9 Things People Don’t Notice You’re Doing Because You’re Recovering From A Depressive Phase

You’ve battled the dark depths of depression for the last couple of months. You felt like your entire world was crumbling down in front of you. You felt like you were in a deep, black hole with a no way out. The sadness, despair, and darkness you lived in felt like a home to you.

You kept your painful feelings and thoughts to yourself. You didn’t want others to know about your problem so you tried to hide yourself from people in any way possible. You were telling people you were busy with work or other stuff, but the truth is that you were busy eating junk food, sleeping, and listening to sad, depressing music.

But, fortunately, you’ve started digging your way out of that deep, dark hole. You’re beginning to see the light at the end of the tunnel. Things appear much clearer and more stable now.

But now that you’re finally starting a new chapter in your life, there are 9 things you’re doing that other people don’t notice because you’re recovering from a depressive phase.

Here they are:

1. You have a crazy appetite.

When you’re climbing out of a depressive phase, your appetite is prone to frequent changes. One day you may eat everything that your eyes can see and spend the next one not eating almost anything. Or you may get delighted at the sight of a meal, then take a bite or two, and then feel like you can’t finish eating it.

It’s not easy going through this, but once you’re completely out of your depressive phase, your appetite will return to normal.

2. You have unusual sleep patterns.

Before you faced the awful monster called depression, you had normal sleeping patterns. You usually had a good quality 7 to 8-hour sleep every night and went to bed and got up at approximately the same time. However, this changed when you started struggling with depression. In an attempt to escape your reality and the sad, painful feelings and thoughts you were struggling with, you began spending a lot of time sleeping.

Although you’re feeling better now, it takes you a while to establish healthy sleeping patterns. You become tired and overwhelmed during the day and take long naps and this makes you go to bed late at night. So, your friends may be wondering why you’re still online on your Facebook profile at 2:00 am.

3. You easily get very emotional.

Your mood is constantly changing. Things can easily make you cry, even the simplest ones, like watching a sad movie. Or you often find yourself suddenly getting anxious or angry, even over simple, meaningless things.

Additionally, you can easily get upset by loud noises or when you hear people quarreling, and sometimes even making a small mistake can be enough to make you feel stressed out and disappointed in yourself.

4. You suddenly become overly sentimental.  

You spent a couple of months being isolated from your friends, so you often find yourself craving their attention and wanting to spend time with them. You call them every day just to “say hi,” or send them long messages telling them who much you love them and how much they mean to you.

Sometimes you even become extra loving and ask for hugs and cuddles and give even more of these at random times. People may think you’re just being overly affectionate, but you know that you feel grateful that you still have the people you love in your life and you want to ensure they know how important they are to you.

5. You avoid spending time on your own.

You may be successfully getting out of a depressive phase, but your insecurities and fears are still here. And being alone can cause them to come to the surface. So, to prevent that, you try to always have people near you or reach out to them electronically.

You go out and hang out with your family and friends more rather than hiding yourself in your home. All this has a positive effect on you since it keeps you distracted and makes you feel secure.

6. You frequently share positive posts on social media.

As you’re trying to put the depressive episode of your life behind you, you look for motivational quotes, positive statements, and inspirational stories that you think will help you move forward and embrace life the way it is.

Additionally, you’re so in love with this positive stuff that you share them on social media every day. Other people may see this as your usual way of motivating and taking care of those around you, but you know that all these positive, inspirational posts are just for you.

7. You frequently listen to music so as to control your emotions.

Listening to music is the best therapy for you. It helps you stay calm, lifts your spirits, fills you with positive energy, and makes you feel relaxed. So, you often find yourself listening to pop music from the 1990s or the beginning of this century.

People may wonder what’s up with your choice of music, but you don’t bother to change the genre because this type of music significantly improves your mood and keeps you energized.  

8. You buy yourself things, even when you don’t really need them.

You’re a real proof that shopping is great therapy. Shopping gets you out of the house and makes you feel relaxed. Therefore, you often find yourself buying a lot of things even when you don’t need them.

You know that you need a change in your life, and making little changes to your style by buying clothes or a nice pair of shoes might be just the thing you need so as to feel pretty and love yourself again after your depressive phase. Others may think you’re just trying to look attractive, but you know that shopping is actually a part of your healing process.

9. You keep your home organized.

Mess is one of the main triggers of stress and anxiety and you know that seeing piles of clothes, dirty dishes, toys, or you name it in your home is enough to make you sink into depression again. Therefore, you try to make sure you keep your house/apartment clean and organized.

After all, it’s not only your depressive thoughts and feelings that you need to get rid of to get your life back on track, but the things you no longer need and want as well.