Behavioral and Emotional Symptoms of Depression

Depression can occur to everyone, whether man or woman. People can feel depressed of any situation and things. Examples of depression cause are misunderstanding marriage, tussle with teen kids, or often people feel down for no reason at all.

Your depression can change into illness, if the mood state is severe. Before your depression getting worst, you must recognize the symptoms of this situation. Once you know that you are depressed, you'll be able to heal it right away.

There are two symptoms you must know, behavioral and emotional. Get all those signs to help you prevent bad depressed condition and cure it immediately.

• Behavioral Symptoms

1. Difficulty in Setting Your Goals
If you find it hard to see the positive future for yourself, it can be means you also get trouble to set goal of your own dreams. You can see it from loss of control and structure in life with many duties unfinished.

2. Loss Motivation
Lack of motivation will indicate that you are suffering depression. It will give impact for all aspects in your life and influence your job also life.

3. Can't Think Clearly
Someone with depression condition, often get difficulty in making decision and think clearly. You can't see the situation objectively, so you can't make any decisions even for the smallest problem, such as what to eat.
4. Solving Problems
As the depression sufferers, the small thing can be huge problem for you. Usually, it often comes out without apparent solution.

5. Social Withdrawal
Social activity is can be very unattractive for people who get depressed. Most of them will pull out themselves from any social interaction.

• Emotional Symptoms

1. Guilt
Depression people will feel guilty for any particular issue and make them have excessive worry.

2. Loss Self Confidence
By withdrawing yourself from social interaction, it means the confidence is reduced. You are like to live your own life in your own world.

3. Apathy
It is one of feeling that will happen to you if you are suffering depression. It will influence your ability to do all today tasks. For you the fun activity that you usually do, will not fun anymore.

4. Pessimistic
Depression sufferer will often have pessimistic thoughts and it's hard to think positively. You'll see that your future is hard to reach and there'll no beneficial or positive aspect in your life.

5. Suicidal Thoughts
Almost all depression sufferers will feel their present is so awful and future is worst. They will see that life is simply not worth to live and they will in rush to end their life.

Where Is Your Locus of Control?

Locus of Control - where is yours?

Locus of Control LoC - Is basically the psychological term that describes how much a person believes they can control the events of their life. If you have an External Locus of Control then it is likely that you feel that many things are out of your control and believe that chance, fate, luck, God or more powerful 'other' people will play a big role in how your life unfolds. For those people who have formed an Internal Locus of Control, they believe that they are responsible for their own life and the outcomes that they experience.

What I have observed as a therapist

I witness the effects of LoC every day in my role as a therapist, I either test each client to see what score they get on the Locus of Control scale or I ask pertinent questions that allow me to understand the strategies my client is using to take responsibility for their life.

To me, it is a fundamental requirement to know if they have learned to use an interior or exterior source of reference of what they can and can't control in life, and this information plays a big part in the therapeutic strategies that I subsequently deliver.

Those individuals with a higher external locus of control seem to be more susceptible to anxiety, depression, poor health and weight gain, whilst those with lower more internal scores, are often, calmer, more positive, more resilient and seem to bounce back more quickly after unfortunate events in their life and tend to have a more healthy outlook regarding their body.

I will go into more detail later in this post, however, the good news is that once a clients can see that they may be abdicating or deferring some of their control to external sources many things can change in their lives, (if that is what they want).

In my experience helping a client move their external locus of control more towards an internal LoC and helping them to take more responsibility for all aspects of their life is a key aspect of recovering from depression, raising self-esteem and bolstering confidence.

Locus of Control vs. Desire for Control

I work with many clients who become paralysed and immobilised by depression or anxiety disorders that invoke fearful thoughts and emotions. Often these individuals used to have a wonderful natural perception, they would be able to walk into a room and pick up peoples moods, like a sixth sense, however, as they became more depressed and anxious, never knowing what their emotions would do next, their ability to believe and trust their own feelings lessened, leaving them (unknowingly) feeling vulnerable.

To counter balance these vulnerable feelings, they begin to, (unconsciously) look for external validation to help them feel more secure about their decisions and actions in life. This is a good example of a persons Locus of Control moving from Internal to External through the 'numbing' of their emotions due to prolonged periods of stress, trauma or depression.

When this happens the anxiety or depression or ME or OCD or agoraphobic sufferer (tick your box) begins to unconsciously become far more controlling about the small things in their life that they feel they can control and so they focus all their attention on these. Any carer or partner of a sufferer doing this will know how frustrating and annoying it is having to 'put up with' all the new rules about what is and isn't acceptable around the house or what to eat or where to go, what to wear etc.

