3 ms·
I finally realized I was depressed when I couldn't remember a time I wasn't angry. I didn't know that constant irritation and low-level anger are also depressio
by drhayes9 10y ago
I finally realized I was depressed when I couldn't remember a time I wasn't angry. I didn't know that constant irritation and low-level anger are also depression symptoms. I remembered trouble sleeping and no energy and sadness, but "anger" was new to me. When I started getting pissed at other drivers and couldn't be patient with my son, my wife said, "Are you okay?"
I wasn't. I was depressed. I started taking medication and I slowly got better. I still had a lot of the mental habits of depression ("How long has it been since I've showered?" and "Why aren't I telling my friends what I'm going through?") but I worked on those. And I asked for help, from everyone who loved me. And they helped a lot. Who knew! ( =
- da02 10y agoHow old was your son and what were the things that he did that made you impatient with him? He didn't want to do homework or chores?
- drhayes9 10y agoHe was three, and was mostly just being a toddler: he would get grumpy, get frustrated and yell when he couldn't do things, was making us tell him stuff dozens of times, over and over. My responses felt reasonable at the time. Why wouldn't I get angry at him when he yelled at me? Oh, right, he's a toddler and I'm an adult. I've been in the saddle with respect to my emotions for decades. This could, no fooling, only be the 200th time he's ever been truly angry. I'm the responsible one here. Realizing I lost sight of that perspective was what took me by surprise and scared me a little.