Depression is a medical illness. It is defined as a loss of happiness and pleasure in activities you once enjoyed. It interferes with daily life and leads to unpredictable mood swings.
These are symptoms of depression:
Sadness, low mood
Feeling of worthlessness
Loss of interest
Lack of concentration
Sleep problems, fatigue
Change in appetite — weight loss or weight gain
Change in physical activity: pacing, inability to sit still, slowed movement
Thoughts of death or suicide
People think depression is sadness. That it’s crying and dressing in black. But people are wrong. Depression is the constant feeling of being numb. It’s being numb to emotions, being numb to life. You wake up in the morning just to go back to bed again.
It is shown that one in six people will suffer from depression in their lifetime, with women being affected more often than men.
Our genetics, biochemistry, personality, and environment all influence the likelihood of developing depression.
Genetics: If depression runs in the family, you are more likely to experience it in your lifetime.
Biochemistry: Chemical imbalances can cause symptoms of depression.
Personality: People who are easily overwhelmed and have low self-esteem are more susceptible to this mental illness.
Environment: Abuse, poverty, violence or neglect can increase the risk of depression.
Your Phone is Killing You
While medication, psychotherapy, self-help, and ECT (electro-stimulation of the brain) help treat depression, we should all start by reducing our phone usage.
Excessive phone use exacerbates psychological and physical problems such as mood swings, feelings of loneliness or neck and back pain. Above all, the quality of sleep suffers.
Your phone alone does not cause depression, but it can contribute to depressive symptoms just as depression can lead to heavy phone use.
Social Media Detox
Adults and teenagers should reduce their screen time. Anything above two hours will intoxicate you. Free time should be spent working, cooking, cleaning, exercising or doing other mindful activities.
Your phone is addictive. Especially if you’re on the consumer side, it’s even harder to reduce your screen time.
Your phone is causing the following problems:
Fear of missing out
Reduced productivity and concentration
Excessive symptoms of stress
Chasing the dopamine high
Sleep irregularities
Anxiety
You don’t understand depression until you can’t stand your own presence in an empty room.
The best way to prevent this is a social media detox.
Every time you receive a message, your phone releases dopamine that makes you want more. You start checking your phone more often. As you reduce your media consumption, your addiction will improve and your symptoms will decrease.
How to break your addiction:
Turn off notifications
Monitor your reach for your phone
Eat without being on your phone
1 hour no phone after waking up
30 min no phone before bed
Reduce all Stimulants
Excessive listening to music can also change your mood regulation. If you stop listening to music too often, your restlessness will decrease. Your concentration will improve and you will be more alert.
Personally, I have reduced my caffeine intake. I thought I was addicted to it. But I feel more mentally focused and no longer fall into a hole of tiredness after a few hours of work. The same applies to sugar for me.
I’ve learned that I need to pay attention to my own body when I have anxiety and not reach for my phone, caffeine or other stimulants.
[Published in Writers Fusion]