What is mild depression?
Sufferers of mild depression experience many of the same depression symptoms as those who experience major depression episodes, but the symptoms in mild depression are not as severe.
Mild depression symptoms
The symptoms of mild depression may be mistaken for normal mood swings; the difference between a bad or gloomy mood and mild depression is the duration of the symptoms.
Here are the warning signs of mild depression:
- Withdrawal
- Lack of energy
- Lack of interest in social interaction
- Changes in appetite (either loss of appetite, or excessive cravings)
- Discontinuing formerly enjoyable activities
- Increased alcohol consumption
- Frequent mild illness
- Sleep habit changes – either significantly more or less sleep than is normal
- Decreased performance and engagement at work
- Reduced physical activity
- Changes in financial habits
- Frequent anger or irritability
- Apathy or lethargy
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Treating mild depression
Antidepressant medication is generally not effective for mild depression (and is of debatable utility in alleviating the symptoms of major depression as well). In addition to consulting with your physician, you should thoroughly research any depression medication you’re considering. It’s generally best to attempt holistic treatment of depression symptoms for 60 days before resorting to medication. Effective results are frequently achieved by a combination of the following treatment methods:
- Get plenty of sleep. Fatigue contributes dramatically to mild depression.
- Exercise regularly. Even if it’s just for 30 minutes per day, exercise facilitates chemical changes that remove stress and depression hormones and replace them with the “well-being” hormones, endorphins.
- Eat healthy foods. Avoid starches and sugars for their hyperinsulin effects. Eat balanced, fresh, non-processed foods. Avoid fast food.
- Moderate caffeine intake. Caffeine may be helpful in small doses, but contributes to irritability and malaise in larger doses. And caffeine interrupts healthy sleep patterns.
- Engage in creative activity. Writing, painting, playing music, and other creative activities recruit nonverbal parts of the brain, which has been shown to re-center the emotional state.
- Make the changes you’ve been putting off. Often we make binding arrangements that come to suit us poorly over time. We feel that we can’t change them (which is false), and the feeling of powerlessness can lead to depression. Have the courage to make the relationship, professional, or other personal change you’ve been avoiding.
- Stop alcohol and drug consumption. Depressants and other drugs wreak havoc on your emotional system and brain chemistry, and dramatically degrade sleep quality. Avoid them altogether.
- Begin a guided meditation practice. Depression is a mental, physical, and biochemical disorder, and treating all aspects of the disorder is an important part of conquering its symptoms. Because your thoughts create chemical and hormonal responses, recovering from depression is aided dramatically by positive mental imagery exercises.
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Depression and mental health resources
Cure for depression – Overcome depression – Depression statistics – Mild depression – How to cure depression – Alcohol and depression – Is depression hereditary? – Beating depression
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