​​What Does Depression Feel Like?

What Does Depression Feel Like? A Focus on the Emotional Symptoms of Depression

Depression is an emotionally complex disorder, going beyond a persistent sadness. The emotional experience of depression can be overwhelming, as if one is being smothered.

So, what does depression feel like? Read on to take a closer look at several primary emotions you may feel during depression. Then learn how emotional symptoms relate to the biological roots of depression.

How Depression Feels Emotionally

The emotional symptoms of depression are often the most recognizable features of the disorder. While many associate depression with sadness, several other emotions play a part in what depression feels like.

Loss of Interest or Pleasure

A pervasive loss of interest in activities that had once given you joy may signal a developing mental health issue. Such is the case with depression: at one time, you may have enjoyed eating out and socializing with family and friends. But you have lost pleasure in your favorite foods, and being social no longer interests you. Sporting events, holiday celebrations, and even your hobbies spark no desire. When invited to join others to watch your favorite music group perform, you turn them down.

Loss of Motivation

Instead of looking forward to things, each day can feel like an empty void. You may feel lost and directionless, as if adrift in an ocean on a foggy night. A general lack of motivation and exhaustion may also develop, making it harder to get out of bed or take care of your personal hygiene.

Emptiness and Lack of Meaning

During a depressive episode, you may feel disconnected from others, even when you do try to participate socially. Nothing you do matters, as you keep searching for something to pull you out of this sense of meaninglessness. The emptiness inside you amplifies how lonely you feel, whether alone or in the company of others.

Low Mood or Sad Appearance

When experiencing depression, you may feel like you are trapped in a dark cloud that nobody else can see. Negative thoughts and ruminations in your mind may only amplify your depressed mood. You may find yourself crying more often, or feel so emotionally overwhelmed that you shut down, placing your feelings out of conscious reach, in order to function.

Hopelessness

Hopelessness is another key difference between depression and more manageable shades of sadness. With sadness, you are able to lift yourself out of bad moods. In fact, after spending time with friends or doing something you enjoy, you can get back to your normal routine. With depression, on the other hand, you feel hopeless, doubting whether your emotional pain will ever go away. Actions and support networks that had previously helped improve your mood do not work now, leaving the future looking bleak, and leaving you feeling defeated.

Low Self-Worth

With depression, sometimes it may feel like you can’t do anything right. You may believe you are worthless, as if you are a burden or problem for everyone around you. You may feel ashamed and broken.

Anger, Irritability, and Frustration

In certain cases of depression, instead of being overwhelmed with sadness, you become more sensitive to frustrating elements in your life. You may blow up at a family member over a relatively small issue, or you feel like everything rubs you the wrong way at work. As a result, you begin expressing anger more frequently, leading to escalating conflicts within various social spheres.

Self-Harm or Suicidality

After enduring ongoing emotional pain, you may feel like escaping your problems. This may bring thoughts of death, or a wish to no longer be alive. You can feel like you can no longer endure your own depression, with suicide or self-harm seeming, in the moment, to be the only ways to free yourself from the pain.

What Does Depression Feel Like Physically?

While depression is largely defined as an emotional disorder, an individual’s emotions are often anchored by physical discomforts, with the physical symptoms of depression reflecting the biological underpinnings of the disorder. A low mood may seem more oppressive because of how lethargic an individual feels. Their lack of enjoyment from favorite foods may be reinforced by appetite changes and headaches.

Common Physical Changes Associated with Depression:

Sleep Patterns: Sleep disruption can lead to other depressive symptoms, such as irritability, fatigue, and mental cloudiness.

Body Movement: Individuals with depression may appear restless or move more slowly than usual.

Appetite: Changes in appetite can lead to unintended weight gain or loss.