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EXCLUSIVE: World Mental Health Day 2021: What goes in the mind of a depressed person? Know from the experts
Once in a while, some of us might have wondered what goes in the mind of a depressed person. Here is what experts have to say. Read on to find out.
Faster heartbeat, no or low social contact, lack of enthusiasm and motivation, no eye contact, poor sleep, altered eating habits, and constant fidgety behaviour are all signs indicating a depressed person. But have you ever wondered what exactly goes in their mind? What kind of thoughts do they get, and how often?
Experts have an answer. To put it in simple words, while not every person experiences the same feeling, people with severe depressive disorder usually experience worldly feelings in a completely different way as compared to what they felt when the depression had not set in.
“During a depressive episode, the world can literally seem like a dark place. What was previously beautiful may look ugly, flat, or even sinister. The depressed person may even believe that loved ones, even their own children, are better off without them. Nothing seems pleasurable, comforting or worth living for,” says Dr Prakriti Poddar, Mental Health expert and Managing Trustee, Poddar Foundation.
Also, a feeling of guilt or restlessness may start to develop inside the person along with suicidal thoughts or a tendency to hurt oneself. “There can be several triggers to depression or anxiety like past trauma, stress due to an illness, substance abuse, genetics and childhood experiences that ended up in abuse or neglect,” says Poddar.
A depressed person’s mind often resembles a dark cave with several horrendous thoughts. Feeling of being worthless, good for nothing, and a burden on the family often surround a depressed person. “There’s no specific time for such feeling to cross a person’s mind, however, these are more common towards the night, or when the person is alone. Loneliness may trigger the negative thoughts of not having a reason to live anymore and suicidal attempts,” says Pulkit Sharma, a clinical psychologist.
Anger, sadness, seeing people as their enemies, and a desire to cause harm to oneself and others are also some of the common feelings that a depressed person may experience. “They might feel discomfort all the time, things around them may suddenly feel strange to them, and they often drown in such feelings,” adds Sharma.
While it is important to remember that anyone can experience some sort of depressive symptoms from time to time, it doesn't necessarily mean that they are depressed. “However, the common symptoms observed in people suffering from depression are not going out or interacting with people, withdrawing from friends and family, unable to concentrate, not taking part in activities. They also tend to exhibit feelings of irritability, unhappiness, disappointment, indecisiveness, etc.,” opines Poddar.
