Millions are troubled by mysterious sets of symptoms that seem to resist diagnosis and fall into a grey zone of unexplained mood ailments. While everyone has their good and bad days and their ups and downs, how we live on a day to day basis has a big influence on our overall sense of well being. However, if our bodies become rundown, exhausted, or fall ill, we can slip into a state with symptoms that resemble depression.

Depression is a massive topic associated with broad-ranging ambiguous symptoms, making it sadly common for doctors to simply diagnose (or misdiagnose). While this article does not intended to treat or claim to cure depression, it hopes to bring light to the countless internal and external factors that influence our mood and behaviors, which can leave an overwhelming state of mind. More often than not, something bigger could be at work, with depression being just a byproduct.

As the author William Gibson so gracefully puts it:

Before you diagnose yourself with depression or low self-esteem, first make sure that you are not, in fact, just surrounded by assholes.

Consider this list of symptoms that are characterized as symptoms of depression:

• Anger, irritability and restlessness
• Change of appetite; overeating or appetite loss
• Trouble sleeping; insomnia or excessive sleeping
• Weight loss or gain
• Loss of energy, feeling exhausted and fatigued
• Feelings of worthlessness and guilt
• Difficulty concentrating
• Persistent sad, anxious, or ’empty’ feelings

Now consider the common conditions that are often mistaken for depression, some of which can be solved or avoided by following some simple rules and some tips.

Low blood sugar levels

You wouldn’t try to drive your car without gas. So why would you try to push your body without feeding it? Just as a car needs fuel, so do our bodies and brain. A constant supply of glucose, which we get from our food, functions as a fuel source for our bodies. If our glucose levels fall, due to skipping meals for example, low blood sugar levels (hypoglycemia) occurs. Symptoms from hypoglycemia can be very similar to that of a mood disorder, and in some cases have been misdiagnosed for bipolar disorder.

The symptoms include:

• Loss of energy
• Irritability/frustration
• Poor concentration
• Quick mood change
• Fatigue
• Anxiety
• Hunger

Helpful tip: If you start to feel irritated when you’re hungry, try to keep sustained by eating something every 3-5 hours. Avoid foods high in sugar, as they can lead to a more dramatic blood sugar drop as they are digested, exaggerating the symptoms mentioned above.

The Winter Blues:

When the sky is dark for a whole season, it can really start to get you down. The depression some people intermittently develop over the darker winter months is officially called Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD). When someone is affected by SAD, energy levels slump, enthusiasm dwindles, and they start to feel depressed. Though these symptoms can feel severe, when spring rolls around, they usually clear up again.

Research says the emergence of SAD is mostly associated with the winter’s lack of sunlight: our brains produce more happy chemicals on sunny days than dark days. The sun in some ways functions as a natural antidepressant. It stimulates the production of vitamin D in the skin, which is known for its many health effects, including the treatment of depression.

Helpful Tip: If the sun is shining during the winter months, make the effort to get outside and bask in it. If the sun doesn’t always shine where you live, consider visiting a solarium for 10 minutes a month and talking to your doctor about supplementing with vitamin D. If the seasonal change doesn’t bring about a mood change, it might be worth talking to your healthcare professional about more chronic conditions that may be affecting you.

Hypothyroidism

The thyroid gland is integral to the healthy functioning of the human body. When the gland is under active, it does not produce enough of the thyroid hormones our bodies need to function properly. This condition is called hypothyroidism. If hormone levels drop too much, our bodies start to feel slow and run down. In this way, symptoms of hypothyroidism can resemble those of depression, and for some sufferers, even include depression.
Look out for the following symptoms:

• Fatigue
• Digestive sluggishness
• Poor concentration
• Depression
• Weight gain
• Muscle aches, tenderness and stiffness
• Slowed heart rate
• Impaired memory

Helpful tip: Because of the similarity in symptoms between depression and hypothyroidism, it can be worthwhile to be screened for thyroid irregularities before treating depression.

Poor diet

It’s well known that poor eating habits can negatively affect energy levels, weight and proper bodily function. So it should come as no surprise that a poor diet can cause feelings that seem like depression. Research has shown that a traditional diet, in the sense of whole foods, lowers the chance of major depression and anxiety disorders, compared to a diet high in refined and processed foods and products containing a lot of sugar.

Helpful tip: Foods such as turkey, chicken, tuna, pumpkin seeds, almonds and some soy products are rich in tyrosine, an amino acid that boosts ‘happy’ neurotransmitters in the body, improving concentration, alertness and overall mood.

The Body’s Response to Stress

While short-term stress can be somewhat normal for the body, longer-term and untreated stress can be detrimental to a sense of wellbeing. Stress is known to increase inflammation in the body, which will manifest in the body as illness, discomfort or disease, all of which can be catalysts to depression. Stress is a massive problem in today’s society and can be seen as the underlying cause of many ailments.

Helpful tip: Acknowledge the sources of stress in your life, and try to rectify or at least manage them. Left untreated, stress can burden you with unwanted problems that can become more difficult to treat later on.

Viewing the Body as a Whole

Since everyone is unique, it’s important to be able to tap into your body’s instinctual signals and try to feel what could be causing a low mood. It’s always a good idea to look at your body as a complete and whole functioning organism, where a symptom won’t occur without a cause. Often conditions and symptoms will go hand in hand. It can be hard to say which symptom developed first when depression is the result.

The conditions mentioned in this article are just a few things that can contribute to a low mood. By systematically eliminating one potential cause at a time, you may see a natural symptomatic relief in your feelings of depression.

Have you ever had the feelings of depression, only to find out it was something else? If you want to share your experience with other readers, please comment in the comment section below, and like, pin or regram this article.

Photo: Flickr@Helga Weber