Depression Quiz: Am I Depressed Quiz

This, Am I Depressed? quiz can suggest the presence of depression. Take this online depression quiz to see if you likely have depression.

This depression quiz can help identify the presence of depression symptoms.

Depression is a common mental illness that millions of Americans face every day. Depression is characterized by a low, or depressed, mood that negatively impacts day-to-day life. Depression is a treatable illness, however, if the illness is recognized and depression treatment is sought.

Depression Quiz Instructions

For this "Am I Depressed?" quiz consider how you have felt and acted for the last two weeks. Ask yourself each depression quiz question and answer with a "yes" or a "no." Check the depression quiz scoring section below to see if you might have depression.

  1. Do I spend most of my day sad or experience frequent crying spells?
  2. Do I find pleasure in enjoyed activities?
  3. Has my weight or appetite changed?
  4. Have I been able to sleep properly? Do I feel rested?
  5. Do I feel restless or agitated? Do I feel slowed down?
  6. Do I have my normal amount of energy?
  7. Do I feel like I have value? Do I have self-esteem?
  8. Do I find it difficult to focus or make decisions?
  9. Do I constantly think of death or suicide?
  10. Do I feel loved and cared for by others?
  11. Am I greatly concerned about these feelings? Do these feelings affect my ability to function?

Depression Quiz Scoring

For each of the following depression quiz answers, give yourself one point:

  1. Yes
  2. No
  3. Yes
  4. No
  5. Yes
  6. No
  7. No
  8. Yes
  9. Yes
  10. No
  11. Yes

If you scored more than five on this quiz, you may have depression. However, only a healthcare professional can diagnose you with depression. If you think you may have depression or another mental illness, print out and take your depression quiz results and discuss them with a qualified professional.

See also:

APA Reference
Tracy, N. (2021, December 30). Depression Quiz: Am I Depressed Quiz, HealthyPlace. Retrieved on 2025, May 1 from https://www.healthyplace.com/depression/depression-information/depression-quiz-am-i-depressed-quiz

Last Updated: January 9, 2022

Depression Information Articles

1 Whatisdepression

Depression Articles Table of Contents

Depression Information

Symptoms of Depression

Causes of Depression

Effects of Depression

Types of Depression

Atypical Depression:

Dysthymia:

Major Depression:

Postpartum Depression:

PMMD:

Seasonal Affective Disorder:

Bipolar Depression or Unipolar Depression?

Anxiety and Depression

Depression in Children

Depression in Men

Depression in Women

Depression and Relationships

Treatment of Depression

Ketamine for Depression Treatment

Depression Treatment Stories

Articles on Antidepressants Medications

Switching Antidepressants

Electroconvulsive Therapy (ECT)

Alternative Treatment for Depression

Severe Depression Treatment (Hard to Treat Depression)

Gold Standard for Treating Depression Articles

A special HealthyPlace.com depression treatment section by award-winning mental health author, Julie Fast.

Depression Treatment Video Interviews

Depression Self-Help

Food and Depression

Depression Support

Depression Blogs

Related Depression Information

APA Reference
Tracy, N. (2021, December 30). Depression Information Articles, HealthyPlace. Retrieved on 2025, May 1 from https://www.healthyplace.com/depression/depression-information/depression-information-articles

Last Updated: January 12, 2022

What Does It Mean to Be Emotionally Healthy?

Get the definition of emotionally healthy and characteristics of an emotionally healthy person. Discover the difference between good and poor emotional health on HealthyPlace.

To be emotionally healthy is to actively and intentionally create a positive, balanced experience in your life as well as within yourself. Being emotionally healthy does not mean always feeling happy, and it does not mean never having bad things happen. Being emotionally healthy also doesn’t mean ignoring negative situations and feelings; instead, emotional wellness is to be aware of all of your emotions, accept the good and the bad, and maintain a positive outlook despite life’s ups and downs and twists and turns.

To best conceptualize an emotionally healthy definition, it’s helpful to envision what positive emotional health and poor emotional health are like for people.

Imagine a person named Sam. Sam can be male or female or gender neutral and be any age (for consistency, we’ll use “he.”) Sam’s romantic relationship of nearly 10 years just ended. He also was recently informed by his boss that to keep his job, he must transfer to a different location across the country. Sam doesn’t want to move, but the job prospects in his area are slim.

In part, Sam’s reaction to this adversity will impact his emotional health. However, his emotional health will play a part in how he responds to these challenges. Let’s take a look at an emotionally health Sam and a Sam with poor emotional health.

