Dealing with Depression, symptoms and solutions #2

      Ever felt exhausted, Drained of energy, sluggish even when you had a full night's sleep? If you find it difficult to do the simplest of tasks like, getting out of bed, walking towards the refrigerator when your throat is parched, Combing your hair, even watching tv or just texting back someone, if these or other simple tasks seem draining to you then you may have Fatigue, which is one of the symptoms of depression and our 2nd topic today.

First of all, let us understand what fatigue is. Many people, actually most of the people consider depression as just a mental disorder which affects your mood and feelings, what they don't know is that one of the other common symptoms of depression is Fatigue which actually affects your physical well-being.

Fatigue can cause headaches, cramps, upset stomach and unexplained pains in various parts of your body. Now tell me, have you ever experienced this? you are sitting at home, watching tv, surfing on your mobile phone or reading a book, you have had a good night's sleep, yet you are feeling exhausted, your body feels jammed, and suddenly a piercing pain in a random area of the body. You close your eyes, twitch your body, moan in pain and suddenly the pain is gone, then you just go back doing what you were doing, if you have ever experienced anything like this, then that my friend is fatigue.

Fatigue is actually a little destructive as it makes people exhausted and they stop participating in social experiences and enjoyable activities. They don’t have the energy or endurance to cope up with social activities. They isolate themselves. A lot of people just lie in their beds doing nothing for days. Fatigue in depression particularly as I said before, makes you not want to do the simplest of tasks, even tasks related to personal hygiene or eating.

Fatigue is like a thief which robs your brain of the feel-good chemicals we talked about yesterday I.e. dopamine and serotonin. One of those chemicals serotonin actually helps you regulate your internal body clock. So the lack of this particular chemical in your brain makes your body tired.

Also, we have to understand that having fatigue doesn't always mean you have depression. Yes, you heard it right. Fatigue syndrome is actually an individual condition which causes people to have a continuous feeling of being exhausted and tired. If you have fatigue without the melancholy feeling then you may have chronic fatigue syndrome and not depression. Depression and chronic fatigue syndrome are two different conditions that can make you feel extremely tired or exhausted, even after a good night’s sleep. It’s possible to have both conditions at the same time. It’s also easy to mistake feelings of fatigue for depression and vice-versa. 

So how do you distinguish between Depression and fatigue?

1. The main difference between these conditions is that chronic fatigue syndrome is a physical disorder while depression is a mental health disorder. 

2. People with chronic fatigue syndrome and depression both have sleep disorders one of which is insomnia but the feeling of sadness, emptiness and hopelessness can be experienced by those suffering from depression while people with fatigue will only have the feeling of tiredness. 

3. One more distinguishing factor can be the desire to engage in activities. People who have fatigue wish to do things, but lack energy, whereas people with depression generally just have lower or no interest in activities.

4. We also need to note that the want to participate but not being able to do anything can put people with fatigue at risk for developing depression.

Now before moving on. Here is a little extra fact about fatigue. 

People suffering from any of the below-mentioned illness or sickness are more likely to suffer from chronic fatigue syndrome. Which may or may not lead to depression if left untreated. 

1. Anaemia 

2. Diabetes

3. Thyroid problems

4. Hepatitis C

5. Sleep disorders like insomnia and sleep apnea

6. Weak digestive system

7. Urinary tract infection

8. Food sensitivities

9. Heart diseases

10. Anxiety disorder

11. Nasal congestion

12. Also if you are already being treated for depression then taking antidepressants can sometimes make symptoms of chronic fatigue syndrome worse.

Solution #2

          It is said that Social engagement like being out with your friends and family, meeting new people, interacting with everyone, getting to know new people is good for human beings as we are considered to be social animals, who live in groups. Very frankly just writing this paragraph exhausted me as I am the most socially distanced person ever. If someone tells me to go out with friends, have dinner or lunch in a nice restaurant or just hang out with a bunch of friends, that is excruciatingly exhausting for me. So I know some people with depression fatigue may not be able to do things and activities that people suffering from chronic fatigue syndrome may be willing to do and vice verse. Still, i am going to mention all the solutions I know and you can choose whichever one you might find easier.

Now there are several things that can help people with chronic fatigue syndrome, depression, or both and they are,

1. Deep breathing exercises

You don't have to take any extra timeout of your day for breathing exercises. Suppose you are at your desk at work. Sitting in front of your computer, waiting for an email or a phone call. Instead of checking your phone's notification or play a quick game or sit fidgeting, you can actually do some breathing exercises.

One of which I will tell you right now. 

a). Remember these numbers 4 7 8.

b). Keep your mouth closed and breathe in through your nostrils while mentally counting till 4.

c). Now hold your breath for 7 seconds.

d). Lastly, exhale through your mouth while making an 'O' shape with your lips(just like when you blow out birthday candles, but this time in slow motion).

e). Repeat this for a couple of minutes

2. Massage.

a). If you can and have the facility, the time, money or a source where you can get yourself a massage then it can help you with Depression as well as fatigue syndrome. 

