Question by Marie J: Could these be symptoms of depression? or anything else? Thanks for any help!!?
1. drastic change in sleep schedule (started during school, instead of going to sleep at 10:30/11:00, I went to bed no earlier than 1:30, and woke up at 5:45/6:00……every night)
2. strange eating habits. – would eat a lot one week, then have no appetite the next week, eating much less
3. weight loss/weight gain. I’m 5’4″ish…about a year ago, before all this stuff, I weighed about 110/112 or so. Since then, without sports/exercise/dieting, I’ve hit 102/103. My weight fluctuates a lot. In one week I can lose 2 or 3 pounds. It just goes back and forth now.
4. I often have trouble breathing…well…I feel like I can’t get a “full breath”
5. Sometimes I have trouble remembering things…like what I did just two days ago.
6. I have no interest in things that used to interest me (which makes me feel sad) …things just like doing things outside/swimming, etc…
7. Sometimes I’ll be sarcastic/have an attitude with my family, and then I feel really badly 🙁
8. I have uncontrollable/disturbing thoughts. I’ll think about a family member getting harmed or something, and then I just can’t stop.
9. Lately I’ve been feeling super irritable. The weirdest things just set me off. I keep it to myself because I know it’s irrational, but certain things drive me crazy.
10. Self-pity
11. Extreme sensitivity. example..During random movie previews, i’ll start tearing up and feel really sad.
12. Urges to cry. This rarely happens, but there have been times where I just break down. There’s usually a reason, but it still comes on pretty strong.
13. Constant stress. I’m always stressed about something…even if I don’t know what that something is. I don’t think I’ve had a stress free day in ages.
14. Extreme paranoia. I always feel like someone is watching me. I have to have all doors locked, my blinds are closed at night. When I walk into a restaurant, well…any public place…I feel like all eyes are on me and I feel really paranoid.
15. I don’t like going to sleep anymore :/ …I’ve been having a lot of trouble sleeping lately. I’ve tried tv, no tv, calming music, guided meditation…The other night it took me 4 hours to fall asleep. I was trying the guided meditation method, and during it, I started breathing really heavily/rapidly, then started freaking out…it felt like some kind of attack. It felt like suffocation? that’s how I’d describe it. I asked my mom, and she and several of her family members used to suffer from panic/anxiety attacks…
16. During school, my work ethic decreased immensely. I stopped studying, I started homework at 9, or the day it was due, just major procrastination. I just didn’t care at all. My grades were still B’s/A’s in AP/honors classes, but I definitely could have done better.
17. I have a low self-confidence. There are only a few things that I do in life that I feel confident about.
18. “Hopelessness” … I feel like I won’t get into the college I want to get into…I have no idea what career path I want to choose. I just feel like I’ll go nowhere =/
19. While I AM happy, I still feel like there is something missing. I constantly have this little feeling deep down that I’m not truly happy. I’ll have good days, I love my family, friends, boyfriend more than anything, but still…I feel this constant sense of loneliness. To sum it up, I just haven’t felt the same happiness in months that I used to feel.

Any ideas as to what all of these symptoms point to, if anything?
Thanks so much!!

*also, I have a serious lack of energy. randomly. I can sleep in, getting a full 9 hours of sleep or so, but within hours I’m exhausted, falling asleep, getting unexplained headaches..

Best answer:

Answer by smilez
Yes. It is important to get enough exercise around this period of time. Do yoga and meditation to calm down your mind. I’ve been through the same experience before, so I know what you’re talking about. These symptoms usually appear due to school stress. Vitamin B12 supplements are proven to be effective in boosting your mood levels to a much happier state. Hope this helps.

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