The Sleepy Struggle: How To Overcome Depression And Tiredness

The sleepy struggle: how to overcome depression and tiredness one moment at a time. “I’m tired of being depressed.”

That was my thought a few months ago. It took all my strength to get out of bed in the morning.

Once out of bed, I just wanted to crawl back in. I didn’t want to deal with whatever commotion the day had ahead. Therefore, I didn’t want to deal, period.

I was always tired and just wanted to sleep. I would stare out the window and watched life going on outside as if I didn’t exist. At that time, I wished I didn’t.

Depression and fatigue was ruining my life. So, the only way to improve my life was to fight those feelings. Day by day, things slowly started to improve.

I was becoming more like my old self. I’d wake up with a new view of the world, I was part of it again.

Why am I So Tired and Unmotivated?

The sleepy struggle: how to overcome depression and tiredness and become motivated again. At my deepest low, I was so tired and unmotivated.

I didn’t care about my life. It was going nowhere. And the world was going on without me.

How could they do that? Simply…if I didn’t care, so didn’t society. I couldn’t even bring myself to get out of bed each morning.

How did my life get to this point? Simply…I let it. I was wallowing in my own self pity that it consumed me in and out. Hence, I was throwing my own pity party, so to speak.

I hit rock bottom and the only way out was up. So I started fighting my own demons. They weren’t going to win this time. I also prayed a lot to God and I believe he heard me.

Causes of Fatigue and Depression

Psychological Factors

Chronic Stress: Ongoing stress from work, relationships, or financial issues can lead to burnout and fatigue.
Negative Thought Patterns: In the meantime, persistent negative thinking can contribute to feelings of hopelessness and fatigue.
Trauma: Past traumatic experiences can lead to depression and fatigue.

Lifestyle Factors

Poor Sleep Habits: Inadequate or disrupted sleep can exacerbate feelings of tiredness and depression.
Unhealthy Diet: In the same way, a diet lacking in essential nutrients can affect energy levels and mood.
Lack of Physical Activity: Sedentary lifestyles can lead to decreased energy and increased feelings of depression.

Medical Conditions

Chronic Illnesses: Whereas, conditions like diabetes, heart disease, or chronic fatigue syndrome can lead to fatigue and depressive symptoms.
Mental Health Disorders: Conditions such as anxiety disorders, bipolar disorder, or PTSD can also contribute to depression and fatigue.
Substance Abuse: Alcohol or drug use can lead to mood changes and fatigue.

Life Events

Major Life Changes: Events such as bereavement, divorce, job loss, or significant transitions can trigger depression and fatigue.
Isolation and Loneliness: Lack of social support or feelings of isolation can contribute to depressive symptoms.

Medications

Certain medications, including some antidepressants, antihistamines, and blood pressure medications, can have side effects that include fatigue.

Depression Fatigue Symptoms

The sleepy struggle: how to overcome depression and tiredness by knowing the symptoms.

In time, depression can cause fatigue, which is a feeling of exhaustion or tiredness that can make it difficult to live your life.

Some of the symptoms are:

Fatigue is a common symptom: In truth, fatigue is a prevalent symptom of depression, and is often associated with impaired concentration, irritability, and reduced productivity.
Fatigue can be hard to treat: Fatigue can be difficult to treat, and can remain even after treatment with antidepressants.
Depression can cause other physical symptoms: Not to mention, other physical symptoms of depression include:
- Poor sleep
- Loss of appetite
- Aches and pains
- Sluggish speech or movements
- Pain with no physical cause, such as back pain or headaches

Depression can also cause emotional symptoms, such as:

Feeling sad, empty, guilty, or worthless
Thinking about dying or suicide
Anxiety
Memory or concentration lapses
Crying spells
Weight loss

On the whole, depression can affect people differently, and a low mood can be a normal reaction to difficult times.

However, if you feel so tired that you don’t have energy for everyday tasks, even when you sleep or rest a lot, it may be a sign that you’re depressed.

Why do People Get Tired When They’re Depressed?

Mental Fatigue

Depression can cause mental fatigue, which can display physically as weakness. Mental fatigue is more strongly related to emotional overwhelm than physical fatigue.

Emotional overwhelm needs to be avoided at all cost. This can lead to a total meltdown which lands you in the mental hospital.

Even after remission, up to one-third of people with depression continue to experience fatigue. I still experience tiredness after coming out of the depression.

Sleep Disturbances

Of course, if you’re having trouble sleeping, that can cause tiredness. I was just the opposite, I could have slept 24/7.

But there are those who can’t sleep which, I believe is far worse. Even though I’m not depressed anymore, I still am having problems sleeping because of Parkinson’s.

Although, this past week has been good. You can’t force yourself to sleep because that causes restlessness.

This is what I did: I set my alarm to wake up at a certain time no matter what time I fell asleep. Soon, I started falling asleep earlier because I was exhausted from previous nights.

Escape

You just want to escape the way that you feel, depressed. And all the other symptoms that go along with it. You don’t want to be present in your life anymore.

Whatever part of your life is left I should say. If you’re in dream land, you don’t have to participate in your so-called life.

Escaping is not the best avenue because your life is going to be waiting for you when you wake up. It’s a dismal routine.

What Are the Three Levels of Depression?

The sleepy struggle: how to overcome depression and tiredness one day at a time.

Depression can be categorized as mild, moderate, or severe based on the number and severity of symptoms, and how much it impacts a person’s functioning.

