is this a symptom of depression? advice desperately needed

[R.Barratt]

Hello :)
Recently my depression has just been getting worse and worse. Hugelly because I feel exhausted all the time. At first I just thought I was just a little tired but for the past 2 weeks I have been sleeping for at least 12 hours a day.
And I still wake up exhausted. Making me feel more depressed. I've been struggling to even get out of bed or have a shower. So revising just seems impossible.
Is this just a symptom of depression? And if so how does anyone else deal with this? Because I desperately want to stay in college and go out every day and exercise. Not just stay in watching telly, sleeping and generally staring at 4 walls. Advice needed please x:)x

[nomorepanic]

Have you read this at all?

http://www.nomorepanic.co.uk/articles/depression/

[Baggs]

Sounds like depression to me. I handle it with meds - Duloxetine works for me and I ain't never coming off it. I wish you all the best.

Baggs

[paula lynne]

Feeling so tired all the time is one symptom of depression, you should maybe see your GP and talk things over, they may want to check your bloods to see if your lacking in iron.
Gentle exersize can help give you a little boost, and rather than make you tired, actually energise you. Eat well, take some time out for yourself. Best wishes, Paula x

[Edie]

Tiredness can be caused by depression, but if it's come on without any cause you can think of (like stress, change of diet, physical illness), then it's worth investigating possible physical causes before assuming it's all down to depression.

[AuntieMoosie]

Yes hun, tiredness is a big symptom of depression unfortunately.

It's a tricky one to handle too, if I get depressed the first thing I do is head for my bed at faster the speed of an F1 car!!! It's my way of kind of "shutting off, or shutting the world out"

It's not really that helpful though to be honest. If you sleep too much that, in itself, can lower your mood and motivation :)

What I do when I feel depressed is to try and stick to a routine, especially with sleeping, difficult to do at times though and sometimes it all goes out the window depending how I am!!!

I try to make myself get up, have a shower and get dressed. Now, the "getting dressed" bit is actually the hardest thing for me. I'm perfectly ok in the Summer, but in the winter, I like to mooch around in my PJ's, I guess it's a comfort type thing, but I seem to feel better in my PJ's......I have had many a chat with my psychiatrist about this, she wants me to make myself get dressed every day because she says it will make me feel better, but it doesn't work for me.......I like to be awkward you see!!! lol

Depression is easier to live with though if you do set yourself little goals, not anything major, just little goals, it makes you feel more in control if you do that :) :hugs:

[R.Barratt]

Thank you auntie moosie :)
That's some great advice. We seem to be doing similar things I sleep at least 12 hours a day and I always stay in my pyjamas. I think that's what I will do now. Set little goals. Its just so difficult because if I sleep for 8 hours and set an alarm to get up I still feel completely exhausted like I need to sleep more. But then I waste half the day and feel even more depressed. Its a vicious circle which I hate. But I know its important to have a routine especially now I'm at college. So thank you x

[Jae33UK]

Hi R Barratt.

Tiredness is one of the biggest challenges I have with my depression, no matter how much sleep I get I always wake up tired and struggle through the day.

One thing that I found really has helped is Chromium tablets from Holland & Barrett health food shops. I have been taking them for about a month and I noticed the change pretty rapidly to be honest. You still feel like your tired but you have far more energy and a bit more motivation.

I take them with Maca which helps the depression as I have had really bad experiences on prescription meds, been on most at a variety of doses and ended up in hospital a few times as they literally pushed me over the edge instead of pulling me back so holistic is my preferred route now.

I also find that using an app on my ipad called Nature Sound helps. I set it for half an hour on the timer when I go to bed and listen to sounds of insects chirping and it really calms me and clears my head letting me sleep a bit better.

Exercise and routine are a definite though, don't let yourself slip into getting comfortable sleeping longer and longer or you'll have to fight the depression doubly hard!

Good luck and if you ever just need someone to sound off at your always welcome to pm me :)

[ElizabethJane]

Hi R Barratt fatigue and tiredness can be a symptom of depression. When I was first depressed in the early days I would listen to Claire Weekes tape (cos I'm old) It had a title like 'good night- good morning' Set the alarm clock each day and try to get up and showered and dressed. Don't even think about how you are feeling? You can always reward yourself later for getting up. Unfortunately bed always seems more inviting than up but you will feel much worse in the long run if you stay in it. EJ

[NoPoet]

While lack of energy and excessive sleeping are definitely symptoms of depression, there are lots of possible causes. As people suggest, vitamin supplements can be helpful as you may be deficient in some of them. Omega 3 with large amounts of EPA are recommended to basically everybody but especially for people with mood problems. EPA seems to help level people out and it seem to actively fight some of the symptoms of anxiety and depression. You can also try multivitamins as you are probably deficient in vitamin D due to this lousy weather. If you think you may be vitamin deficient your GP can run a simple test and advise you from there.

Do you stay indoors all the time? Totally understandable if you're depressed and the weather is constantly poor, but lack of physical activity will definitely be making you feel worse. Try to get out for a short walk on days when the weather is decent, make excuses to be more active around the house, that kind of thing. As Claire Weekes says, occupation is excellent for a depressed person - this doesn't necessarily mean a job, it's things that keep you busy such as tidying the house, exercising, writing, anything. The more creative you are being, the more it will help. Being creative is legendarily good for depressed people.

Your metabolism is probably in hibernation mode and this can have a notable impact on mood. So above all else I urge you to stay active, maybe spend a couple of minutes warming up before jogging on the spot or doing star jumps for 10-15 minutes. Doing this once or twice a day will probably make an impact by the end of the first week. Exercise helps your body and mind, it's nature's reward for keeping yourself healthy.

[tinks26]

You poor thing. I also had those symtoms 7 years ago when i got diagonosed with depression and what a horrible feeling it is!! Go to you gp and tell him/her how you feel. Hope you feel better soon! Keep your head up, thea are alot of us out there that understand what you are going through!