Signs of being depressed and having anxiety?

Is it temporary depression or chronic depression? If it is the former, exercise can help lift your mood. Also meditation or yoga.

As for the anxiety, you could try chamomile tea or if it is stronger and herbal remedy called Calms Forte, which is available at drug stores.

First off I’d like to say I know exactly how you feel. I’d like to ask you, what’s the point of being sad? All it does is bring yourself and others down. So try to get rid of the sadness. Try to keep your goals in front of you at all times. Keep a long term checklist in your purse, and write your notes and daily tasks in your agenda.

I’m glad you recognize your anxiety now before it takes control of you. Anytime you feel stressed out, just agree with who ever you are talking too, (if you’re talking to anyone) or simply take a 3 minute break from whatever you are doing and take deep breathes. SERIOUSLY, deep breathes will calm you down. Recently I got overwhelmed and stayed in the hectic environment and to my dismay I suffered an anxiety attack because I just lost it. Anxiety attacks aren’t pretty either. I should have taken a break even just a one minute break to breath and asses the situation before freaking out. Depression does go hand in hand with me as well as I tend be really high and really low, really low when I’m not doing what I love really high when I’m doing what I love and others around are happy. So well good luck gotta run!~

I feel like I am going through a phase like that too, but on the contrary I am thinking TOO much. I am in teachers’ College and am beginning to find out—right now, luckily—that this is not what I want to do with my life. My workload is intense but it’s not even that; I just don’t enjoy dealing with the punks when I do go into my placement school to practice.

Congrats on trying to act cheerful… I have given that up because I cannot fake EVEN that.

I would hesitate to offer you a one size fits all answer. It’s important to get a sense of what kind of depression it is. What you do depends on what kind it is.

However, having said that, there are things that are important. Get regular sleep. Eat regularly and healthily. Get exercise. An hour a day, if possible. Should be vigorous. Volunteer and help others. See a therapist to discuss things. Read books that teach you how to cope with depression. Do yoga. Practice mindfulness meditation.

Those things are all good whether you are depressed or not, and exercies and yoga and meditation are probably the most helpful for depression.

In addition, you might see a psychiatrist to see if you have clinical depression. If so, they can prescribe meds that will help you.

I echo and agree with most of the comments above. Most of us have been there. I did not see brain entrainment on the list. It has worked to declutter mind, akin to guided meditation help me feel calm and destressed in the present and helped me improve my over all outlook.
As wundayatta has stated a one size fits all approach is like trying to perform surgery in the dark.
So if you can’t seek counseling, there should be income based or some equivalent if needed, experiment and see what works best for you, education, reasonable affirmations, laughing yoga, humming, singing eating healthy food and stay away from crashing comfort foods. Also make sure your goals are reasonable achieveable.
Exercise is said to be one of the best depression busters with or with out therapy.

I think one of the best ways of controlling anxiety is being aware of and controlling your breathing. You may want to look up some breathing exercises, yoga and meditation are in the right direction for sure. Exercise is definitely helpful, feeling alive makes you feel better about being alive. You may also want to look for counselling, you don’t have to be clinically – anything to seek therapy, it will definitely help to have that support. I’ve found even helplines useful.

Also in terms of signs, others to recognize are unusual sleep patterns, loss of appetite, feeling inhibited in social situations and overwhelming emotions in flux -often occurring suddenly. That’s all I can think of now, but best of luck to you.

I don’t know.. but I think maybe you should stop trying to pretend to be cheerful around people. If you want people to know just HOW miserable you are, well it may not be great for others to hear, but trust me it helps.