Mild

Persistent Depressive Disorder (PDD)

Also known as dysthymia, this is a milder form of depression that lasts for at least two years.

Symptoms include: low self-esteem, poor appetite or overeating, poor concentration or difficulty making decisions, and feelings of hopelessness

Seasonal Affective Disorder

On the contrary, this type of depression comes and goes with the seasons, usually starting in late fall or early winter and ending in spring and summer.

Symptoms include: craving carbohydrates or sweets, or gaining weight, having difficulty concentrating, and withdrawing from social activities or relationships.

Moderate

Many medical conditions, such as hypothyroidism, heart disease, Parkinson’s disease, and cancer, can cause depression.

Premenstrual Dysphoric Disorder (PMDD)

This disorder causes mood symptoms like anxiety, depression, or extreme irritability along with premenstrual syndrome (PMS) symptoms.

Also, symptoms improve within a few days of the start of a period.

Severe

Major Depressive Disorder

Also known as clinical depression, this is the most severe and common type of depression.

Symptoms include persistent sadness, low self-worth, sleep problems, loss of interest in activities, and changes in appetite.

Depression With Psychosis

On the negative side, this severe form of depression involves psychosis symptoms like delusions or hallucinations.

Other symptoms include: thinking that others can hear your thoughts or are trying to harm you and inability to sit still or relax.

What Are the 4 D’s of Depression?

The sleepy struggle: how to overcome depression and tiredness by fighting the 4 D’s.

The four D’s are a way to remember the criteria for defining a psychological disorder, and they are:

Deviance: A deviation from accepted norms in a culture or society
Distress: Discomfort experienced by the person with the disorder
Dysfunction: An inability to perform normal daily functions due to maladaptive behavior
Danger: Assessing danger is important when conceptualizing a mental diagnosis

The four D’s may also refer to a psychological intervention for managing stress and improving well-being.

This intervention is called the 4Ds of Dealing With Distress, and it uses a rubric of distract, dilute, develop, and discover.

In time, the goal is to reduce distress and restore wellbeing by helping people act in ways that restore control over their experiences.

How to Fight Depression Fatigue

Depression Fatigue Medication

Of course, there’s always the good old pill.

There are a number of medications that can help with depression and fatigue, including:

Antidepressants: Some antidepressants that can help with fatigue include:
- Tricyclics: Amitriptyline (Elavil), desipramine (Norpramin), and notriptyline (Pamelor)
- Selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs): Citalopram (Celexa), escitalopram (Lexapro), fluoxetine (Prozac), paroxetine (Paxil), and sertraline (Zoloft)
Modafinil: Can be an effective treatment for patients who don’t respond well to antidepressants, especially those with residual fatigue
Thyroid hormones: Can help with depression and fatigue, especially in women
Melatonin: A hormone that regulates sleep cycles, and may help with depression, anxiety, and fatigue.

Give It All You’ve Got

I believe in fighting depression and tiredness with my mind. My will power. I know it’s hard to do when you feel like there is nothing to live for.

I get it, but you have to start somewhere and sometim putting your life back on track. Only you can make that pivitol move because there are going to be roadblocks.

Fighting depression and the fatigue was like fighting an invisible opponent. It wasn’t like you could physically fight someone.

So, I started with me. I needed to fix me. First, I started with pushing myself out of that bed, taking a shower, and getting dressed. My motivation started to improve.

I felt clean again in more ways than none. Next, the big part, learning to love myself again. If you don’t have that, you’re fighting a losing battle.

This does not happen overnight. It takes time and conditioning. You’re going to have obsticles thrown in your path. You can fight them or side step them.

But whatever happens, don’t give up. You’ll just fall back into that pit of depression and fatigue. I don’t want that!

Sum It All Up

The sleepy struggle: how to overcome depression and tiredness by giving all the strength you can muster.

“Nobody said life was easy!” I like that quote because it’s true. You have to fight for everything you want, including your sanity.

That can be taken away from you in a millisecond if you let it happen. For example, North Carolina. Most people’s posessions were swept away. Everything!

There lucky to be alive. Yet those that survived are alive for a reason. If your one of the few to be alive, then that is God’s plan for you. America endures.

You pick up the pieces and start over. I don’t disrespect the ones that didn’t make it (God bless them).

My message: when you hit rock bottom, start over. You haven’t lost one thing, your will to live. Keep fighting! Until next time…

Articles About Depression and Tiredness

-Why does depression make you feel tired?

https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/322264

-5 Reasons Depression Makes You Tired

https://saltlakebehavioralhealth.com/blog/5-reasons-depression-makes-you-tired/

-Fatigue and Depression: When Is Tiredness a Warning Sign?

https://share.upmc.com/2020/10/fatigue-and-depression

Have a Good One,

Cindee Murphy
“One Voice Who Is Tired Right Now”

“Perhaps you’ve been assigned this mountain to show others that it can be moved.”

“Small, baby steps each day add up to huge, giant leaps over time. So, please keep going. Do NOT give up.”

“On those really difficult days when it seems impossible to go on and you feel like giving up, just remind yourself that you’ve been there before and you’ve survived every time, so you can survive this time, too.”

“Perhaps the butterfly is proof that you can go through a great deal of darkness yet become something beautiful again.”

“Don’t let your struggle become your identity. After all, you are so much more than just your illness.”

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