Characteristics of Emotionally Healthy People

Emotionally healthy people possess certain characteristics or traits that help them keep moving forward despite even the biggest bumps in the road of life. Because Sam is emotionally healthy, he will likely

  • Feel sad, maybe devastated, about the end of his intimate relationship and let himself feel bad
  • Feel angry or anxious about his job situation, acknowledge those feelings, and know they’re appropriate for the situation

Emotionally healthy people let themselves experience feelings because they know that to be human means to have a wide range of emotions. They don’t wallow in their feelings or let their feelings determine what they do or don’t do. Sam lets himself have emotions, but he does not let those emotions have control over him.

Emotionally healthy people accept their emotions rather than denying or fighting them. If the feelings come from making a mistake, they accept that, learn from it, and move on.

People with a high degree of emotional health engage in emotional wellness activities and choose to:

  • Remain optimistic even during setbacks
  • Focus on what is right rather than what is wrong
  • Seek realistic things for which to be grateful
  • Develop goals and plans so they can stay on track when things try to derail them (Sam knows his work and financial values and goals and will use these to guide him in his career decision)
  • Reach out for support when needed
  • Have a healthy self-concept and avoid both arrogance and inappropriate self-blame
  • Take responsibility for their actions rather than blaming others for all problems
  • Have a wide range of coping skills for handling stress and other problems
  • Actively engage in relaxing activities

To be emotionally healthy means to know that you exist separately from the things that happen to you.

Symptoms of Poor Emotional Health

When people have poor emotional health, they become trapped in the negative aspects of life. Without support or coping skills, people can have a hard time dealing with problems.

Poor emotional health affects both mind and body, the whole person. If Sam’s emotional health were poor, he might

  • Obsess over his problems
  • Discount the positive and ignore all the good that still exists, including his goals and values
  • Feel as though he is alone and unable to get support
  • Catastrophize, blowing everything out of proportion and imagining the absolute worst possible outcomes
  • Feel self-hatred and blame
  • Fear the changes that lie ahead
  • Experience aches and pains throughout his body
  • Have frequent headaches, lightheadedness
  • Experience digestive problems and weight loss or gain
  • Be fatigued

The emotionally healthy Sam and the Sam with poor emotional health face the same life circumstances. Emotional health doesn’t affect what happens to people, but it very much affects how people respond.

The wonderful thing about emotional health is that it is a skill. It can be learned and cultivated by anyone at any point in his or her life. Emotional health isn’t about your external circumstances. It’s about thoughts, emotions, and behaviors that originate within you.

People, with what seems like the best lives and conditions, can have poor emotional health. Likewise, people living with extreme adversity can be emotionally healthy. To be emotionally healthy means to evaluate your life and circumstances, create goals (including goals for emotional wellness), take action steps, and keep moving forward no matter what.

article references

APA Reference
Peterson, T. (2021, December 30). What Does It Mean to Be Emotionally Healthy? , HealthyPlace. Retrieved on 2025, May 1 from https://www.healthyplace.com/self-help/self-help-information/what-does-it-mean-be-emotionally-healthy

Last Updated: March 25, 2022

Brain Fog Treatment: Is There a Brain Fog Fix or Cure?

Brain fog treatment is possible. There is a brain fog fix that will help you return to your usual functioning. Learn about it on HealthyPlace.

Brain fog treatment involves taking care of it at its source: the exhausted brain itself. Because brain fog is a symptom or an effect of such things as anxiety, depression, stress, and certain medical conditions, it’s not conceptualized as a condition in its own right that has a cure. It can, however, be reduced and overcome. There is brain fog treatment, and there is a brain fog fix if not a technical cure. If you’re wondering how you fix brain fog, read on.

Brain Fog Treatment Involves 3 Key Things

When the brain is fatigued, it can’t function well. The symptoms of brain fog are unpleasant and confusing. Thinking clearly and rationally becomes difficult. Focusing and concentrating are seemingly impossible. It can feel like you’re surrounded by something like fog, and it’s separating you from the world just enough to make everything muddled.

Thankfully, brain fog isn’t a permanent condition. Treatment of brain fog involves brain care and self-care. A brain fog cure or fix involves three key things:

When your brain is foggy, it’s asking you for help. Give it a break. Effective brain fog treatment involves choosing actions in these 3 key areas to regain balance and reduce brain fog.

The following techniques help you accomplish these things and thus provide a brain fog cure. These techniques are great brain fog treatment because they allow your brain to rest, manage stress and anxiety, and keep your stress hormones at desirable levels.

Brain Fog Fix: Nourish Your Brain and Body

What helps brain fog is providing nutrients and hydration to your brain and body. What goes into our bodies matters a great deal. Eating unhealthy foods like refined sugars, overly processed bread and pasta, processed junk foods, and fast food is harmful. The brain needs good quality fuel and stable blood sugar levels to operate optimally. Nourish yourself with fruits and vegetables, whole grains, nuts, seeds, omega-3 fatty acids, and lean meats. Proper nutrition is a potent brain fog treatment (Brain Fog Supplements, Vitamins, Remedies: Hoax or Real Deal?).

