Depression is something a lot of people in this world have to face. It is easily one of the most common mental disorders and is still widely misunderstood by most people.

For those who are unaware, depression is a serious mood disorder that can have some pretty severe symptoms in a lot of cases. It affects all aspects of a person’s life and is much more than them merely feeling down and out. This kind of thing comes in many forms and is in no way ‘one size fits all.’ Depression is different for everyone and no two cases are ever exactly the same.

We all have bad days or are forced to face rough times but in some situations, those bad days can be stemming from a more serious place all the while we are completely unaware. Below I am going to go over some signs that your hard times might not just be ‘hard times,’ being able to tell when there is something more behind these kinds of things can be the difference between getting help and being forced to suffer. You might think to yourself that you shouldn’t complain because others in this world are struggling more than you are but regardless of the struggles of others, your pain is valid and it should be addressed.

9 Signs Your ‘Bad Days’ Are Being Driven By Something More:

1. You feel things more intensely than most other people.

You feel as if there are a lot of emotions present within your own life. Other people do not seem to react to the things in their lives in the same ways that you do. You just seem to always get the worst of things regardless of how you’re facing the world or what is going on in your day to day life.

2. You struggle to get the right amount of sleep almost every single night.

When it comes to sleep you can never get things right. You are either getting way too much sleep or nowhere near enough. There is no good in-between and you tend to suffer for it. Insomnia and depression go hand in hand.

3. You’re not optimistic at all.

You are not the kind of person to look at the glass half-full at all. You’re always seeing the worst in everyone around you and assuming things you perhaps shouldn’t be. This holds you back in a lot of ways.

4. You feel as if you’re always running out of energy.

Fatigue and depression are something that tends to go together. You might sleep all day only to wake and find that you’re still tired. No matter how hard you try it’s like that sense of exhaustion just won’t go away.

5. There are more downs than ups.

You seem to face a lot more downs than you do ups. The good times are not currently outweighing the bad and you want something done about it. While becoming aware of the issue itself is not easy, it is a step in the right direction.

6. You’re somewhat irritable most of the time.

You seem to take your lack of understanding your own emotions out on other people. You lash out and are quite aggressive sometimes. This is a problem we see with many who are struggling with depression.

7. You feel like you have to force yourself to be happy.

You feel as if the people around you want to see you with a smile so you put a smile on no matter how you’re feeling. You refuse to address the things that are going on within and instead hide the emotions before you deep within. The more you do this the easier it will become for you to lose your sense of self.

8. These ‘bad days’ come from nowhere with no reason behind them.

You tend to feel as if you are having bad days for almost no reason at all. Nothing has happened and yet you feel like everything is falling apart. It’s like nothing can go right all the while there are no serious things going wrong.

9. Concentrating properly is quite the task for you.

You are unable to concentrate on the things you need to concentrate on. Even the smallest tasks take you forever and leave you feeling as if you’ve exhausted yourself. This should be seen as a serious red flag.