If hypertension is the silent killer of the body, then depression is the silent killer of the mind and spirit. Depression has a way of manifesting that it is often hard to pinpoint that the route cause of a person’s suffering is actually depression. The implications of this stealthy killer is that many people never recognise that they are depressed and their loved ones also share in this inability to figure out that they are depressed. It is for these reason that we label depression a silent killer. It is an assassin of dreams, its symptoms are often ambiguous and hard to recognise. So far we have presented the problem, recognising the signs of depression but the rest of this article will discuss symptoms that are often mistake for other things.
Perpetually Stuck In The Grasps of Inertia
That awful feeling of uncertainty of not know what is next is often normal and in most cases it has to deal with transition. Like all things in life there’s ways that this manifests in a healthy way and in an unhealthy way. If this feeling exists for several months, then it might be a sign of depression. Being perpetually stuck in a rut and not being able to spin your way out is not a good way to live and it is one of those signs of depression that is very easy to miss.
What Was Once Fun Is Dull
Have you pulled away from hobbies and feel like what was once fun is now dull? This is another sign of depression that is very easy to miss. Sometimes you or friends might see it as that you just need a change of pace but often it is more than that, it is no longer being able to find joy in these things and on a deeper level it is no longer being able to find joy in people or within yourself. The activity takes a back seat to the person and their inability to feel joy.
Creativity Leaves The Building
Here is a big one that is so damaging to creative people. What happens when an idea person stops having ideas, when they stop generating ways to do new things or to change the world? What is the opposite of creativity? For artist, business and intellectual creatives this is death and it can often go ignored. How many people have ever thought of writer’s block as a symptom of depression? Creativity blocks that last for a long time is a sign of an underling mental and emotional health issue.
More Or Less Food But No Sex
Some people eat more and some people eat less when depressed. This change in eating patterns can cause weight loss or weight gain. Something else that often happens when depresses is a loss of interest in sex. Of course it is easy to recognise this, you simply stop taking an interest in sex but can manifest in a far more stealthy way and that is sexual desire without arousal. It is often the case that a person is sexual hungry but that it doesn’t come with the typical signs of arousal. In men this often manifests as sexual desire without erection or with poor erection. This is a form of psychological E.D. That is very easy to miss if you do not know what to look for.
Checking Out of Life
Another sign of depression that many people overlook is when a person simply checks out from life. They no longer care, they lose their spirit, they don’t want to be involved in anything, nothing makes them mad, they are numb and just a collection of flesh and bone going through the paces of live. Checking out is so easy to miss that a person can go through this daze for years before anyone suggests or before they realise that it is depression. It is often a sign of defeat, I can’t do anything, I will accept what is and I will sleep walk through life.
As you can see, these stealth symptoms of depression can hide in plain sight without anyone ever recognising them. They are so stealthy that even the person who is going through them and living it might not be able to recognise what is happening to them. The key to getting through this is first recognising these symptoms in yourself and in others. The next step is to then seek professional help for these signs of depression.