Other important ways to nourish your way to a brain fog fix include:

  • Stay hydrated by drinking lots of water (tip: always have a water bottle with you)
  • Provide your brain with oxygen by breathing slowly and deeply (tip: every hour, take a minute or so to pause and breathe, and get into the habit of breathing from your belly)

Brain Fog Fix: Get Moving

Movement increases blood flow to the brain which helps clear the mind of clutter, cloudy thinking, and negative thoughts. It also increases energy, something that is often lacking during bouts of brain fog.

The treatment of brain fog doesn’t require professional athleticism. Mild or moderate movement for less than 30 minutes a day is sufficient to blow away the fog. Daily exercise is great, but if you can’t do it daily, don’t throw in the towel. Do what you can when you can.

Some gentle yet effective exercises for helping brain fog:

  • Walking
  • Swimming
  • Yoga
  • Tai Chi
  • Gardening
  • Strength training (this isn’t the same as heavy weight lifting)

To get a double bonus in lifting brain fog, make sure you do something that you enjoy. Actively creating happiness is a potent brain fog fix.

A Restful Brain Fog Treatment: Pamper Your Brain

Your brain needs breaks, but it can’t rest on its own. Without your assistance, your brain will keep thinking and churning and overthinking and stressing. It will exhaust itself and will become unfocused and confused. It will be foggy.

Treatment of brain fog involves helping your brain slow down and take breaks. Three ways to do this are

  • Meditation
  • Mindfulness
  • Ritual

Meditation can take many forms (you don’t have to sit cross-legged on the floor chanting “om”). In some way, be still and block out as much external stimuli as you can. Dim lights, diminish sounds and minimize distractions. Breathe slowly and deeply. Don’t try to force your brain not to think. It’s a brain, and brains think. Just let the thoughts come and float away. Don’t dwell on them or fight with them.

Mindfulness is closely related to mediation. With mindfulness, you use your senses to bring your thoughts to the present moment. Pay attention on purpose to what’s around you without thinking hard about it or judging it. You gradually teach your brain to concentrate on what’s important: the present moment.

Ritual is doing something calming and meaningful regularly. Create a wake-up, wind-down, or other significant ritual. Having even a short ritual lets you clear your mind and focus your energy. Drink tea from a special mug, write in a gratitude journal, color, or take a mindful walk. A daily calming ritual is an excellent brain fog treatment.  

How do you cure brain fog? Treat your brain with lovingkindness. Rest, move, and nourish. And feel the fog lift.

article references

APA Reference
Peterson, T. (2021, December 30). Brain Fog Treatment: Is There a Brain Fog Fix or Cure?, HealthyPlace. Retrieved on 2025, May 1 from https://www.healthyplace.com/depression/symptoms/brain-fog-treatment-is-there-a-brain-fog-fix-or-cure

Last Updated: January 9, 2022

What are Depression Thoughts? How Do They Affect You?

Depression thoughts keep people stuck in depression. Learn the nature and types of depression thoughts and how they affect you on HealthyPlace.

Depression thoughts are the words and images in our head that dominate during depression. They are loud, obnoxious, negative, and hurtful. They’re one of the components of depression that wreak the most havoc on people living with depression.

Depressive disorders involve someone’s emotions, thoughts, physical body, and behaviors. Each of these elements is important and contributes to the experience of depression, just as each of them plays a role in overcoming the illness. Depression thoughts, however, are often considered to take the lead in depression’s charge against people.

Thoughts are considered by many in the mental health field to come before feelings, motivation, and actions (Marano, 2001). In depression, people commonly feel very low, beyond ordinary sadness, and often lack the energy necessary to work, care for self and family, and do various daily tasks. These depression symptoms are brain-based in multiple ways: Changes in the structure, balance, and electrical activity of the physical brain cause depression symptoms, and the onset of depression thoughts causes negative emotions and other symptoms of depression. The thoughts that are part of depression have a specific nature that makes them depressive.

Nature and Types of Depression Thoughts

Depression thoughts are negative and pessimistic. If they were fleeting, that wouldn’t be a problem. In depression, though, negativity dominates because depression involves what’s known as cognitive biases: the mind notices the negative so much that it stops noticing the positive. The senses home in on anything undesirable, filters out positive information, and puts its own negative twist on anything neutral. Negative and pessimistic thoughts arise and dominate thinking patterns and interpretations of situations. They also stick and people ruminate over them, thinking them repeatedly as they become further ingrained.

