is often ignored. Most people prefer to let go of the sadness and pain they feel rather than admit and accept it so as not to appear weak.

Yet if not handled quickly and appropriately, depression can endanger health. Reporting from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in the United States, about 10 to 25 percent of women and 5 to 12 percent of men are diagnosed with clinical depression at some point in their life.

For that, here are nine things that you can use as a reference for detecting depression early on so that you can find out the source of the problem and take appropriate treatment.

Too confident

Most people deal with depression by being the opposite of what they really feel. For example, when you are desperate for a career in the office, you can just act recklessly without careful consideration to resign from the old office and look for a new job to get better prospects, assuming that you can definitely get the new job, but not necessarily.

Looking for an escape

When under a lot of burdens, a person tends to seek destructive escape. For example, consuming excess alcohol to consume illegal drugs.

Yes, it is not uncommon for people to choose to make things or addictive substances like alcohol an escape to temporarily forget about emotional pain.

It's easy to get emotional

A little difference of opinion immediately angers you. Excessive or inappropriate outbursts of anger can be a sign that your mental state is unstable.

Socialize often

Socializing and having lots of friends does have a positive impact. However, if you socialize with the aim of avoiding solitude, you need to be careful. Often times, it's not that people hate being alone. They just fear that being alone will cause them to 'struggle' with depressed and sad thoughts and feelings.

Feel empty

If you can't accept sadness and keep ignoring it, gradually your heart will become empty and numb.

Depression Illustration (Polina Zimmer / Pexels)

Difficulty concentrating

The most common sign of depression is difficulty concentrating. Drowsiness can indeed cause a person to lose concentration, but in depressed people concentration is almost difficult or even impossible at all.

Lost feeling when praised

Usually positive rewards can increase one's self-confidence. But if sincere compliments, awards, or gifts of any kind are not succeeding in injecting enthusiasm into you, then this could be a sign that you are depressed.

Working too hard

Apart from addictive substances, work is often used as an escape when the mood is upset. This could be your coping mechanism in responding to unwanted changes.

Overreaction

A sign that you are experiencing depression can be seen from how you respond to things that happen in your environment. You get sad easily and worry about things that don't really need to be sad. Conversely, when there is something you really need to worry about, you end up acting indifferent.

Only you can recognize and change yourself. As Abraham Maslow the famous psychologist said, "The most important thing in changing yourself is changing one's awareness of yourself." Realize what you feel and fight against it.