When Should You Take Low Mood More Seriously?

Home » News » When Should You Take Low Mood More Seriously?

Author – Bradford Stucki, Ph.D., LMFT

How To Identify Depression And What To Do About It

Ever had a day where you wake up feeling like the weight of the world is on your shoulders?

If so, you’re not alone. We all feel low sometimes and everyone experiences challenges that can throw off their mood or attitude. You may be wondering though, “What about depression? How do you tell the difference between depression or just having a bad day?”.

When your low mood lasts for several weeks, this may be depression. Depression isn’t a one time and you’re done experience for everyone, although it can be. Some people experience recurrent episodes, where their symptoms return after a period of time. In addition, other people may experience symptoms of depression that last for years.

Like sadness, depression can also be a common experience for many people. Worldwide, around 280 million people have depression. In addition, data from 2023 suggests that depression is fairly common for adults in the UK, at the rate of 1 in 6 adults. This data also found that 1 in 4 workers also experience symptoms of depression that would likely warrant a diagnosis.

In this article, I’ll explore some of the signs of depression, some coping strategies and suggestions for improving low mood.

How to Identify Depression from Sadness

The animated movie Inside Out teaches us that feeling sad is okay. It’s a normal human reaction to failure, disappointment, stress, or loss.

You might be sad if you:

Can still take care of yourself and keep up with your responsibilities
Have some periods of low energy but also times when you feel like yourself
Can see an end, even if you’re not sure exactly when
Feel better after a while
Are able to “sleep it off” and return to mid-to-typical functioning levels after a few days

In comparison, you may be experiencing depression if you’ve felt at least five of the following symptoms nearly every day for the last two weeks:

Overwhelmingly sad, hopeless, or worthless
Irritable or angry for no good reason
Guilting or blaming yourself constantly for things you have done or may have not done
Uninterested in hobbies or activities you used to enjoy
Feeling like a failure or you’ve let others down
Extremely tired or drained of energy
Sleeping too much or not enough
Eating too much or too little
Having trouble thinking clearly or making simple decisions
Sluggish and talking slowly
Withdrawing from friends or family
Having thoughts of death or suicidal ideation
Self-harming
Experiencing unexplained aches and pains

If you find that yourself experiencing a number of these symptoms and it’s having a negative impact on your work, school, or relationships, having an appointment with a mental health professional as well as your GP can be helpful to discuss the options for improving your mood and mental health.

What Are the Possible Causes of Depression?

Depression is a mental health condition with no single cause. It’s usually a combination of these factors:

Childhood experiences
Life events
Styles of thinking
Other mental health conditions
Physical health conditions
Family history
Medication
Recreational drugs and alcohol
Sleep, diet and exercise

Depression can happen to anyone, but twice as likely to women than men. It might occur only once in a person’s life, but it’s more common for people to go through multiple episodes.

Treatment for Depression

Depression can be multi-faceted and commonly has other symptoms such as anxiety, loneliness, and stress associated with it. Depression is also unlikely to resolve itself on its own. The good news is that it’s treatable with proper diagnosis and care.

It is important to talk with your medical provider and/or mental health clinician about creating a plan that is also multi-faceted in its treatment options. Your treatment plan can include a mix of options including:

1. Medication

Antidepressants can ease the symptoms of depression. They work by altering the levels of certain brain chemicals, known as neurotransmitters, that affect sleep, mood, and other functions.

There are several types of antidepressants, each with its own method of action. Finding the right one can take some trial and error, so be patient and work closely with your doctor.

2. Talking Therapy

Talking therapies involve working with a trained therapist to explore your feelings, thoughts, and behaviours and develop practical ways to cope with depression and build resilience.

Cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT): is particularly effective. This form of therapy focuses on replacing negative thinking patterns with healthier ones.
Narrative therapy: In this form of talking therapy, therapist and client look at the harmful stories the client is telling themselves and over time, work to create a different, but affirming story to the client’s experiences.

Eye Movement Desensitisation Reprocessing (EMDR) may also be effective. This therapy modality uses the same processes that your body uses when you sleep (i.e., bilateral stimulation) to help you reprocess and change your relationship to past memories.

3. Lifestyle Changes

Making positive changes in your daily life can make a huge difference to your mental health:

Eat healthy
Exercise regularly
Communicate with someone you trust
Get adequate, quality sleep
Limit your alcohol intake
Practice mindfulness (being fully aware of yourself in the present moment) through meditation and observation of your thoughts

4. Support Groups

Don’t underestimate the power of connection. Reach out to friends and family or consider joining a support group made up of people who’ve gone through similar experiences.

5. Urgent Help & Support

If you, or someone you care for, is experiencing a mental health crisis, it can be difficult to know what to do. A mental health crisis can mean that you no longer feel able to cope and might not feel in control of your situation. You might be feeling distressed or anxious. You might feel unable to cope with day-to-day life. You might be thinking about suicide or self-harm. If your situation is urgent but not an emergency, or if you don’t want to go to A&E, here are some available options from Lancashire Mind.

If you, or the person you are with, are at immediate risk, go to your nearest A&E or call 999.

Self-Care for Depression

ABC Method: When something upsetting happens, use the ABC Method. This can be broken down into 3 steps, giving you a greater awareness about yourself and your choices.

A. Take time to consider what happened
B. How you perceived it
C. How you responded, both behaviourally and internally

Check the Narrative: When thoughts or feelings arise from an event, check the story you’re telling yourself. Does this story truly align with your experiences, or is it more of a reaction to or avoidance of your emotions?

Pause: When a triggering event happens, first take a breath, then pause to consider how to respond, rather than react (i.e., saying the first thing that comes to your mind or saying something out of an emotion like anger or sadness).

Journal: Many people have found journaling to be effective in managing their depression. Writing is a form of thinking and can provide clarity as you navigate different experiences. One thing to try includes journaling for a range of time (i.e. 5-10 minutes) on a computer, phone transcription, or good ol’ pen and paper.

Write Your Thoughts: You can also experiment with giving yourself a range of sentences that you can write for that day. For example, each day, you can only write 5 sentences about the day. Some people report that this strategy assists them in homing in on what they want to really remember or focus on for that journal entry.

Final Thoughts

Hopefully, this information has helped you understand the difference, as well as the action steps you can take to improve your mental health when experiencing depression. Remember, feeling sad or having low mood is a part of life, yet, if those negative emotions linger for weeks or begin to disrupt your daily life, please don’t hesitate to seek help. There is hope.

Author – Bradford Stucki, Ph.D., LMFT

When Should You Take Low Mood More Seriously?