Depression Symptoms

What are the Symptoms of Depression?
Targets of Bullying Often Experience Depressive Symptoms and Should Seek Depression Relief

Stress. Anxiety. Depression.

What are Common Depression Symptoms?

Stress. Anxiety. Depression.

When someone is subjected to bullying the stress, anxiety and depression can take their toll and severely impact a person's quality of life. Being under constant seige will drain anyone of mental and physical resources and depression is an understandable consequence.

Depression symptoms can begin to arise in subtle ways and can sneak up if you don't know what to watch for. Bullies don't just create isolated problems in schoos and workplaces, they attack on many fronts. They attack the emotions and mental state of their targets. Bullies undermine your self esteem and shatter your sense of well being.

Social support structures can collapse as friends,
family and spouses also struggle to deal with a loved one being bullied. Hopelessness and depression set in.

A cascade or domino effect takes place. Fear of the bully and what they will do next creates anxiety and worry, racing thoughts intrude and make relaxation and sleep difficult or impossible. Fatigue, exhaustion and distraction lead to more problems at work or school. At work this can bring disciplinary measures with threats of termination from managers who are ill informed about the dynamics of workplace bullying. So the stress of bullying is compounded by inappropriate responses from those in authority.

Fears of financial and social ruin add to the cocktail of misery. Worry about the loss of status, career, respect of peers and income can plague targets of bullying. Social support structures can collapse as friends, family and spouses also struggle to deal with a loved one being bullied. Hopelessness and depression set in and depression symptoms become even more pronounced.

These concerns are very real. Prof. Heinz Leymann, a Swedish psychologist studying an extreme form of workplace bullying known as mobbing said, "Not infrequently, mobbing spelled the end of the target’s career, marriage, health, and livelihood."

In a Swedish study Prof. Leymann estimated that about twelve percent of people who had committed suicide had recently been mobbed at work. The effects of stress, anxiety and depression caused by bullying should not be taken lightly.

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Melodi T

What are Common Depression Symptoms?

As the bullying or mobbing progresses symptoms of depression will begin to appear. Longer exposure to this kind of abuse often results in the development of major depression. Major depression is diagnosed by a doctor or mental health professional if many of the following symptoms are present. Generally, depressive symptoms include:

• Depressed Moods - A feeling of deep sadness and that you are helpless to deal with your life and that the situation is hopeless. These depressive symptoms can feel overwhelming.
   
• Anhedonia - The loss of interest and pleasure from things you used to enjoy. Life losses its lustre without a sense of joy. This depression symptom along with depressed moods are strong indicators of depression.
   
• Lowered Libido - Those experiencing depression often have less interest in sex. This symptom of depression can result in a significant reduction of interest in sexual relations.
  
• Sleep Disturbances - Either sleeping too much or difficulty sleeping can be depression symptoms. It is not unusual for those suffering from depression to wake up during the night or too early and be unable to get back to sleep. Another depressive symptom would be sleeping much more than you normally would.
   
• Changes in Weight - Those seeking depression relief may eat too much or due to anhedionia my lose interest in eating and lose their appetite resulting in sometimes dramatic weight changes.
   
• Fatigue and Low Energy - Feeling tired and not having any energy are common depression symptoms. Even after waking in the morning you may feel as tired as if you hadn't slept at all. Everything seems to take an extra effort and even body movements can slow including speech that may become slow and spoken in a monotone.
   
• Poor Concentration and Impaired Thinking - Depression causes some to lose their mental focus. Concentration is lost and clear thinking becomes more difficult. Memory is also affected. Those experiencing this depression symptom could have difficulty remembering a short list of items they wanted to pick up at the grocery store for example.
   
• Irritablility - Even the little things can bother you and you are easily annoyed. Your tolerance levels are low and you may feel irritable, agitated or restless.
   
• Low Self-Esteem - Those experiencing depression often feel worthless and may also have feelings of guilt. These negative views are persistent and we can lose faith in ourselves and hope for the future.
    
• Suicidal Thoughts - Given this list of depression symptoms it is understandable that living with depression can be overwhelming. Many just want the pain and suffering to end, even if it means their own death. Those suffering from depression may think of death or suicide.
  

Some targets of bullying or mobbing may want to make the bullies responsible for making them feel this way pay for what they have done and may have thoughts of homicide. In too many cases suicidal and homicidal ideations are acted out.

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