Often the sufferer can't see that they are controlling the tiny things and can't even think about facing the big decisions, this becomes the beginning of obsessional behaviour that they feel gives them at least some control, even though it is mistaken, debilitating and holding them back.

It takes time, however, once the sufferer can see that they are controlling the petty things and abducting responsibility for the real issues in their life, things can change. Of course, they will still need to set goals, change the way they are thinking and start planning for the future - but that's a whole other issue, they need to pull themselves out of the depressive state, one realisation at a time.

This is important

So, a person who is controlling and has a high external locus of control, will feel uncomfortable, vulnerable and powerless, and a person who is controlling, but with an internal locus of control, will be active, more positive and feel more in control of their life, thus happier. Finding the right balance is the name of the game.

Internal Locus of Control vs. External Locus of Control

It is hard to put into words how the two types differ, because there are always so many degrees of separation. Listed below are some generic indicators.

External Locus of Control:

• Are likely to feel a little uncomfortable in social situations


• Feel powerless and will often refer to 'professionals' for help, Doctors, specialist etc.


• May be more likely to believe that medication will help them to recover


• Tend to view things negatively - glass half empty


• Tend to struggle to get back on track after trauma, bereavement or trouble in their life


• Tend to focus on worries and negative 'what if' scenarios


• Seem to get ill easily, catch colds and any bug that is doing the rounds, get tired easily


• Tend to lean on others for support and advice


• Tend to put on weight easily or comfort eat


• May tend to put faith in horoscopes, clairvoyants or other paranormal concepts


• May struggle to get to sleep as thoughts in their mind race around


• May be religious or have a 'faith' that God will sort it out for them - in the end


• Are likely to have developed a kind of learned helplessness


• May (unknowingly) get lots of attention from others due to their suffering


• Tend to control the small (irritating to others) things that tend to pin themselves down i.e. Won't go to a restaurant


• Tend to blame other elements if things go wrong

So, you can see that many of these strategies are looking external to themselves for help, advice or guidance, they are in many instances a victim to what others do and say.

Internal Locus of Control:

• Are likely to feel comfortable in social situations or at least can fake it well


• May listen to Doctors and specialists, but feel they know themselves better


• May try to avoid medication and use positive thinking and healthy living to recover


• Tend to view things positively - glass half full, interesting opportunity etc.


• Seem to bounce back quickly after trauma, bereavement or trouble in their life


• Tend to focus on what they can do, what they will do and when they will do it


• Have a great immune system, rarely get ill, have lots of energy


• Seem to be very independent, rarely ask for help


• Tend to be the right weight for their age and height, eat healthily and exercise


• Do not believe in the paranormal or horoscopes etc.


• Tend to sleep well most of the time, can get by on less sleep if busy


• May not be religious or gain independent strength from their beliefs


• Take responsibility for mistakes or mishaps, they learn from them

Here, you can see that the individual feels that they have the power within them-self to do what ever they feel is right, without deferring to external sources.

How an Internal Locus of Control may benefit you

As you recognise your current position and begin to let go of old out dated beliefs - people normally find the following happens:

• It would make you more active now, not having to wait for motivation to appear


• You would set goals around the things you would like to achieve


• You would be excited about learning and trying new ways of being in the world


• You would learn from your past behaviours, then move on


• If things went wrong in the future you would take responsibility and not dwell on it


• You would become more social and have more fun

Self-awareness and flexibility of emotions is the key

People with an internal locus of control are generally more successful, for very obvious reason, however, I feel that we all need to be flexible in our thoughts and our behaviours. Sometimes it is appropriate to be internal and controlling and other times it is right to stand back and be more caring or relaxed.

By understanding where you locus of control is at anytime in your life you can become aware of the strategies that you are using - then take back control. Interestingly, as people get older their locus of control generally becomes more internal, because they have had lots of experience of life and realise that the majority of what happens to them, is a direct result of what they think, what they say and what they do.

Some tips to take more control

• Realise that by not making a decision, is, in fact, already a choice. The choice to let others (or life) decide for you.


• Pay close attention to your own internal dialogue if you hear yourself saying "I can't do that" or "There is nothing I can do about it" recognise that you have just made a decision and ask yourself if it is the only option? What would a person with an Internal LoC do?


• Plan your future, set goals, take time to visualise a big bright future that you feel compelled to step into.


• Explore your values, what values would really focus you? Integrity, honesty, compassion, humility, commitment...