The negative thoughts of depression (and anxiety and other mental disorders) are often referred to as automatic negative thoughts, or ANTS. Types of problematic thoughts include:

  • Labeling (negative labels applied to yourself or others)
  • Jumping to conclusions or catastrophizing (assuming the worst possible outcome in a given situation)
  • Personalization (blaming yourself or others for something rather than looking at all possibilities)
  • “Should” statements (imposing rules on how things, including yourself, should be)
  • All-or-nothing or black-and-white thinking (thinking in extremes with no possibilities in between the extremes)
  • Mind-reading (assuming that you know what someone is thinking, and it’s never good)

Depression thoughts are often turned inward so that someone with depression thinks and believes harsh things about themselves. “I’m worthless,” “Everyone would be better off without me,” “I ruin everything, and “I don’t deserve to get better,” are just a few self-defeating depression thoughts that keep depression going strong.

Negative depression thoughts cause the despair and hopelessness that characterize depression. Unfortunately, many people aren’t aware of this cognitive bias that is coloring thoughts and feelings. Without awareness of the negativity bias, people believe their thoughts, reasoning that if they think something, it must be true. Without awareness, it’s also difficult to see that these pessimistic thoughts are what’s causing terrible feelings.

Understanding the depression’s cognitive bias and knowing different types of depression thoughts will help you change your thoughts and reduce depression.

Override Your Automatic Negative Thoughts

Depression thoughts are automatic. They creep in insidiously, and people are often unaware of how negative their thinking has become. Before they realize it, their thoughts become an ingrained habit.
This means that if you are experiencing depression thoughts, you’re not thinking this way on purpose.

It also means that, while you are thinking these thoughts, they’re not actually yours but instead are part of the illness. That’s significant because it means you can take control back and change your depression thoughts to realistic, positive thoughts.

The basic premise underlying changing thoughts is to increase your awareness of them, learn to catch yourself thinking depression thoughts, and then replace the negative, pessimistic ones with realistic positive, optimistic ones.

It’s possible to do this process on your own, but it can be helpful to work with a therapist, enlist the help of a support group, or use workbooks, journals, and other tools to eradicate depressive thoughts and take back your positive life.

article references

APA Reference
Peterson, T. (2021, December 30). What are Depression Thoughts? How Do They Affect You?, HealthyPlace. Retrieved on 2025, May 1 from https://www.healthyplace.com/depression/effects/what-are-depression-thoughts-how-do-they-affect-you

Last Updated: January 9, 2022

Symptoms of Brain Fog: What Does Brain Fog Feel Like?

symptoms-of-brain-fog-what-does-brain-fog-feel-like.jpg

Together, the symptoms of brain fog can be summarized with one word: trapped. Experiencing brain fog is like being trapped behind a dirty window, with roiling fog outside, and not really knowing why you’re just standing there staring through the dirty glass at gray, misty fog. Further, you don’t know what to do about it. Symptoms of brain fog aren’t debilitating or life-threatening, but they do inhibit your normal life functioning. Let’s explore brain fog symptoms and what brain fog feels like.

A List of the Symptoms of Brain Fog

The typical brain fog feeling is what gives the experience its name. It feels like you’re living in a thick fog that separates you from the rest of your life. You might feel that the fog surrounds you, is inside your head, or both. This foggy feeling leads to other symptoms of brain fog, including:

  • An inability to think clearly or grasp a thought
  • Confusion
  • Difficulty focusing, concentrating
  • Forgetfulness (walking into a room but not remembering why)
  • Short-term memory problems (not remembering what was said in conversations or what you ate for breakfast—or if you even ate breakfast)
  • Disorganization
  • Decreased productivity despite trying to accomplish something
  • Exhaustion
  • Lack of energy
  • Wandering attention
  • Problems communicating, like following what someone is saying or finding words to express something

If you study this list, you might notice that the brain fog feeling resembles other mental- and physical health conditions. Brain fog shares some symptoms with things like:

  • Depression
  • Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD)
  • Dissociation

How do you know if you’re experiencing brain fog or something else? Contrasting brain fog with each of these conditions will help you get to the bottom of your brain fog symptoms (Causes of Brain Fog: What are the Reasons for My Brain Fog?).

Symptoms of Brain Fog vs. Other Mental Health, Physical Health Experiences

Brain Fog and Depression

Both brain fog and depression involve fatigue, lethargy, decreased motivation, and difficulty forming thoughts (Depression and Slowed Thinking: Reduced Processing Speed).  An important thought helps you know if your brain fog is part of depression or something else: your sense of self-efficacy.

With depression, you believe that you can’t do certain tasks or meet particular goals. In brain fog that isn’t part of depression, you know that you can do more than you are doing. Depression says, “I’m worthless and incapable,” while brain fog says, “I’m competent and capable, but I don’t know how to be that way right now.”

