Cat and Rhiannon discuss depression, their symptoms, and what they do to overcome it.
Depression is a mood disorder that affects how we think, feel, and behave in our daily lives. It affects our eating, sleeping, working, and relationships with others.
Cat lives with major depressive disorder, where symptoms last for about two weeks and sometimes affects Cat's day-to-day life. Rhiannon lives with Bipolar disorder formally called manic depression where she experiences low moods and occasionally "up" moods where she is more active.
Some symptoms of depression are:
sadness or emptiness
anxiety
hopelessness
irritability
guilt, worthlessness, helplessness
fatigue
moving slowly
difficulty is focusing, remembering, or making decisions
sleeping too much or too little
eating too much or too little
thoughts of death or suicide
physical aches and pains
attempting suicide
Everyone's depression looks different. Cat and Rhiannon discuss what their depression looks like in detail. Rhiannon tells how she is irritable, moves slowly - according to her mom, sleeps too much, and has attempted self-harming in the past with some suicidal ideation. Cat says that her depression is different from Rhiannons and has to remind herself that everyone's depression symptoms look different. Cat deals with fear of death, irritability, and anxiety.
The girls also discuss things that help their depression. Cat tells all her tips and tricks such as walking, getting outside, and a healthy diet.
Listen to this week's episode on depression and let us know what you think!
Sources:
NIMH » Depression (nih.gov)
https://www.who.int/health-topics/depression#tab=tab_1
https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/depression/symptoms-causes/syc-20356007