What about those who can't afford or have the luxury of massages?

b). Well, you can ask your family member or your loved ones for a quick oil Champi (oil head massage).

c). If you still can't do that, you can do it yourself, I know it sounds sadistic but it isn't. When you are stuck in traffic on the bus or in your own car, maybe you are just sitting waiting for someone or just while talking to someone, you can do quick fingers, hands or toes and feet massages and exercises. For example, you can close your palm tightly then open it, do this a couple of times and it will help with the blood flow of your hands.

d). Massage the back of your neck with your hands slowly going down to your spine and also the back of your shoulder muscles a couple of times in a day. Apply the right amount of pressure. How do you calculate the right amount of pressure? When you feel a little pressure on muscles but it doesn't stretch your skin or when you don't feel any pain then that is your right amount of pressure. You can also rub your hands against each other so your palms are a little warm and then massage yourself.

3. Warmth

a). You can use a warm water bag and apply on the parts of your body which feel stiff.

b). If you don't have a warm water bag or you are out in public in need of a little warmth or When your head starts feeling a little heavy from fatigue, rub your hands against each other until they are nice and warm, then put your palms on your eyes and face then slowly slide them down from the side of your face to the back of your neck and back to the front. Repeat it a couple of times.

 Note: 

Do not try this while at meetings or in an interview because fidgeting is a sign of anxiety and lower self-esteem, so you definitely don't want that when you are in the middle of something important.

4. Stretching

Same applies for stretching. You can do little finger hand exercises, legs and feet stretching while sitting on your chair. Also, don't forget to get up and give a stretch to that poor back of yours every few hours.

5. Join a social activity class.

 You can join a dance class or perhaps a martial arts class, gym, aerobics or maybe a Zumba class anything that will help you open up and move your body.

6. Developing good sleeping habits.

I know, look who's talking. I am a night owl and at times I don't sleep for days, then there are days where I sleep for 48 hours straight, not really sleep but lie in my bed. But from personal experience, when I did follow a good sleep pattern I have actually felt quite better than when I didn't have a sleep schedule. So if you can follow a sleep schedule and maintain it then you should definitely do it.

So I personally have a very bad sleeping schedule. I hope while trying to help you guys I can help myself too hence I went and did some research to promote good sleeping patterns.

The first thing that I understood is needed to maintain a good sleep schedule is, 

a). Everyday sleep at the exact same time.

Even if you are not sleepy. Close your eyes and just lie down.

b). You can also create an environment that promotes sleep. 

Get extra pillows, put certain coloured lights(whichever colour you prefer), play sleep sounds and melodies in low volume, make sure the room is cool or warm according to your personal preference.

c). Do not take naps during the day. If you have to then take naps no more than 20 to 30 minutes long.

d). Avoid caffeine-rich food items or basically food items which can prevent you from falling asleep.

7. Hang out with friends or the people you love. 

Now, this option may sound simple for people who don't have depression, anxiety or fatigue issues. I'm aware hanging out can be dauntingly exhausting sometimes. But if you can hang out with your friends or family without getting tired then you should definitely do it. If you feel uncomfortable with a lot of people. You can hang out with fewer close friends only. And those who just cannot go out and hang out with friends or family. I have another solution below for you guys.

8. Time to do something related to your hobby

On my previous blog, in part 1 of this series I told you guys, not to do anything related to your hobby when you feel like the first symptom we discussed yesterday (you can just scroll down on this very same page for the part 1, of course first you got to read this). 

You can try doing something related to your hobby when you feel fatigued. Of course, you will have to push yourself a little bit, When you are fatigued you won't feel frustrated which you would usually feel if you are experiencing other symptoms. Rather you will be reluctant or unwilling but once you start doing what you love, you will actually be more focused on that one thing only. 

If I have to share a personal experience, I love sketching, I love painting but I can't paint when I feel sad, or empty or hopeless, and if I try to paint then the littlest mistakes frustrate me, they anger me. If I'm feeling more fatigued than sad, I won't really bother getting frustrated or angry because that requires a lot of energy, which my body won't have at that moment, so I will be more focused on what I'm doing while trying to use as less energy as I can on that particular task. Which is also a time when sometimes I come up with great ideas or as we Indians call it 'Jugaad'.

So that's it for today people. I know today's post is quite long compared to the previous one but I tried to put as much information as I could but if you still have any questions then you have the comments section. Feel free to ask anything. We will discuss the 3rd symptom tomorrow so make sure to subscribe to get notified about the latest blog posts. Take care you guys, be safe.