Brain Fog and ADHD

Some defining symptoms of ADHD include difficulty concentrating, focusing, and paying attention. These symptoms are prominent in brain fog, too. Yet like with depression, there are differences.

The concentration, focusing, and disorganization problems of ADHD can occur because of an imbalance of dopamine levels in the brain. Brain fog is often caused by other conditions. This means that the concentration and other problems feel different, too.

When hyperactivity is involved in ADHD, someone with it will feel wired. Focusing, paying attention, and organization are challenging because the brain is too busy chasing sensory input it can’t shut out. Brain fog feels like everything around you is so enshrouded in wool that the brain can’t really find anything on which to focus. Straining to pay attention to something you can’t quite grasp is tiring, and the brain can’t quite do it.

Brain Fog and Dissociation

People with a dissociative disorder sometimes “separate” from their own minds as a defense mechanism. Dissociations cause gaps in memory. People might also experience depersonalization or derealization. Depersonalization is the sense that you somehow aren’t real, while derealization is the notion that the world around you isn’t quite real (Mental Fog, Stress and PTSD).

The memory problems and the sense that you or the world around you isn’t real are similar to some of the symptoms of brain fog. Gaps in memory, confusion, trouble grasping words or hanging onto a coherent thought are common to both dissociations and brain fog. With dissociations, however, the symptoms occur because the brain is doing something intentionally to protect the person (this does not mean that someone dissociates on purpose or is choosing to dissociate).                      

Experiencing the symptoms of brain fog makes you feel like you’re a giant boulder trying to roll yourself up a hill. You have a very hard time, not just because your limbs are heavy but because you can’t remember where you’re going and why you’re going there. You can’t think clearly to figure it out, and you can’t quite form the words you need to ask for help.

The symptoms of brain fog can make living moment-to-moment seem daunting. Brain fog isn’t a permanent condition. It’s an experience that comes and goes, and the symptoms of brain fog are treatable.

article references

APA Reference
Peterson, T. (2021, December 30). Symptoms of Brain Fog: What Does Brain Fog Feel Like?, HealthyPlace. Retrieved on 2025, May 1 from https://www.healthyplace.com/depression/symptoms/symptoms-of-brain-fog-what-does-brain-fog-feel-like

Last Updated: January 9, 2022

Adjustment Disorder in Children: Symptoms, Effects, Treatment

Adjustment disorder in children is possible. Read about the symptoms, causes, effects and treatment of adjustment disorder in children on HealthyPlace.com.

Like adults, children can experience stressors; therefore, adjustment disorder in children is a real diagnosis. Children are vulnerable to stressful life events just as adults are. Additionally, because they’re human, kids progress through developmental transitions that can create significant stress to lead to adjustment disorder. Among the stressors and developmental transitions that cause adjustment disorder in kids:

  • School-related problems
  • Social/relational problems
  • Parental divorce or rejection
  • Chronic physical illness
  • Starting school/middle school/high school
  • Substance use

Symptoms of Adjustment Disorder in Children

Adjustment disorder in children is caused by stressful life events and/or rocky developmental transitions. Kids experience symptoms of adjustment disorder that signal to adults that they need some help coping.

Symptoms of adjustment disorder in children can relate to mood, behavior, or both and can include:

  • Low mood, listlessness
  • Withdrawal
  • Crying spells
  • Excessive worry or fear
  • Irritability, bursts of anger
  • Tantrums
  • Absenteeism from school/school refusal
  • Poor school performance
  • Separation anxiety

Effects of Adjustment Disorder in Children

Symptoms of adjustment disorder in children can have a significant impact on their functioning. Indeed, adjustment disorder can have negative effects in all areas of their lives.

Children’s behavior in response to stressors can be classified as externalizing or internalizing behaviors. Externalizing behaviors are directed outward toward others. Anger, fighting, tantrums, and bullying are some of the ways the symptoms of adjustment disorder in children affect their lives.

Internalizing behaviors are symptoms that are directed inward into the child. Isolation and withdrawal, lack of self-esteem, anxiety, worry, and fear are some of the inner effects adjustment disorder has on children and adolescents.

The effects of adjustment disorder can have a significant negative impact on social adjustment. Adjustment disorder can interfere in kids’ and teens’ desire and ability to form meaningful peer relationships. Social belonging is a crucial part of healthy development, and adjustment disorder can interfere with it.

Adjustment disorder in children can become a vicious circle of stressors, symptoms, and effects that all fuel each other, keeping kids stuck. While the circle can be hard to break, treatment is very possible.

