Depression or Emotional Slump?
Depression
We all have our days. Or weeks. That's for sure. But clinical depression is usually something characterized more by time and symptoms. Symptoms ranging from sadness, hopelessness, despair, and isolation most of the time for at least 2-3 weeks would be things to consider in terms of leaning toward clinical depression.
Emotional Slump
An emotional slump may be "not being yourself" and a little more down for a few days or a week. Certainly, this can lead to clinical depression if symptoms do not subside over time.
Triggers
An emotional slump may be more likely to be triggered by an external factor whereas clinical depression can be triggered by an external factor or may be genetic. Internal factors such as low self-esteem, low self-worth and overall lacking a strong sense of identity may contribute to clinical depression and can also exacerbate the response to the external factor in either case. How others respond may increase symptoms as well if poor social support is present. For example, if friends or family are saying things like “just get over it” or “move on,” you probably don’t feel better after hearing this.
Treatment
It can be helpful to process these feelings with an objective listener. Someone who can hear what you have to say, ask you questions to get more depth to what you are feeling and offer non-judgmental validation and feedback. Cognitive behavioral therapy and possibly medication prescribed by a psychiatric provider may be very useful for clinical depression and cognitive therapy along with increasing health social support may be a good starting point for an emotional slump. Sometimes basic self-care such as engaging in appropriate sleep hygiene, mild to moderate exercise and eating regularly and balanced may be natural mood enhancers as well.
If you are interested in talking to someone about what has been going on, you can visit us here to make an appointment.