• Don't be afraid to have fun, to talk to people, to let your guard down occasionally


• Don't fear failure, fear not even trying


• Learn new things

Work and Stress - Having a Life, Not an Illness

A report from the National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health quotes the following survey results:

• 40% of workers reported their jobs to be very or extremely stressful


• 25% viewed their jobs as the largest source of stress in their lives


• 26% said they were often or very often burned out or stressed by work.

A study by University of Melbourne researchers last year found that job stress accounts for 1/3 of depression cases in women and up to 1/3 of cases of cardiovascular disease in men.

These are amazing statistics.

The answer to tackling stress at work is two-fold. Firstly, you can push to make changes to the job itself - a big picture approach. You need to have a clear idea of what is going wrong. The following may help if the problem isn't readily apparent.

Job Demands
Working long hours, infrequent breaks, monotonous routine, having to work fast, not using full range of skills

Job Control
Lack of participation in decision-making process, poor communication from managers

Interpersonal Relationships
Poor social environment, lack of support or help from co-workers

Work Role
Uncertain job role and responsibilities, too many "hats" to wear

Career Issues
Lack of opportunities for learning or advancement, lack of job security, organizational change not well communicated

Environmental Conditions
Crowding, noise, pollution, lack of comfort

Try to identify the causes of your stress, and work out what you would like to change to eliminate them. If you can discuss your problem with your manager he or she may be able to make immediate changes. If the source of stress is your manager then that's another kettle of fish! See if there are procedures in place to deal with this. If there aren't any then perhaps you can talk to an employee representative, HR department or Employee Assistance service (if you have one).

Don't be reluctant to talk about stress at work. No employer should subject their employees to work-related stress. They should take it as seriously as you do.

Changes to You

Secondly there are changes that you can make that you have complete control over.

• 
  Make a to-do list. Organize your work to feel more in control. It's easy to stop worrying about a future task if you record it on a list. Only record the tasks you are definitely going to do, not the long-term projects that are always on the backburner. Make sure you include a couple of things that you've already done, to get you off to a good start.

• 
  Cut down on caffeine. Caffeine gets the adrenaline hormone pumping through the body and causing "fight or flight" alertness. This is stress in itself, so it heightens any other stresses that you are also dealing with at work. Drink lots of water and keep your brain well-hydrated.

• 
  Exercise during the day. Regular exercise decreases the production of adrenaline which reduces the stress response. As a bare minimum go for a walk outside during your lunch break. Perhaps find a new place to buy lunch a few blocks away. Exercise outside of work hours will also help to cut your stress level during the day.

• 
  Take breaks from your computer. It sucks the life out of you, so by the end of a long day you're feeling irritable. Get away from the computer and connect with real people every now and then.

• 
  Slow down. Do you rush to work in the mornings? Simplify things so that you're not over-committed and rushed. Can you get up 15 minutes earlier for a calmer trip to work?

• 
  Don't forget to take vacations. The company won't collapse without you (unless you own it).

• 
  Work shorter hours. Limit your work day to what you agreed to with your employer. Working long hours is one of the main causes of work-stress. Protect your time and say "no" to requests that place unrealistic or unreasonable demands on you.

• 
  Rise above office gossip. Gossip is almost always negative, it brings people down and undermines relationships. Avoid difficult people. Instead find positive, energetic people to be around. Deepen friendships that are positive.

• 
  Create a relaxation routine. When something unexpected comes up you can deal with it without being stressed. A routine may be something simple like deep breathing exercises, a quick relaxation technique, a walk around the office or outside, a trip to the water cooler or a chat with someone.

• 
  Take mini-breaks during the day. Use your relaxation routine to good effect. Make sure that you move around away from your workspace.

In my own experience most managers are willing to make at least some changes if you present them with the problem and a solution. If stress is impacting your health then it's a high priority, and you need to be proactive. As for the changes to your own life? They will all make a positive difference so they are well worth adding to your work day. Don't become another statistic from stress at work!

Depression and the Long Haul Trucker

A long haul trucker is no stranger to sleep deprivation. Even local truck drivers deal with the problem of little rest, many working 70 hour weeks. Sleep deprivation is the leading cause of serious truck related accidents, resulting in as high as 40% of all crashes. The constant attitude of many motor carriers of "you've got to get the freight there," is an enormous stress on the long haul trucker. Even though Federal Regulations require a driver to take a 10-hour break after 14 hours of on duty time, these 10 hours often work out to be only 5-6 hours of actual sleep per day.

