10 Unusual Signs of Depression

Depression is a tricky thing. What might seem like a typical sign and symptom of depression might not be. Here are ten unusual signs of depression. A person might:

1. Have the ability to hyper-focus for long periods of time even to the point of giving up sleep.
   1. Typical depression is struggling to keep on task and staying focused. The mind wanders making the simplest of jobs take unusually long periods of time.
2. Feel like they can do and accomplish anything in a short period of time.
   1. Typical depression is having difficulty getting motivated to do anything even things that were previously enjoyed.
3. Require little to no sleep for a period of days.
   1. Typical depression is having trouble getting to sleep, staying asleep, or sleeping too much.
4. Have amazing amounts of energy.
   1. Typical depression is being tired all the time to the point of exhaustion where exercise is not even an option.
5. Feel like life is amazing and wonderful.
   1. Typical depression is wondering if life is worth living, struggling with suicidal thoughts, or just wanting it all to end.
6. Talk non-stop and rapid. Conversations are very random and disorganized.
   1. Typical depression is being sad more than usual like crying at commercials, movies, and other people’s problems but struggling to be emotional about own issues.
7. Have binge eating or drinking.
   1. Typical depression has fluctuation in weight either gaining or losing without effort.
8. Have an excessive amount of involvement in activities that they normally would not do.
   1. Typical depression does not want to go out with friends as usual and instead prefer instead to be alone.
9. Complete lack of accountability, responsibility or feeling remorseful.
   1. Typical depression feels guilty for things done in the past and believes that they are worthless.
10. Elevate mood to the point of continual euphoria.
    1. Typical depression feels down most of the time. Sometimes having difficultly expressing emotions.

Don’t self-diagnosis.  The problem with self-diagnosing depression is that it can come in many forms and even be a varied combination of the above. There are over 100 types of clinical depression with several features and levels of intensity.

Depression is not a momentary thing.  Depression has a specific period of time ranging from one day to several years depending on the type. It can be related to a medical condition, be a chemical imbalance in the brain, a vitamin deficiency, a personality disorder, consequence of an addiction, part of the grieving process, a hormonal imbalance, lack of sunlight, related to pregnancy/menopause, change in financial status, separation/divorce process, or a mid or quarter life crisis.

Depression comes in many forms.  As stated above, there is not one type of depression rather there are many different forms of depression.  There is mild, moderate, severe, one-time, chronic, anxious, mixed, disruptive, bi-polar, manic, seasonal, traumatic, postpartum, dysthymic, catatonic, melancholic, atypical, medical, cyclothymic, rapid-cycling, substance-induced, suicidal, and psychotic.  Knowing the type of depression often determines the treatment for it.

Don’t wait.  The bottom line is if someone is struggling with depression, get professional help from a licensed doctor or counselor.  There are very few types of depression that get better with the passage of time; many of the other forms of depression actually worsen if left undiagnosed and untreated.

Christine Hammond is a Licensed Mental Health counselor who lives in Orlando and is the award-winning author of The Exhausted Woman’s Handbook.

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