What Is Stress Reactive Depression and How You Can Overcome It
Reactive depression is a form of reaction to the stress that is caused by some events. It could be an unexpected or sudden death of a loved
one, a victim to some disasters, work related problems or the result of some emotional stress due to some physical illnesses etc. Also referred
to as adjustment or situational depression, it is actually a reaction of an affected person to a traumatic event that the person is unable to
come to terms with.
Signs and symptoms of people suffering from stress reactive depression may include the following:
Feelings of helplessness and hopelessness. A bleak outlook on life thinking that nothing will ever get better and there’s nothing you
can do to improve your situation.
Loss of interest in daily activities. No interest in or ability to enjoy former hobbies, pastimes, social activities, or sex.
Appetite or weight changes. Loss of appetite or overeating resulting in significant weight loss or weight gain
Sleep changes. Tend to suffers from either insomnia i.e. inability to sleep or oversleeping (also known as hypersomnia).
Psychomotor agitation or retardation. Either feeling "keyed up" or restless or sluggish and physically slowed down.
Loss of energy. The feeling of fatigued and physically drained. Even small tasks are exhausting and take long to complete.
Self-loathing. A feeling of self-hatred, feelings of worthlessness or guilt and tend to be harsh on themselves.
Concentration problems. Trouble focusing, making decisions, or remembering things.
Lack of enthusiasm in life in general.
In general, stress reactive depression would last for a period of about 6 months to a year. However, there are some instances where it could
just disappear in just a couple of months. There is really no fixed duration as to how long this sort of depression will last. It depends
entirely on the nature and cause of the stress factor and also on the ability of the person to overcome the stress factors.
Here are some tips where you can use to help a person overcome stress reactive depression faster
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Instead of grieving and suffering alone in silence, it is better for the affected person to grieve, cry out loud and share their
experience with as many people as possible.
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Encourage the affected person to express his grieve openly instead of bottling up their feelings. Repressed emotions are like
sweeping dust beneath a carpet that would just accumulates and not be removed at all. For healing to start, you got to remove the
sorrow and grief out of your system first.
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Keep the affected person busy with other activities like joining some social activities, taking up new hobbies, getting involved
in voluntary work etc. This helps in keeping the person mind relaxed which would ultimately help them slowly forget the unhappy
event that have caused the depression.
Most people suffering from stress reactive depression will be able to overcome the condition sooner or later without the need for treatment
However, in the event that the symptoms of depression persist and the person does not seem to be able to recover from them, it would be advisable
for the individual to seek professional help instead. Medications like anti-depressants prescribed by a psychiatrist maybe needed
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