8 Oddly Specific Symptoms of Depression

The traditional clinical symptoms of depression often don't cover the full spectrum of what it feels like to experience depression or depressive episodes on a daily basis.

Today I'm diving into 8 specific symptoms of depression you won't find in the official overview - but I think they are illuminating, validating, and helpful.

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Disclaimer: This content is not intended to be a replacement for receiving treatment. It is purely educational in nature. My relationship with you is that of presenter and audience, not therapist and client.

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00:00 Escapism and Fantasy Worlds
01:11 Soul-Deep Tiredness
03:25 Muted Colors
05:37 Angry Perfectionism
07:56 Achievement Anesthesia
12:53 Normal People Look Like Superheroes
14:58 Chronic Sense of Displacement
17:09 Addiction to Emotion-Creating Activities

[jasminelondon]

The anger. No one talks about the anger. The rage I constantly feel is so overwhelming. I lash out. I'm not myself. I see it but I can't stop. Depression is a disability

[crowpen]

the biggest one for me, and it's the worst feeling ever for me too, is a sense of "i want to go home", but you dont exactly know where "home" is. feeling homesick in your own bedroom. feeling like everything that brings you comfort is out of reach or just feels bland to you. thinking about your favorite things gives you a wave of unease in your stomach. your family and friends feel like strangers, you feel out of place, disassociated, and you constantly feel zoned out and in a dream-like state. you're aware, but you don't feel "there". its horrible.

Gonna add another thing too about losing interest in stuff. I imagine it like changing through tv channels in my head, each one with a favorite thing that I love. And flipping through, none of them are appealing at all. Sometimes thinking about my favorite things makes me feel sick. It’s like when you don’t have an appetite and nothing sounds good.

[ShilohKeeling]

It’s weird how you can get used to living with depression that it starts to feel “normal” like it’s almost as if you “forget” that you’re totally irreversibly depressed. It’s EXHAUSTING.

[Flugkaninchen]

Normal people look like superheroes.
Yes. How the hell do they commute, work full time, cook healthy meals, keep the house clean and still have enough energy for relationships and hobbies?
I have days when I'm proud of myself for going to the supermarket and buy food instead of staying at home and being hungry and miserable because there is no food in the house.

[ShineLikeFireflies]

One that I never see anyone mention is cognitive impairment. I literally felt like I had dementia at one point because my brain was straight up not working. I couldn't form thoughts, I couldn't carry on conversation, it was impacting every major relationship I had in my life. I wish society knew that depression is not just feeling sad.

[toad]

"Normal people look like superheros" - never heard anyone say this out loud. I have always felt this way most of my life. But it was more like this: "these people literally know something that I for some reason don't know - some secret knowledge that allows them to have success that I just do not have in my core and nobody has ever told me." Instead of looking at cars I would look at nice houses, and think "wow so many successful people that have it together - how is this possible that so many people can keep their life together and have consistent success to maintain a nice home? It is so hard for me just to even get up and get through the day." Being middle aged, I don't feel quite this way like I used to because I have had some life journeys and success of my own but I used to feel this way all the time.

[juliebrady]

I am sometimes overwhelmed by the feeling that I want to go home. But I do not know where home is. The empty feeling is painful.

[glendahunt]

Sadly, I feel nothing when friends or family tell me that I'm important to them. It doesn't matter to me -- I don't believe them anyway. I wish it did; I wish I could.

[mallikapatri]

“I can be unhappy anywhere” that’s my Depression superpower.

[katieschumann]

The color part is so real- I thought it was just me. I remember being a teenager and slowly getting better. One day I opened the fridge and there was an orange bell pepper sitting there. Only, it was so vibrant and bright that I grabbed it and exclaimed to my dad just how ORANGE it was! He was like “Yea, that’s a pepper alright…that’s what they all look like.”
That’s when I knew I was really making progress. It was literally like a gray vail had been taken off my eyes, and everything was bright again. I went outside and it wasn’t green but GREEN. When things get tough, I try to look for the colorful things around me and remind myself how pretty the world is.

[TheHayley]

The envy of watching 'normal people' literally just waking up at a normal time and then somehow magically getting up and then washing and shopping and having this somehow pre set to being on repeat daily, and not an everyday ordeal. This can blow my mind, managing to do this is such a good day for me, and can be rare if iv been stuck in depression for a while. Thank you for helping me feel like others are also amazed at people literally just being people. xxx

[katietoole]

I describe the tiredness as "swimming through pudding." Everything is just soooo hard.

[GUILTY-Pleasures]

The most heartbreaking & shocking experience is seeing pictures of you from the past when you were a "normal " person with a "healthy" smile and the light in your eyes was still there...

[wgxlvou]

I think being older and depressed, people can get very nostalgic and sentimental. Thinking of memories in the past. Often going back to childhood neighborhoods, driving by the schools you attended as a child. Doing things you did as a child. I think mainly because this was a time when you felt like you had potential in life

[gildaaugustine]

Not being able to do anything that requires more than a couple of steps...a recipe i want to cook, a chore, paperwork. If it requires sustained focus and patience, I have lots of trouble motivating myself to do it. Then, of course, I'll beat myself up for not doing it.

[danielgilleland]

Sometimes, a person can have those symptoms on a long-term basis while still maintaining a "functional" disposition. That is, you can still go to work, provide for your family, participate (though minimally) in "family life", etc. You can even be "self-aware" that you're in that depressed state, but you're feeling so alone that you just can't see how to break free and "wake up".

[melinaalba]

To me, its actually my bed that makes me addicted. And it honestly feels like an addiction. I was addicted to drugs so i know what it feels like and everything in my mind and body centers around "when will i be back in my bed". Its honestly a lot more harmful than it might sound but everything i do, where I'm not in bed, feels wrong. It feels like just a step that is neccessary for me to then end up in my bed as fast as possible.

[Leeonrf]

"...if this person mentored me ..."

In my youth, there was a time that i was so lost i would literally wander around the streets of my city in the hopes i would stumble into a Mr.Miyagi figure to give me direction in life

[mattie]

I keep getting urges to move away from where I live because I've lost everything in the city where I live....this geographic region constantly reminds me of everything I've lost

[farmgirlre]

Thank you for this video. Checked off every one of these oddly specific signs of depression. So, I have my constant muttering in my brain like this: "Get up. Just keep going. It'll be okay. Get dressed. Just keep going. Get going. Feed the pets. Drive to work. Do work. Talk to co-workers. Check emails but don't delete anything. Be nice. Eat. Do one extra thing. Talk to daughter. Be normal. Drive home. Get gas and food. It'll be okay. Just keep going. Check house didn't burn down. Check pets are still alive. Watch Netflix. Pay bills. Do laundry. Wash dishes. Etc.". I feel like a displaced robot with no feelings for anything anymore. It hurts to do anything that I used to love to do.