 Hey Psych2goers, do you feel guilty when you're upset for no reason? Like many others, you may think that you're just being ungrateful, or that it's wrong to feel sad, angry, or anxious when there's no apparent reason for you to feel this way. But what if there's more to it than that? What if you're not actually ungrateful, but you're depressed? How do you tell the difference? Well, people who often mislabel those struggling with depression as emotional attention seekers who are taking everything they have for granted are those who don't understand what it's like to live with a mental illness, especially not depression. So with that said, here are seven signs that you're not actually ungrateful, you're depressed. Number one, you're more self-critical than usual. Are you really hard on yourself? Countless studies have shown that deteriorating self-esteem as well as strong feelings of self-hatred and self-loving are strongly associated with depressive symptoms. This is so much so that the American Psychological Association decided to add excessive feelings of worthlessness as a criterion for diagnosing a major depressive episode. So if you've been feeling a lot more self-critical than usual lately, where you constantly beat yourself up for every little mistake and hyper-fixate on all of your negative qualities and flaws, then this might be the reason why. Number two, you don't look forward to anything anymore. When you're just feeling grouchy and unappreciative about everything, the simple solution would be to focus more on the positive and find something good to look forward to. But when you're already going through the throes of depression, it can feel almost impossible to look forward to anything anymore. All the things you used to love so much, like your interests, passions, and accomplishments, may no longer make you feel anything, let alone anything good. It may be hard to find joy or enjoyment out of anything no matter how hard you try. If you've been feeling this way, then it's unlikely that you're just being ungrateful. But instead, it may be a sign of depression. Do you relate to the two points mentioned so far or know someone who does? Comment below and share your experiences to help encourage others to open up about their experiences. We will highlight the ones that seem to be most impactful in upcoming videos. Number three, your emotions have become unstable and out of control. People who act bratty, spoiled, surly, and petulant the moment they don't get what they want, or when something doesn't go their way, may really just be ungrateful and immature. They might be moody through temper tantrums and maybe even break down or lash out on people for no good reason. But the same goes for those struggling with depression too. So, how can we tell the difference? Well, for the latter, there's usually no trigger for it. They just suddenly feel emotionally unstable when they rarely or never used to before, and it may manifest as either frequent anger and irritability or heightened sensitivity. Number four, you've struggled with feelings of depression for a while now. When we're in a bad mood or feeling down, it's easy to spiral into overly negative thoughts like, this is the worst day ever, or can nothing go right for me today? This can make you seem like you're being ungrateful, but if you've been struggling with these dark thoughts and feelings for a while now, with no end in sight, then there might be more to it than you first thought. According to the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, this persistently depressed mood must last at least two weeks before it can be considered a depressive episode. So think long and hard about when it was you first started to feel this way. Number five, you feel guilty about not having a good reason for feeling down. One of the key differences between sadness and depression is that depression is often unprecedented. That is to say, there isn't always an obvious trigger we can point to and say, ah, so that's why I've been feeling depressed lately. So if you're struggling with depression without even realizing it or don't have much awareness about what it is, you may find yourself feeling terribly guilty as well for seeming ungrateful or being such a downer all the time, or what seems like no good reason. Number six, you're frustrated with yourself and your inability to just get over it. Similar to our last point, if you're suffering from undiagnosed depression, to those who don't understand, it can look a lot like you're just being overly dramatic and ungrateful, taking for granted all the good things you have in your life. And you will often hear from them sanctimonious, unsolicited advice about how happiness is a choice and that you can snap out of your depression if you really tried hard enough. Yeah, no. Depression isn't just something you can cure with some self-help books or a few motivational videos. Mental illness is real and it's just as serious and debilitating as any physical illness. And number seven, you can choose to stop being ungrateful. You can't choose to stop being depressed. Finally, but perhaps most importantly, we need to understand that mental illness isn't a choice. Some people will struggle with mental illness for most of their lives and it won't be because they didn't try hard enough. Depression isn't a specially tricky one since psychologists are still trying to figure out what exactly causes it. But the challenges our brain chemistry or past traumas create for us are never too big for us to overcome, especially when we're not alone. So if you think there's more to your recent feelings of depression than you just being ungrateful, it might be time to talk to a professional about it. Seek help. So did you relate to any of the signs we've mentioned? Don't forget to share a story about your own personal challenges to help inspire a movement towards open dialogues. We will highlight the most impactful ones in a future video.