Several years ago, I decided to keep a log of the actual sleep time I received each day. Over a six-week period, it showed that I was only actually "sleeping" an average of 4 hours per day. Twenty eight hours of sleep in an entire week . . . and to add to the problem, a great deal of long haul trucking is done at night.

Sleep deprivation can lead to many other health problems, including depression. Adding the lack of sleep on top of endless hours alone and away from family, increases the risk of "the invisible illness," depression. Though statistics vary, it is believed that depression in long haul truck drivers is as high as 30-40 percent.

Signs of depression include:

• Feeling of hopelessness


• Loss of interest in daily activities


• Change in appetite or weight


• Sleep disturbances


• Loss of energy or fatigue


• Aches and pains


• Low self esteem


• Less interest in sex


• Feeling of sadness and crying spells


• Thoughts of suicide

If you are experiencing any of the symptoms above on a regular basis, you may be battling "the invisible illness." See your doctor. Depression is treatable and you DO NOT have to live that way! The first step is recognizing the signs and the second step is doing something about it. Go to your doctor and get the help that will change your life. As your friend in trucking . . . don't think about it . . . DO IT.

Five Easy Ways to Keep You and Your Family Stress Free

Stress is part of our everyday life. Although some amount of stress can be helpful for you because it makes you stronger, alert and keeps you ready to tackle problems and fears effectively. But too much stress leads to anxiety and depression. Being in constant stress negatively affects your health and mind.

There are plenty of ways to reduce the stress and make your family a happy family. Here are few methods you might find useful.

1- Laugh at Funny Family Quotes - Funny Quotes about family can easily spur you into action. These Funny Family Quotes are packed with fun and humor. They makes the serious moments of life much lighter. They make you and your family laughs out loud and laughter is one of the best natural remedy for stress.

2- Exercise - Experts agree that exercising 30 minutes on daily basis is one of the most effective ways to manage stress. Regular exercise not only strengthens your physical health but also helps you handle stress effectively. While doing exercise, our body releases some chemical that give you a sense of being a good and healthy person. It relaxes tense muscles and helps you getting a better sleep in night.

3- Meditation - This simple technique can significantly improve your life.  It brings inner piece and wipe away the stress from your life. This technique has been practiced for hundreds of years. Anyone can practice meditation at their home as it doesn't require any special equipment. You can do it anytime throughout the day. It is classic, simple and inexpensive way to reduce stress and to increase your ability to concentrate.

4- Reading - Reading is a great way to improve your knowledge and reduce your stress. Reading a good book takes you to a whole new world and gives your mind a new way of thinking. It gives you a vision of things you never thought would have been possible. It helps you solve problems effectively and creatively.  A good motivational book encourages you to take action on life changing decisions.

5- Massage - This is one of the most effective ways to remove stress and tension from your mind. It enhances your immune system and reduces the level of cortisol, the stress hormone, in your body which helps you in decreasing stress and increasing relaxation. It drives away all the pain in your body. Thus you will feel much more healthy and relaxed after a good massage.

These simple techniques are extremely effective. Try at least one of the above techniques on daily basis to see meaningful results.

Dealing With Depression at Work

Depression is unbelievably common. 1 in 4 will be diagnosed with depression at some point in their life and it is the number 1 condition treated by GPs in the UK. Despite the commonality of it, it still carries a stigma of somehow meaning that you are weak and lack mental strength, which is quite frankly absolute nonsense. Depression is completely indiscriminate and has hit some of the most extraordinary and influential people in our history, including Winston Churchill and Charles Darwin.

If you are a sufferer, you will no doubt have realised that it is a pretty horrible thing to deal with. Firstly you will need to admit that you are ill, which is tough. The signs are often subtle and creep up on you over a period of time. You learn to accept that you feel sluggish, unhappy, irritable and weepy all of the time and make excuses for it just being the way things are at the moment and that in time your mood will lift. Sadly, this is not the case. You can't snap out of 'clinical depression' you are ill and need medical treatment and probably some time off work to rest and get better. You wouldn't hesitate to take time off work if you had a serious illness of any kind, but for some reason we struggle to acknowledge 'depression' as a reason to rest and recuperate.

Some people will only ever get depression at one time in their life, caused by something like a bereavement or childbirth but for some reason, others suffer again and again throughout their life and will need to learn to manage the condition long term. With this in mind, you should know that it is perfectly plausible to hold down a good job and continue to progress through your career with depression. If you are currently suffering with depression for the 1st time you probably think I am talking rubbish, but believe me once the dark cloud has lifted, you will find that you can see things with a better perspective than you have ever done.

