One of the reasons that you may not be hitting your fitness goals is could be due to problems in your mental fitness. Are you overwhelmed by bouts of negative emotions clouding your every mood preventing you to function normally and productively? Do you feel at times abandoned or neglected? Are you confused at what you are feeling and yet don’t know how to fight it? Are you just sad or is it so much more complex than that? If you said yes to any of these, then it is best to seek proper help and medical counsel for this could be the warning signs of depression. This issue can make day to day functioning very difficult, and healthy living and physical activity nearly impossible.
Depression is a disease of the mind that prohibits you from enjoying life. It is usually manifested by extreme emotions of grave sadness or an overpowering sense of despair. Like the disease, the figures for this disorder is sadly depressing, it has plagued almost 10 percent or an estimated 20 million of the entire American population. This, by any standards, poses a grave and alarming threat.
The best way to help someone, knowingly or unknowingly, facing this condition is to recognize its symptoms. The warning signs of depression ranges from physical, mental and behavioral changes, some of the most common tell tale signs are:
Visible loss or reduced pleasure (Anhedonia). This is usually made apparent by a perceptible sense of disinterest or disassociation in certain activities that the individual previously finds pleasure in.
Apparent change in appetite and sleep. A shift of one’s food consumption which can either cause a significant gain or loss of the individual’s weight.
Emotional Instability. This is usually characterized by swift alterations in one’s temper from despair, to self disgust, peevishness to a disturbingly violent personality that may cause an individual to resort to taking one’s life. In recent statistics, Depression is placed as the second reason of most American suicides.
Recurring Fatigue. During Depression, one undergoes a sudden change in vigor; feeling tired and deeply exhausted most of the time.
Disrupted Thought Patterns. When one suffers from this disorder, one loses his mental stability thereby unable to make rational ideas and decisions, lacks the intensity to focus and make credible judgments.
Physical Impairment. A depressed individual becomes more prone to becoming physically weak and would ceaselessly be experiencing mild to severe aches.
Is it sadness? If you are undergoing at least 5 or more of these warning signs relentlessly over a period of time, chances are, you are experiencing Depression. And the earlier you admit this and seek help, the better the chances of an immediate recovery.