Treatment of Adjustment Disorder in Children

Life stressors and/or developmental transitions can cause adjustment disorder in children and teens, and the symptoms and effects can make life miserable. This, however, is temporary. Children of all ages have the capacity to conquer adjustment disorder.

The most effective approach to helping children adjust to their stressors and overcome adjustment disorder is to help them build and strengthen coping skills. With rare exceptions, medication typically isn’t used to treat adjustment disorder in children.

Therapists trained in working with children and adolescents can be a big help in treating adjustment disorders. Play therapists specialize in helping kids overcome problems through special play techniques. Many schools have counselors that can help kids cope and adjust. Group therapy is effective in treating adjustment disorders in children. Parents and caregivers, too, can build up positive skills in kids.

A sampling of positive ways children cope with stressors:

  • Distraction, redirecting focus and attention
  • Fantasy/pretend play
  • Physical activity
  • Positive self-statements
  • Emotional regulation
  • Addressing symptoms of anxiety and depression
  • Building social support networks and positive relationships with adults
  • Increasing social skills
  • Participating in social activities

Kids are people, too, and as such they’re sometimes vulnerable to stressors. Adjustment disorder in children causes life-disrupting symptoms and effects, but this disorder is highly treatable and thus temporary. Kids and teens can learn to cope and adjust. A healthy level of functioning is in reach, and adjustment disorder becomes a thing of the past for these children.

article references

APA Reference
Peterson, T. (2021, December 30). Adjustment Disorder in Children: Symptoms, Effects, Treatment, HealthyPlace. Retrieved on 2025, May 1 from https://www.healthyplace.com/ptsd-and-stress-disorders/adjustment-disorder/adjustment-disorder-in-children-symptoms-effects-treatment

Last Updated: February 1, 2022

Foods that Cause Depression: Worst Foods for Depression

Foods can cause depression or contribute to it, and they can make depression symptoms worse. Learn which foods are the worst foods for depression on HealthyPlace.

Do some foods cause depression? Evidence shows a strong link between diet and depression, and it points to the worst foods for depression. Researchers are studying how food affects the brain, mental health, and specific conditions like depression. Could there be a link between diet and depression? Are there actually foods that help depression or worsen it? The findings are astounding, if not surprising. What we put into our body has a direct and profound effect on the brain, mental illness, and mental health.

Food varies widely in quality, ingredients, and nutrition. The stuff we eat is what powers the brain and helps it work for our mental health and wellbeing. It can’t function properly if the food we put into our system is neutral at best, harmful at worst.

Depression is complex and has multiple possible causes: neurochemical imbalances, genetics, lifestyle, and diet are all contributing factors. Diet also plays an important part in the severity of depression symptoms as well as the duration of the illness. With this in mind, let’s take a look at foods that cause depression (or at least contribute to it).

Categories of Foods That May Cause Depression

Which foods might cause depression? As nutritionists and neurologists study diet and depression, patterns have emerged. There are distinct foods types that are connected to depression and depression symptoms. When shaping your diet for depression, these are foods to avoid:

  • Saturated and trans fats
  • Simple carbohydrates (refined sugars)
  • Heavily processed foods

Sugary foods, in particular, are especially bad for depression, contributing to its onset, worsening the symptoms, and prolonging someone’s struggle with it. Carbohydrates, both complex and simple, increase serotonin levels. That’s a very good thing for depression because depression involves serotonin levels that are too low. This is why complex carbs like whole grains are good for depression (learn how low carb diets affect depression).

Simple carbohydrates like refined sugars top the list of foods that are bad for depression. Foods like sweets and processed cereals do cause serotonin levels to spike. However, these simple sugars lack substance and nutrients, so they burn up quickly—too quickly to cause lasting benefits of the short-lived serotonin increase. The brain and body experience an abrupt crash, leaving you tired and feeling down. Your symptoms of depression can feel worse following a sugary snack.  The more sugary foods you eat (and drink), the more your blood sugar yo-yos, and the brain suffers.

“You can probably make no single change to your diet that will be as good for your health and well-being as cutting down on sugar.” Scott C. Anderson, The Psychobiotic Revolution

Sugars are foods that cause depression as well as worsen and prolong it. This includes sugar substitutes as well. “Light” foods are actually an unhealthy choice for the brain. Aspartame, in particular, is an artificial sweetener implicated in depression. As the body breaks it down, aspartame’s molecules decrease serotonin levels that are already low in people with depression.

Saturated fats, trans fats (partially hydrogenated oils), and omega-6 fatty acids (polyunsaturated, cheap oils are a major source), are damaging. They have been shown in studies to contribute to depression and even violent behavior (an issue separate from major depression). Consuming these fats increases fatigue and sluggishness, thus worsening these depression symptoms.