My husband has bad asthma. When he has an attack, his breathing capacity is severely restricted. Normally however his breathing is better than mine. He gets a device from the doctor which you use to measure the output of your lungs and he is always miles better than me, except during a asthma attack. Think about this and depression. Yes, in the throws of a severe attack of depression, your mental capacity is poor. Concentration is not good, you will be overly emotional, either irritable or weepy or both and you will have a very pessimistic view on life. Once your mood lifts and you will have inevitably spent weeks or months in self analysis, you will come out the other side, unbelievably self aware, more patient and empathetic. You will certainly have more control over your own moods and emotions and your optimism will return. In effect you will have more control and mental strength than those who have never suffered with the illness.

I have worked successfully with depression for years. It has not always been easy I admit, but it is possible. Every employer is different and you may face some difficulties from those who are ignorant of the condition. Unfortunately this is inevitable. The law however is on your side. In the UK 'depression' is covered by the 'Disability Discrimination Act' (DDA) and as such your employer cannot punish you or treat you differently because you have the condition. Depression is not straightforward however in relation to the DDA, as there are certain exclusions. Firstly depression as a one off condition is not covered. The way the act looks at depression is that you must have suffered or are likely to suffer for 12 months or more to be covered by the act. Employment law is really complicated, but in layman's terms it has to be a long term condition to consider the DDA applicable in your case. The effect the condition has on your day to day life, should be measured within the act as to how you would be able to function WITHOUT medication. If you are unsure, you should seek independent legal advice.

If you feel that you have been discriminated against, you should make sure that you have done certain things. Firstly, you must let your employer know that you have the condition. They are not mind readers, they cannot be expected to know just from your behaviour. If you choose to keep it secret, you have no rights under the DDA.

Secondly, before you take any legal action, you must raise a grievance and give your company an opportunity to address your concerns within their internal processes. If after this you are not satisfied, then you should attempt to take a legal route. This kind of case is very difficult to prove so make sure you keep any documentary evidence and if possible get witnesses who are willing to speak up for you. This is not going to be easy, as these people will still be working for the company and might feel threatened or intimidated by the thought of upsetting their bosses. It is much much better to deal with these things amicably within the company, if it is at all possible.

You could, if the company has this service, ask for a 'Occupational Health' adviser to do a work place assessment to look at the factors present in the workplace, that may have a detrimental effect on your health. Your employer has to, under the DDA make 'reasonable adjustments' to help you manage your condition. I would say it is better to work with them than to make unreasonable demands. A reasonable adjustment might be flexibility over your hours, for example you may have bouts of insomnia and if that is the case, perhaps allow you to start later in the day and finish later. You might be allowed to work from home 2 days a week or work from an office closer to home. Remember that you should still be able to do the job you are paid to do. If your condition means that the job is no longer suitable and after trying to find an alternative position within the company you have not found a job which you can do, your employer can terminate your contract on 'capability grounds'. This basically means you are no longer able to do the job you are paid to do, therefore they do not need to continue to employ you.

I see no reason why, if you have your medication right, you cannot continue to work effectively. You may need to ask yourself the question as to how much of your job is causing you to be depressed. That's a tough one, but the reality is that if your job is the major factor, then you will never be fully well until you change it. You will just be papering over the cracks until the next bad attack.

For more information and self help on depression, my website is www.crazymadbonkers.com

Good luck

Do Menopause Symptoms Last Forever? Perimenopause Depression

Pre menopause symptoms, like puberty and pregnancy are the rites of passage that almost every woman has to go through. The sad thing is how unprepared we are for them and how many, otherwise sensible women seem to put their head in the sand hoping perimenopause depression it will not happen to them.

The menopause is the final menstrual period that a woman has and so you only know you have had it when you go for twelve months not having had another period.

The average age of a woman to have her menopause is fifty one but it can occur anywhere between forty and fifty five and still be considered 'normal' outside of these ages is rarer and if it happens before forty five it is often referred to as an early menopause. If it happens before her fortieth birthday it is called premature.

The symptoms that the majority of women experience are actually signs of the peri-menopause, this is the stage that is leading up to the actual menopause and is caused by the slowly reducing levels of hormones, especially estrogen in her body.

Some women go through the peri-menopause with barely a twitch but for the majority it is a time of hot flashes, night sweats and other symptoms, some of which can be quite distressing.

A common and unfortunately all too often ignored symptom is depression. Many doctors will tell you that the menopause does not cause depression but sadly many women suffer from it at this time and so I think it may be related.