You may have an image of depression in your mind, especially if you have not personally experienced or witnessed depression before. However, there are plenty of times a person who has endured depression can have little “flare-ups” of symptoms. They may not look like depression to the untrained eye, but they certainly come from that same dark place.
I had such a flare-up today. Last night, I got my mind a little twirled up about my upcoming schedule and several responsibilities on my plate. I began to have a “how will I ever get this all done” loop going through my mind. While these aren’t earth-shattering issues, the biggest problem was that my thought loops stirred up a few anxious reactions in my body. I had a small recurring tingle in my tummy and too many repetitive worrisome thoughts going around. Before I knew it, I had a little insomnia brewing.
Sleep Disruption Triggers Irritability and Depression Symptoms For Some
What I have also learned in the last several years is that I am reacting more poorly to sleep disruption. When it gets off more than a couple of hours, I have the potential for a difficult day when I wake up. Not just that I’ll feel sort of tired, but the biggest problems is irritability.
Yes, that’s the depression tie-in for me. Irritability and anger is the more energetic flip-side of depression. I’m not saying I was about to fall headlong into a depression with one bad night of sleep. I am saying that for me to protect myself against future depression, I will need to watch my sleep carefully. The thoughts I have following sleep deprivation seem to come from the same frightful negative place as they did when I was depressed – a sense of lacking control.
Sleep and appetite changes represent the physical foundation of depression as a medical problem. Depression connects with your body through these symptoms, so it makes sense that they might also be disrupted when a depression symptom flare-up or emotional distress occurs.
Though I can’t always predict or prevent a night of bad sleep, I did have a discovery that I hope you will find useful. Come back tomorrow to check it out.
photo credit: Mickael Casol
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Naru at 10:02 am on
July 14th, 2010I guess this means I should stop staying up till 3am talking to friends on instant messaging?
Great post, Erika! It’s interesting that so many of us underestimate the importance of sleep. While I don’t suffer from clinical depression, I do notice that lack of sleep increases my anxiety (especially the physical symptoms like being jittery, dizzy, feeling hot).
I look forward to finding out about your discovery!
Matthew Landis at 10:10 pm on
July 14th, 2010Great writing. Are you bipolar?
However insomnia may be a sign of depression and not its cause.
The Biochemistry of Insomnia at:
http://www.hypoglycemia.asn.au/articles/insomnia.html
I love this article. I am currently posting a review of it to my web site. I think that the need for sleep is often overlooked. I also think that too much sleep may lead to irritability as well. That seems to be my experience with depression. Thank you for bringing this to light!
Last reviewed: 14 Jul 2010
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