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Depression: Not Just an Emotional Issue, It Wrecks the Way you think!
In spite of widespread awareness campaigns across the globe regarding various mental health issues, depression is yet not fully understood.
While many of us now do not shrug off depression as just needless self-pity or sadness. We often do not often grasp the complete impact of depression.
Right now, there are many people who are under the impression that depression makes you extremely sad, and ruins your emotional stability. These are just a part of the symptoms of depression.
Many people are not aware that depression impacts a person’s thinking ability. It impairs their cognitive functions and weakens their decision-making skills.
Does Depression Really Weaken a Person’s Ability to Think?
Depression often comes with a lot of negative thinking and unconstructive thought patterns. With a dip in self-esteem, mood swings, and a lack of interest in things we loved to do, this mental health condition can impact your thinking ability and your cognitive functions.
People who suffer from depression are often unable to make the right choices for their body or their health because their thinking ability becomes impaired at some point.
This is a lack of essential neurotransmitter production in the brain which inhibits their cognitive growth. Which can be especially damaging if the person is in their growing years.
It can weaken a person’s problem-solving skills, their ability to differentiate between the good and the harmful, and even their decision-making skills.
How to Recognize the Effects of Depression on a Person’s Cognitive Functions?
The symptoms of depression do not always appear the same, and different people face different issues. Hence the careful and consistent observation of behavior and thinking patterns can help doctors and even the people suffering from this condition to recognize the onset of the impairment of their cognitive functions.
If a person is especially good at a sport or a game but is not doing well due to their inability to time their movements or unable to calculate their moves without other reasons, then it can be a sign of cognitive change.
People who work can observe their working patterns, and see if they are making more slips and mistakes at work at tasks that they did impeccably in the past. It can be small things such as failing to mark things or not labeling documents well. If observed they can help in further understanding and dealing with depression in a better way.
Students going through depression often slip through their studies which can be observed in their grades.
Some people start making impulsive choices at work, or home or in their personal life when they are suffering from depression. This is because this mental health condition weakens their ability to differentiate between the pros and cons of their choices which results in choices made with poor judgment.
This can also be the reason that people suffering from depression make binge eat, engage in substance abuse, or make irrational financial decisions in their life.
In extreme cases, the damage done by depression to a person’s cognitive functions can exhibit itself in form of self-harm, or violence.
This makes it very important for people to recognize their symptoms early on and get help in dealing with depression.
How Can People Suffer from Depression Boost Their Cognitive Functions?
If you recognize the signs of depression or find that the mental health of your spouse or your child is declining, then encourage them to seek medical help.
It is a fact that there is no permanent cure for depression, but there are many different coping strategies that can be applies in daily life to enjoy a healthy and well-balance life along with depression.
Currently, medicines containing Modafinil such as Modalert and Modvigil are being prescribed for the treatment of depression. People have experienced tremendous relief from different symptoms of depression such as fatigue, and lack of motivation with the help of this medication.
The doses of Modafinil such as Modalert 200 also have cognitive-enhancing properties, this implies that they can boost a person’s decision-making skills and even strengthen their problem-solving abilities.
Similarly, Waklert, a medication containing the racemic compound of Modafinil, known as Armodafinil is also been used as a treatment for depression.
There are various other serotonin-boosting pills that can also help with the treatment of depression and helps in the prevention of the deterioration of a person’s cognitive functions.
Lifestyle Changes to Stay Sharp and Active While Dealing with Depression:
Activities such as yoga and walking are especially beneficial for boosting cognitive functions along with improving other symptoms of depressions. These activities promote the production of feel-good hormones and neurotransmitters in the body which makes a person feel better about themselves. This can reignite their interest in the activities they usually loved to do and even boost their overall health.
It is best to avoid high-intensity exercises if you are dealing with anxiety along with depressions as they can increase cortisol production in the body which can make the symptoms of anxiety worse.
Relaxing activities such as listening to music, meditation, mindfulness practices, drawing, coloring or journaling are certain activities to boost the production of grey matter in the brain which helps in making a person’s cognitive functions sharper and quicker.
Along with these changes, paying attention to your diet can also bring great results for boosting your problem-solving skills. There are certain foods that give energy in the instant but cause energy crashes later which can aggravate the symptoms of depression.
On the other hand, fresh fruits and vegetables can help steady energy flow in the body for longer hours which prevents sluggish thoughts. Getting adequate sleep is also imperative for people who want to avoid the negative effects of depression on their thinking. Sleep clears away the waste products from the brain and helps in enhanced cognitive functions; hence a person suffering from depressions should aim for 8-10 hours of sleep every day. It is best not to overdo your sleep as that too can increase mental fatigue and tiredness.