The Worst Beverages for Depression

So often when people think of nutrition, they think food. Beverages tend to be dismissed as things that can help or harm our physical and mental health. However, just because they’re liquid doesn’t mean they don’t affect us. These beverages have been shown to contribute to or worsen depression:

  • Fruit juice (it’s a simple sugar)
  • Soda (also a simple sugar, plus studies link it directly to depression)
  • Alcohol (in excess, it can disrupt sleep, reduce serotonin levels, and negatively impact medication)
  • Coffee (this one’s a maybe—for some, it interferes in sleep, while for others it provides energy and mood boosts. If you can drink coffee, avoid the sugary coffee drinks and coffee sweeteners.)

Examples of the Worst Foods for Depression

You’ve seen the categories of foods that may cause depression or worsen the symptoms. For a convenient go-to reference list, here’s a list of some of the worst foods for depression.

  • Processed meats
  • Fried foods
  • Refined cereals
  • Chocolate and other candy
  • Sweet desserts
  • Cookies
  • Doughnuts
  • High-fat dairy products
  • Anything made with white flour (including bread, baked goods, pancakes, etc.)
  • Crackers and other snack food made with partially hydrogenated oils
  • Regular ketchup (it has a significant amount of added sugar or artificial sweeteners)

Unfortunately, when creating a diet containing foods that fight depression, the foods to avoid are the ones that are delicious and many of us are accustomed to eating. When you think about the bigger picture, it might become easier to avoid these foods that are harming brain and body and causing or worsening depression. When you replace them with healthier choices, you are also on your way to replacing depression with energy, motivation, positive emotions, and general mental health and wellbeing. You’re not just avoiding foods; you’re creating a depression-free life.

article references

APA Reference
Peterson, T. (2021, December 30). Foods that Cause Depression: Worst Foods for Depression, HealthyPlace. Retrieved on 2025, May 1 from https://www.healthyplace.com/depression/food-and-depression/foods-that-cause-depression-worst-foods-for-depression

Last Updated: March 25, 2022

15 Funny Depression Memes People with Depression Can Relate To

Depression memes can be funny and surprisingly accurate! Find some funny and relatable memes about depression on HealthyPlace.

Depression memes are becoming popular as people learn more about what it’s like to suffer from depression. With the growing awareness, some are even more comfortable talking about their depression. Not only that, they’re finding fun ways to express what it’s like to suffer from depression. Funny depression memes have become increasingly popular over the last few years and are surprisingly accurate portrayals about what it is like to suffer from depression.

Depression Memes

We’ve put together 15 depression memes. Some of them are funny depression memes in that they bring humor to a very serious mental health condition. See if you can relate to these memes about depression.
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Most people who suffer from depression go through a period of time in which they the need to convince others that they are not depressed. Acting like everything is fine (putting on a fake smile) takes its toll, but it’s something that is common for those who suffer from depression.

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This depression meme depicts the extraordinary amount of pressure on people to have everything in life figured out. The reality is that at any stage in life, a person can feel lost. Those feelings of not having a direction or ambition can cause a great deal of anxiety, which often leads to depression.

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When one is depressed, they feel very vulnerable. Depression causes plenty of scary feelings and because of that vulnerability, it can feel safest to cut yourself off from the world.

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While people mean well, without proper understanding and empathy it can be easy to give misguided advice to a person who is depressed. This depression meme speaks to that. One of the lies about depression is that if you just do things that make you happy, then you won’t be depressed. Major depression is not just sadness, and there is no quick fix. It’s a mental illness. Being patient, empathic and understanding of a person’s depression does more for a depressed person than just trying to make him or her happy.

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 Depression can sneak up on you at any time. Even when everything is going well in life and there are many reasons to feel content and happy, depression can rear its ugly head. That’s because major depression is a psychiatric condition that has nothing to do with how much money you have or how many parties you’re invited to.

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Animals can be incredible companions and emotional support for people with depression. Though not for everyone, having an animal that provides support and comfort can be very advantageous for someone who is suffering from depression. Just keep in mind that animals are also a huge responsibility, as you are responsible for the animal’s physical and mental health as well.

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If you have major depression, here’s a crippling depression meme I’m sure you’ll understand. People with depression rarely show how they feel. Someone may look fine on the outside but is hurting and suffering on the inside.

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When feeling depressed, it’s not uncommon for a person to isolate themselves from the world and from the people who love them. It can be hard to believe that others want to be there for them, even if they intellectually know there are people who care deeply for them and want them to be well.

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Like the tree in this depression meme, people who suffer from depression often feel empty inside. This can result from feeling numb, expendable, unseen, unheard or unvalued.

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This is not a funny depression meme. Depression is painful, especially for children and teens who do not understand what they are going through. In this pain can come a strong desire to die or disappear; to not have to deal with life or living.

