Published on 12, July, 2020
I came across this list of signs of depression on the BT website and #2 on the list was new to me. Has anyone else related this sensitivity to a depressive episode?
I also understood the numbness feeling (point #1) which I hadn't appreciated before. I had just been for an interview and spent the rest of the day in a truly numb and shell-shocked state - the interview went well but the anticipation and the inevitable post interview analysis must have drained me to empty.
Here, the Blurt Foundation dispel a few myths.1. Rather than feeling sad all of the time, it’s more that you may feel numb to any emotion.2. People with depression may develop a sensitivity and low tolerance to noise.3. Some people with depression develop an anxiety about answering the telephone or opening their post.4. You can be in a room of your most favourite people and still feel lonely.5. How you feel can be interchangeable from day to day, even hour to hour.6. Busy places and large groups of people can be overwhelming and distressing.7. A change in sleep habits can be one of the first symptoms of depression.8. Quite often, those around you may notice that something is up before you do.9. You may feel prickly – as though you’d like a hug but also as though that hug may smother you.10. The fear of rejection is palpable.11. Those everyday tasks we take for granted when well, become huge tasks to those who are unwell with depression.12. Over 80% of people diagnosed with depression find that they just can’t get enough sleep.13. Some of the worst things you could say to someone with depression are: “Just pull yourself together”, “What have you got to be depressed about?” or “Why are you being so lazy?”. If the person could click their fingers and change, they would.14. Some people will forget things or have difficulty concentrating, while others will feel chronically exhausted.15. It can eat up and spit out the most confident and bubbly of people, changing them beyond recognition.16. It can make you withdrawn and terrified of life, or it can make you lash out against those you love the most.17. When someone gets involved in a social activity or looks well, that doesn’t mean they are well. It’s often easier to paint on a smile, than to try and put into words what’s going on in our heads.18. Those who have depression feel as though they are a burden. Encouraging them to talk and listening without judgement is a big help to someone who is isolating themselves. Often, advice is not what they are after, just a friendly ear.
Here, the Blurt Foundation dispel a few myths.
1. Rather than feeling sad all of the time, it’s more that you may feel numb to any emotion.
2. People with depression may develop a sensitivity and low tolerance to noise.
3. Some people with depression develop an anxiety about answering the telephone or opening their post.
4. You can be in a room of your most favourite people and still feel lonely.
5. How you feel can be interchangeable from day to day, even hour to hour.
6. Busy places and large groups of people can be overwhelming and distressing.
7. A change in sleep habits can be one of the first symptoms of depression.
8. Quite often, those around you may notice that something is up before you do.
9. You may feel prickly – as though you’d like a hug but also as though that hug may smother you.
10. The fear of rejection is palpable.
11. Those everyday tasks we take for granted when well, become huge tasks to those who are unwell with depression.
12. Over 80% of people diagnosed with depression find that they just can’t get enough sleep.
13. Some of the worst things you could say to someone with depression are: “Just pull yourself together”, “What have you got to be depressed about?” or “Why are you being so lazy?”. If the person could click their fingers and change, they would.
14. Some people will forget things or have difficulty concentrating, while others will feel chronically exhausted.
15. It can eat up and spit out the most confident and bubbly of people, changing them beyond recognition.
16. It can make you withdrawn and terrified of life, or it can make you lash out against those you love the most.
17. When someone gets involved in a social activity or looks well, that doesn’t mean they are well. It’s often easier to paint on a smile, than to try and put into words what’s going on in our heads.
18. Those who have depression feel as though they are a burden. Encouraging them to talk and listening without judgement is a big help to someone who is isolating themselves. Often, advice is not what they are after, just a friendly ear.
The blurt foundation that provided the material for this item looks rather interesting, must take a closer look at some point.
It's interesting that you mention black and white thinking because it reminds me of the kind of 'catastrophising' (is that a word?) that happens to people's thinking who experience ocd symptoms. It happens to me all the time where I worry about some future event and what might possibly go wrong. I have always put it down to just being a 'worrier' but now I wonder whether it is really yet another sign of an underlying asd behaviour.
I can certainly relate to the increased noise sensitivity because I had a terrible time at work after I was required to work in an area I simply found intolerable. Up to that point I had not really had any serious issues surrounding noise (as far as I can recall) but after that I literally honed in to every noise going on, despite being allowed to return to my normal working area. I was certainly depressed at the time because I was always worried about being forced to work in the dreaded place and could not get it out of my mind which also made me notice all the noises even more. It got to the stage where I would even attach adhesive pads on doors to deaden the noise but, you see, it wasn't as simple as that because it wasn't just a question of the volume of noise but the fact I could hear it at all! I was led to think I had a condition known as 'Misophonia' and even joined an online support group in order to share my experiences with other sufferers (still a member in fact) but this condition isn't officially recognized by the medical profession in general so may really be a bogus one. Time will tell on that one, but I think the real problems I experienced seem better explained by either some kind of anxiety/obsessional condition or being somewhere on the autism spectrum, I'm still not sure.
The problem is, I think, that it is difficult to pick out what is driving what. Does depression cause noise sensitivity without the need to bring in other conditions, or maybe there is something more underlying that is giving rise to the symptoms of depression, in which case, has to be addressed. In my case, I took my noise sensitivity with me when I retired so that it could not simply have been that specific environment that caused my distress but some other cause.
lostmyway said:The problem is, I think, that it is difficult to pick out what is driving what.
The problem is, I think, that it is difficult to pick out what is driving what.
I wish I knew! (This is a chicken and egg situation!)
I'm aware that my noise sensitivity is now better than it was at one point - I could barely cope with the espresso machines at one point. Thinking about things too much can also lead one into a downward spiral and this is where mindfulness can be used to break the broken record, which can go round and round forever, and deliberately direct yourself to thinking about something else.
I'm not sure how much our black and white thinking (which is a known risk factor for depression) is driven by our mind's wiring and chemistry or by the isolation that we end up in due to our inability to interact with other people. I think that there is a danger of going stir crazy as a result of the isolation.