Depression affects an estimated 350 million people in the world today. Caused by chemical imbalances in the brain, depression can majorly affect someone’s day to day life. Identifying depression in one’s own life can be challenging. People who know the affected person may recognize symptoms first, noticing changes in a person’s mood, behavior, activities, and more.

Do you suspect you may be ? If any of the following symptoms look familiar, you may be struggling with depression. If you answer yes to any of the following, please call Dr. Ross to set up an appointment for a free consultation.

1. Has your daily mood changed? Are you experiencing feelings of sadness, anxiety, numbness, apathy, or hopelessness? Do you feel extreme lows followed by extreme highs and vice versa? Are you finding yourself becoming increasingly agitated? If you are noticing decreases in your day to day happiness, you may be exhibiting signs of depression.

2. Has your behavior been changing? Do the things you used to find fulfilling still bring you joy and happiness? Have you stopped engaging in activities you once loved? Have you noticed yourself breaking down into tears? Have you lost interest in hanging out with the people you used to love to spend time with? Changes in behavior and social isolation are very common with people experiencing depression.

3. Have you had trouble concentrating on tasks? Have you noticed that completely tasks can be extremely difficult, even the easiest day to day tasks? Have you noticed your work pace has become much slower? Do you have a tendency to return to negative and/or sad thoughts about your life? Have you had thoughts of suicide? If you have had suicidal thoughts, please contact a medical professional immediately. 

4. Have you noticed changes in your sleep patterns? Have you suddenly starting waking up at much earlier times than you have in the past? On the other hand, have you suddenly started feeling sleepy throughout the entire day? Are you sleeping more or less than usual? Have you been experiencing insomnia? Believe it or not, changes in sleep, whether you are getting more sleep than usual or less indicates possible depression.

5. Have you noticed changes in your appetite? Have you been noticing you are not as hungry or interested in food as you used to be? On the contrary, have you been eating far more than usual, always feeling hungry? Both unexpected weight gain and weight loss can be indicators of depression.

Thankfully, depression can be corrected by neurofeedback! Neurofeedback sessions pinpoint the areas in the brain causing depression and work to train the brain to function more calmly and efficiently, reducing and/or eliminating symptoms of depression. Neurofeedback improves day to day functioning so a person who has been struggling with depression can go about their day without so much of a struggle.

First image courtesy of Stuart Miles at FreeDigitalPhotos.net 

Second image courtesy of stockimages at FreeDigitalPhotos.net