Here's the top 5 signs that you may be depressed...

• Weight Gain/Loss 
  • Depression can cause you to reach more frequently for comforting foods, or it can cause a lack of appetite.  The key to recognizing this sign is if there’s a change in your eating habits or desire for food. *Why can’t I stop eating, I’m not even hungry but I keep nomming all the food! *I never feel hungry anymore, when I eat my favorite foods I don’t really taste them.
• Anger or Irritability
  • Frustration is a major contributor to depression.  When coping with what seems like never ending amounts of frustration, many people respond with anger.  If little things begin to set off your fuse, then you may be depressed. *I feel sorry for the next person who calls/rings the doorbell because I feel like I’m about to snap.
  • Turning on your friends and family is a big warning.  The people closest to us are the ones most likely to witness outbursts of anger or they become the target of our anger.  Not good. *Do you hear, “Are you okay?” a lot? If so, you might want to take a minute to see what is happening in your mind/body.
• Emotional Distancing from Others
  • Again- You always hurt the ones you love.  Depression will cause us to push our loved ones away because there is a stigma involved with feeling depressed.  We are often ashamed and are afraid to seek help from the people that would be most open to aiding us. *Also suddenly being resentful of what you do for people you love. Why do I ALWAYS have to (fill in the blank)? Remember being a hormonal teenager? Yeah, sometimes depression feels just like that.
• Problems Sleeping
  • Do you frequently wake up in the middle of the night?  Like the way depression can alter your appetite, it wreaks havoc on your sleeping habits.  Some people will oversleep, and not wish to get out of bed.  Other people will sleep less- depriving themselves of sleep. *Side note: Problems sleeping can CAUSE depression. Taking forever to get to sleep, waking up often during the night, waking up super early and having trouble getting back to sleep…sleep is important in regulating our mood!
• Problems Concentrating at Work
  • If you haven’t had any sleep, how can you expect to get any work done?  Depression will rob you of your ability to concentrate on difficult tasks, and will make you seem less effective in the work place.  Many of us are good at masking this symptom, but you can’t hide it from yourself.
  • If you’re physically at work, but you don’t feel like you’re at work and you can’t get anything done, then you may be suffering from depression.
• Self-Loathing, Lack of Sex Drive, Drug or Alcohol Abuse, Aches and Pains, and Irritable Bowels
  • There.  That’s 10 signs in total for the price of 5 (not really, there’s no charge).  I bet you weren’t expecting such a bargain?