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Signs & Symptoms of Depression That Are Difficult to Address

Depression has a number of signs and symptoms that can directly impair your life. Some are more difficult to address than others because depression tends to paralyze its victims emotionally. They lose motivation, which keeps them from being able to fight the symptoms effectively. Some of the symptoms are physical, and those can be hard to address because depression sufferers are fighting their own bodies.

  1. Sleep Disturbance

    • Depression can cause sleep disturbances, Helpguide.org says. It may cause insomnia, or it can make you feel like staying in bed and sleeping all day. Both of these symptoms are difficult to treat. Insomnia is stubborn because you cannot force yourself to fall asleep. Excessive sleep is hard to fight because depression saps your motivation and makes it feel more comfortable to stay in bed.

    Eating

    • Depression makes some people stop eating, while others consume an excessive amount of food. Those who lose their appetites usually have this symptom as a part of an overall lack of self care. They don't feel like doing any common life tasks, including eating. Those who eat excessively are usually trying to comfort themselves with food. The demotivating effect of depression makes loss of appetite difficult to address. Excessive eating is hard to deal with, too, because a depressed person doesn't want to give up a source of comfort.

    Hopelessness

    • One major sign of depression is a feeling of hopelessness that causes you to give up and sink down into negative feelings. This is particularly difficult to address because it takes hope to start on the path to recovery. You need to have confidence that medication or therapy will help you get better. Otherwise it doesn't seem worth the effort. Helpguide.org says hopelessness tricks you into thinking nothing will get better, no matter how hard you try.

    Lack of Energy

    • Depression is often characterized by a loss of energy, Helpguide.org says. This is hard to address because it is hard to concentrate on getting better when you don't have any energy. Other depression symptoms, like insomnia and loss of appetite, can contribute to the lack of energy because your body doesn't get the rest it needs or enough food to fuel it properly.

    Pain

    • Depression can have physical effects on your body, the Mayo Clinic says. This often manifests itself in back pain, headaches and other generalized pains. It is difficult to treat these pains effectively because they have a mental cause rather than physical. They will continue until the depression is resolved.

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