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major depressive disorder

Mental Health

The fascinating reasons why anger and irritability may be disguising your depression

Sometimes anger is hiding something bigger than a fleeting emotion.

Therapy in a Nutshell|YouTube

How anger and irritability can disguise depression

Anger is such a weird emotion and it's totally not anger's fault. It's just existing for valid reasons but shows up when we feel like it shouldn't. The thing with anger is that in many cases it acts as a coat for an underlying emotion hiding that for some reason or another isn't ready to be revealed.

But sometimes anger is hiding something bigger than a fleeting emotion. Emma McAdam, Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist and host of the YouTube channel, Therapy in a Nutshell, posted a video explaining how anger and irritability can actually be a symptom of depression.

The video really breaks down how the media portrays depression versus some of the lesser known symptoms of depression. When people think of depression, they often imagine someone that's extremely sad all the time and struggling to do basic skills. But depression can show up hidden behind other symptoms like irritability, insomnia, loss of appetite, and lack of focus.

"Depression isn't just feeling sad. It's a whole body experience that can impact every aspect of your life," McAdam says.

The therapist points to research that shows that rage or anger is reported by 30% to 40% of people as part of their depressive symptoms. With one researcher even going as far as calling the anger people feel with their depression as anger attacks. One of the reasons McAdam lists for anger showing up in people with depression is externalization.

"Some people externalize these feelings, so instead of pointing their pain inward they project it outward onto other people and situations, McAdam reveals. "It can feel really comforting to blame others for your pain."

"So when depression shows up as anger or irritability, it's often because the person is grappling with these feelings of despair or worthlessness, and the way they manage these feelings is through hostility or aggression," she adds later.

Watch the video below to learn more:

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Health

Depression or bipolar disorder? A psychiatrist lists five signs it's likely not depression.

Bipolar disorder is more likely to present in the late teens, but signs are easy to miss.

Dr. Tracey Marks|YouTube

Psychiatrist lists 5 signs your depression is likely bipolar disorder.

It's not always easy to figure out what mental health condition you have, even after being diagnosed. Sometimes questions pop up after a diagnosis or new symptoms appear that may give you pause. One of the mental health conditions most questioned is bipolar disorder because it seems to contain a lot of symptoms that can overlap with other disorders, especially depression.

Bipolar disorder is characterized broadly by experiencing cycles of depression and mania. Depression symptoms can be so deep that it seems insurmountable and the mania symptoms can be so extreme that people impulsively take a cross-country trip without packing a thing. But since there's typically a much smaller swing between the two poles, some people may question if their depression is actually undiagnosed bipolar disorder.

Tracey Marks, an Atlanta-based psychiatrist, is helping people learn the difference between depression and bipolar disorder and how to tell if it's likely the latter.

In her video, Marks explains that one of the most common markers is that with bipolar disorder, your depression presents between ages 15 and 19, though you may not have a manic or hypomanic episode for years. This can cause people to be misdiagnosed with unipolar depression, otherwise known as major depressive disorder, for years before they're properly diagnosed with either bipolar 1 or bipolar 2.

"Whereas unipolar depression as we call it, where all you experience is depressive episodes, tends to occur or presents for the first time later in life," Marks says.

When depression is really bipolar disorder, anti-depressants don't work or can make things worse, according to Marks. She really helps to put things in layman's terms to break down what symptoms may actually point to bipolar disorder. You can watch the entire video below.

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mental health

Family

What it's like to live with depression, as told through 10 comic panels.

This comic highlights the complexities of living with depression.

Living with depression looks very different for different people.

But we should be talking about how depression feels and looks more often because, as national mental health groups report, major depressive disorder affects around 16 million adults in the U.S. per year.

For many people, depression changes daily interactions.

Handling everyday problems, interacting with friends and loved ones, and even working can be especially difficult for those who are struggling.

Most people don't talk about depression or ask for help either.

Experts estimated that 1 in 4 people have treatable mental or emotional challenges, but thanks to factors such as money, time, and stigma, up to 75 % of Americans and Europeans don’t seek the help that they need.

Minorities are particularly hesitant to find treatment for depression, with only 7.6% of African-Americans reported reaching out in 2011 compared to 13.6% of the general population.

That's why artists from Empathize This illustrated some real talk about the complexities of living with depression.

Through art, they're hoping to dismantle the stigma that surrounds it.