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Can Depression Make You Feel Lazy?

Can Depression Make You Feel Lazy?

Depression is a serious mental condition that can severely impact many facets of your life, but it doesn’t make you lazy. If you’re lazy, you just choose to not do something. Depression isn’t a conscious choice between happiness and sadness. Many of its symptoms can be treated with medications like ketamine.

WHAT IS DEPRESSION?

According to the U.S. National Institutes of Mental Health, depression (or major depressive disorder) is a widespread but dangerous mood disorder. It leads to severe symptoms that affect how you think, feel, and handle daily activities, like eating, sleeping, going to school, or working. To be diagnosed with the condition, its symptoms must persist for at least two weeks. Depression is not the result of a “bad day” at school or work.

WHAT ARE SYMPTOMS OF DEPRESSION?

Most of us know depression when we see it, especially in others. There are telltale signs:

  • Constant anxiety or sadness.
  • Being pessimistic or feeling hopeless.
  • Irritability, guilt, loss of interest.
  • Low energy.
  • Moving or thinking slowly.
  • Impaired decision-making.
  • Restlessness, trouble concentrating.
  • Poor eating habits that culminate in sudden weight loss or gain.
  • You have trouble sleeping, either too much or too little, and can’t stay asleep.

Many of these symptoms can be managed with ketamine.

WHAT IS LAZINESS?

According to BING, laziness is “the quality of being unwilling to work or use energy; idleness.” It describes most people at some point in their lives but implies the ability – physically or mentally – to complete a task you might not want to finish. Like making your bed on the weekends or packing a lunch for work every day. It can grip you when least expected but normally passes. Depression can last indefinitely.

CAUSES AND DIAGNOSIS

Depression has many causes, some obvious, others not so much. In considering a diagnosis, your doctor or therapist will look at factors that contribute to your symptoms such as:

  • Depression may be inherited, like hair color or other physical characteristics. You may get depression from a blood relative who suffered from the condition.
  • “Changes in the body’s balance of hormones may be involved in causing or triggering depression.”
  • Biological differences, particularly physical changes in the brain. This possibility is subject to ongoing research.
  • Chemical imbalances in the brain, especially related to neurotransmitters and the role they play in maintaining stable moods.

CAN DEPRESSION MAKE YOU LAZY?

No. Depression – feelings of sadness or anxiety lingering without cause – is a mental health disorder. Laziness is a rational decision by an otherwise healthy mind; a choice to not do something that often requires repetition to complete. Laziness is within the realm of control of your control, while depression is more complicated than that.

LAZINESS AND OTHER MENTAL HEALTH MYTHS

There are a lot of myths about mental health which have been around for centuries, even before anyone gave mental health much thought. One of the biggest, and which we’ve already dispelled, is that depression can make you lazy. Laziness is a willful act, maybe even a character flaw. So what other myths are there about mental health?

  • Children can’t experience mental health problems. Wrong. Not only does depression affect 40 million U.S. adults, but it also harms more than three million adolescents 12 to 17-years old.
  • People with mental health problems are unpredictable and violent. Wrong. “The vast majority of people with mental health problems are no more likely to be violent than anyone else. Most people with mental illness are not violent and only 3%–5% of violent acts can be attributed to individuals living with a serious mental illness.”
  • Character or personality flaws cause mental health problems. Wrong.

TREATING DEPRESSION

Depression – whether in children, adolescents, or adults – is diagnosed the same way. A patient undergoes a physical and mental health evaluation to look for the possible cause, history of mental illness in the patient and blood relatives, and injury, illness, or something else resulting in symptoms. Then treatment options are discussed.

CONSIDER A DIFFERENT MEDICINE – KETAMINE

Most doctors or therapists will recommend psychotherapy, medication, or a combination of both as a treatment for depression. The frequency and duration of treatment depends on patient health, the severity of symptoms, and other factors. Your doctor also may recommend medicine like ketamine, which strengthens neurotransmitters in the brain that help us identify and process pain signals.

FINAL THOUGHTS

Even if you’re depressed, your state of mental health doesn’t cause laziness. Laziness is a choice, a decision not to do something. Depression is a culmination of bad feelings which get a hold of you and may not let go. If you experience depression, get help before the symptoms worsen.

If you or a loved one have questions about the clinical use of ketamine to help treat the symptoms of depression we can help.

 

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