How Depression Affects Daily Life

As anyone who’s ever battled to get up in the morning knows, depression affects daily life in many ways. Some days are easier than others. Then there are days where sleep feels like the only time there’s ever any chance to escape for a bit. It’s easy to talk about self care when you have enough energy to do the things that help you cope. On better days, coping feels doable. On bad days, however, the thought of doing anything can be overwhelming. It’s on those days that you really start to see how much depression affects daily life.

Rather than talking about self care in the usual sense, I’m going to talk about the type of coping strategies that are critical to getting through the bad days. We know that looking after yourself is important but sometimes simply getting through the day is hard enough. The reality of living with depression is that it can feel as though it takes over every aspect of life. I have to add that therapy, antidepressants and crisis care are all essential if you feel that you are no longer coping. These are the most important of all self care measures.

Biggest Ways That Depression Affects Daily Life

Aside from the obvious ways that depression affects daily life, which range from leaving you feeling exhausted yet anxious at the same time, to feelings of overwhelm, there are other ways that it can affect day-to-day life. Some of these ways may have more of an impact than you realise, which is why it is so important to take action before things get too hard to manage on your own.

Heart problems.

After dealing with loss, a major move, burnout and battles with epilepsy, I kept asking myself what happens after burnout. I thought the answer would be more burnout. Instead, I ended up on beta blockers. The funny thing was that, on the surface, it felt like things were getting easier. When I started noticing that my resting heart rate was higher than it should be, I brushed it off at first. Then one day, out of the blue, it started jumping up to 110 and higher when I did anything, including taking a few steps. I went to my GP and he did an ECG. Luckily, my heart itself is healthy. But my heart rate is still off, and I have to stay on beta blockers. I also had at least 2 episodes with my usually low blood pressure suddenly jumping up high and then going back down to low again. Even though my heart is fine, realising that depression can affect things like heart rate was a shock.

Chronic headaches.

I deal with headaches on a daily basis – especially tension headaches. Several studies show that there’s a link between depression and headaches. Chronic pain as a whole is often associated with stress, anxiety and other mood disorders. Migraines are especially closely linked with depression, while tension headaches are a result of stiff, tense muscles in your shoulders and neck. Treating the symptoms helps to a point. Treating the underlying cause is the best route. If you are battling headaches along with your depression, speak to your doctor about your symptoms.

Brain fog.

It’s hard trying to explain brain fog to someone who hasn’t experienced the feeling of trying to wade through mud. It may take the form of forgetting small tasks or it may be more serious, leaving you struggling to focus on anything, with a sense of confusion that never fully clears. You may have days with a clearer head. You may have days where it is hard to do even the most basic of tasks. This makes it extremely difficult to work, affecting not only your productivity but also your concentration and ability to process information. According to a 2016 article published by Harvard Health, depression can affect your ability to think. Some older types of antidepressants can also cause brain fog, however, therapy is an effective way to help manage and reduce the feeling of struggling to clear your head.

Sleep changes.

I’ve spoken quite a lot about sleep issues. When it comes to how depression affects daily life, sleep is one of the most common problems. Many people struggle to get to sleep, battling insomnia at night and exhaustion during the day due to lack of sleep. But others find that all they want to do is sleep. This is known as hypersomnia. I fall into the latter category. Although I have no choice but to get out of bed in the morning, I often feel exhausted throughout the day and long to go back to sleep. I sleep well at night, then by 3pm or so, I need to have another nap. It used to be an hour and only on days I was genuinely tired. Lately, with my depression back again, it’s usually 2 hours. Sometimes on weekends, even longer. I don’t feel refreshed after these naps. If you’re finding that no amount of sleep is enough, it can very quickly interfere with your daily activities. Combined with brain fog and headaches, things can have a knock-on effect. This makes it harder to cope, which in turn, further worsens your overall mood.

Poor hygiene.

This is not an easy topic to talk about at all. Those with high-functioning depression may let things slide on very bad days. Those who are starting to battle with depression on an ongoing basis find it much harder to take care of themselves. It is by no means a sign of being ‘unclean’ or anything like that because it’s not a conscious decision. My hair is currently a mess as I haven’t washed it in a week. There, I said it. Do I feel good about that? Of course not. Does that feeling of shame make me feel motivated? No. It makes me feel worse about myself, which sets off a negative thinking cycle. When you’re struggling to keep yourself going, one step at a time, it is very hard to take physical care of yourself, let alone manage manicures, bubble baths, face masks and other pampering that social media expects you to do on bad days. I saw some good advice once that has helped me a lot over the years. If you can’t manage to wash your hair, use dry shampoo. If you can’t manage a long bath or shower, use baby wipes. Do what you can manage and try not to make yourself feel worse by letting the self-worth negative thoughts take over. Tomorrow is a new day, and you may get the energy to have that shower or wash your hair.

Do Not Ignore These Signs

If you are struggling to get through the day, it is a sign that depression is reaching the non-functional stage. This is a very serious, potentially life-threatening stage that requires urgent attention. Speak to someone – anyone, even a friend – and tell them that you are no longer coping. Go straight to your nearest emergency room if you have any thoughts of self-harm or you feel like you are reaching breaking point. I know it’s hard. I’ve been close to that point. I know how hard it feels to admit that you can’t cope. But your life is too precious to ignore any of these symptoms. You may not feel like it will get easier right now. You may feel alone. You may feel like admitting that you need help makes you weak. In reality, it makes you strong.

To end off, I’ll leave you with a poem from my favourite series, BoJack Horseman. I highly recommend this show to anyone battling with depression, as it handles topics like mental health and other challenges we all face. The poem is from the episode of the same name and it was written by the extremely talented show writer, Alison Tafel.

Even though depression affects daily life in so many ways, with professional help and a little bit of self care to meet your basic needs, it gets easier to manage even the hardest of days.