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Part of the stigma of depression is people with depression are sometimes depicted as being lazy and weak. While depression is a debilitating illness, even people who live with it sometimes question themselves: “Is it the depression or am I just plain lazy?”

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This funny depression meme may bring a knowing smile to your face because you understand that insomnia, hypersomnia and sleep issues are common symptoms of depression. Depression causes chronic fatigue, so no matter how much you sleep, you’re still exhausted during the day.

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 People with depression struggle to manage stress and anxiety. It’s hard to relax and to feel comfortable. The depressed mind always finds a way to cause inner turmoil.

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Does this depression meme strike a chord with you? Depression has a way of generating the worst negative thoughts about ourselves. Our minds focus on the negative and it takes a toll on us. Negative thoughts lead to negative feelings, which increases the intensity of depression symptoms. Habitual negative thoughts can turn to obsessive negative thoughts if not properly challenged and managed.

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This final meme about depression addresses anger as a symptom of depression. Depressed feelings can often be masked by other emotions, like anger. Sometimes anger outbursts are manifestations of deeper feelings of depression.

APA Reference
Guarino, G. (2021, December 30). 15 Funny Depression Memes People with Depression Can Relate To, HealthyPlace. Retrieved on 2025, May 1 from https://www.healthyplace.com/depression/effects/15-funny-depression-memes-people-with-depression-can-relate-to

Last Updated: January 9, 2022

Depression and Indecision: Trouble Making Decisions

 

Little is known about what causes depression and indecision (one of the cognitive symptoms of depression) but it is known that people have trouble making decisions when they are depressed. In fact, chronic indecisiveness is so common that it is considered diagnostically important and is mentioned in the latest version of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5) – the book in which mental illnesses, like depression, are defined. People with depression both avoid decision-making and tend to be slower when making decisions.


Chronic Indecisiveness Affects Everyday Life

While you may not be aware of it, you make hundreds of little decisions every day such as:

  • When do I get out of bed?
  • What do I wear today?
  • What should I eat for breakfast?
  • Should I take a shower today?
  • How should I comb my hair?
  • Should I take an umbrella with me?
  • Which route should I drive to work?
  • And many, many more

Most people make these decisions without thinking about it but a person with depression may have trouble making even the smallest of these decisions. Decisions weigh on people with depression to the point where they often feel incapable of making them. This can freeze a person and lock them in a state where they don't even get out of bed for fear of making the wrong choices. (More on how cognitive deficits affect people with depression)

Depression and indecision usually go hand-in-hand. Making decisions when depressed is especially challenging.  Learn about depression and indecisiveness.

Why Are People with Depression Indecisive?

One reason people with depression may be indecisive is that they lack motivation. Motivation is impaired in depression and without it, the rewards of making a decision are reduced. This may account for the slowness in decision-making as well.

Impaired decision-making in depression is thought to be a physical problem. One study has linked gray matter loss in the medial and ventral prefrontal cortex areas of the brain to reduced motivation and impaired decision-making ability. This gray matter loss is seen in people with depression.

Finally, people with depression also often exhibit a high degree of anxiety (and, in many cases, comorbid anxiety disorders) and this anxiety may also make it difficult to make decisions.

What Can Be Done About Depression and Indecision?

It's hard to combat depression and indecision but one way to do it is to break the choices down into smaller parts. For example, instead of simply being overwhelmed by trying to decide what groceries to buy, one could break that choice down and ask:

  • How would you start that task? (Getting a pencil and paper.)
  • What is the next step in that task? (Checking the cupboards to see what I've run out of.)
  • And so on

Another way to fight indecision is through therapy; like cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) for depression. Therapy can help you analyze choices and help you see the possible outcomes so you make the best choice for you.

You can also work to eliminate some of the choices that you find difficult. For example, you could eat the same breakfast every day or judge you route to work based on the traffic patterns reported on the news. These decisions become much easier to make because you've formed a decision-making pattern for yourself.

Finally, making decisions takes practice and it takes positive self-talk. Instead of worrying obsessively about wearing the "right" clothes to work, try to remember that nothing bad will happen if your clothes aren't perfect. You need to realize that most choices have no "right" answer and that any answer (often your gut reaction) will work out fine.

When you start to make small decisions in this way, you will find that your confidence grows in making decisions and the more difficult decisions are easier to tackle.

article references

APA Reference
Tracy, N. (2021, December 30). Depression and Indecision: Trouble Making Decisions, HealthyPlace. Retrieved on 2025, May 1 from https://www.healthyplace.com/depression/symptoms/depression-and-indecision-trouble-making-decisions

Last Updated: January 9, 2022