This blog is all about , how can you distinguish if you are stressed or depressed or simply lazy in a systematic process
Have you ever wondered hmm, I am feeling little low for a few weeks now…my important project go live is also coming up soon. Is the project stress affecting me? OMG am I getting depression…
Or the second scenario,
I have become so lazy these days, it takes a lot of effort to even move, I don’t feel like getting out of bed. OMG I am so bad, I am not even 40 year old yet…
I am no expert in the field, but hey I sure faced a thing or two…
In any case, our classic reaction to issues related to mental wellness is shame. And we see that as a sign of weakness.
If you are working in an MNC, chances are, your company already has a mental wellness partner and a helpline you could call in you feel a little blue.
Do you think all these MNCs think their employees are cray?, of course not, they understand that their employees are humans and they might need some help at times when faced with difficult situations.
SO, It is high time we stop stigmatizing mental wellness issues.
Coming back to the first scenario,
First of all, we need to understand the difference between stress and depression.
When you experience or perceive a situation which pose challenge to your emotional and physical wellbeing, beyond our coping resources and abilities, what you experience is STESS.
Stress is something which you can do something about, like the project deadline in the first example. If you prolong that stress and then it becomes like helplessness; over a period of time it could potentially become depression.
Coming back to the question if you are depressed, In case if you faced any issues recently such as loss of a loved ones, bad break up etc. that is altogether different thing, as it could be a trauma, which again is a topic for another day!
Apart from that, if you are feeling low for a prolonged period of time, fatigue, please stop labelling yourself lazy, it is not your fault.
Here are few things you could do instead:
Step 1:
First of all, consult your physician, get your Vitamin B, D, thyroid etc checked.
Lack of some vitamins or thyroid related issues could feel like a depression.
I personally have been in the second scenario which I explained in the beginning. I constantly blamed myself for lazy for few months. Then it turned out, I had Vitamin D deficiency.
Step No 2:
Observe if you are sleeping enough, eating properly and exercising.
If you find any issues with these, if you fix that, probably your other issues will get resolved.
Step 3:
If blood work result is ok, you are having enough sleep time etc., another thing you can do is, consult a psychologist. I guess you know this already, still let me explain, psychologists are trained for giving therapy/ counselling which would help you find the root cause of the problem. On the other hand, psychiatrists are doctors specialized in psychiatry, so they are the ones you go to for slightly bigger problems, they could prescribe you medicines in addition to therapy and stuff like that. In all probability if needed your physician would refer you for that.
Now coming back to the point of therapy, if you have a helpline from your company, you are just a call away from help!
Your therapist would listen to you compassionately and ask right questions to get to the root cause of the feelings you are feeling.
They would also suggest some coping mechanism to deal with the situations.
We all deserve a happy life and seeking some help is not a sign of weakness!
To watch the video in YouTube, please click on below link:
