I’m Depressed, But Not Because I Have Depression

You walk into the counselor’s office to talk about your depression. Your symptoms include fatigue, poor concentration, decreased libido, moodiness, sleep disturbance, appetite change, nervousness, disorganization, relationship conflict, irritability, poor work performance, withdrawal from others. Yep, your counselor agrees, you have symptoms of depression. The next step should be to figure out WHY you have these symptoms of depression.

Symptoms of Depression Are Not Always Caused by the Disease of Depression

If it walks like a (depressed) duck and talks like a (depressed) duck, turns out it may not be a (depressed) duck after all. The chemical imbalance that causes clinical depression is a result of neurotransmitters in the body’s nervous system being “out of whack”. In a car, if the timing is off, the sparks are not firing at the right time to make the engine go and the car runs rough. This is also true in the human body, with electrical impulses in the nerves and brain firing at a rate that keeps your system running smooth. If the timing is off, it may be observed in your feelings and behavior, i.e. sad or depressed. But what else can make your car run poorly: bad gasoline, a need for a tune up, getting overheated, any number of things. So it is with the machine that is the human body.

Medical Causes of Depression Symptoms

There are other ailments and physical states that can cause symptoms of depression. Your counselor or doctor should get a good inventory from you about your health, any medications you take, your daily habits, and your family background before deciding what is the best course of depression treatment for you. Below, you'll find a number of medical conditions that may cause symptoms of depression other than a neurotransmitter imbalance.

• Diabetes, Hypoglycemia, blood sugar issues
• Hypo (underactive) thyroid
• Sleep Apnea
• Medication side effect
• Drug or alcohol use, abuse or withdrawal
• Stress
• Sleep disruption, deprivation, changing sleep cycle when working swing shifts
• Nutrition deficiency
• Hormone imbalance; estrogen, testosterone
• Low levels of Vitamin D or B12
• Grief
• Posttraumatic Stress Disorder

It is imperative to have an accurate picture of what is causing the depression symptoms. Antidepressant medication is an excellent treatment when the cause of depression is a neurotransmitter (nervous system) imbalance. But if the symptoms are caused by another ailment, and it isn’t effectively treated, you won’t feel better.

Share with your therapist or doctor anything that is new or different with you since you have been feeling the symptoms. No information is bad information and if you and your treatment team work together, you will do the detective work to help yourself feel better sooner.