If you find yourself avoiding social interactions, keeping your thoughts and feelings to yourself, or lacking self-esteem, you may be suffering from depression and the social withdrawal that can be associated with this mental health disorder. Depression is an issue impacting millions of people in the United States.
The latest data from the National Survey on Drug Use and Health shows that 21 million adults experienced a major depressive episode in the previous year, an increase from the 19 million reporting a major depressive episode in 2019. This represents 8.4% of the population, so depression is something that is widespread and strikes all demographics.
Of these 21 million people grappling with depression, 13.8 million engaged with professional treatment, according to SAMHSA data. With 65% seeking treatment rather than the 10% of those diagnosed with substance use disorders, most people suffering from depression manage to treat the symptoms and enjoy normal functioning.
Unfortunately, while depression is typically treatable, it can also seriously disrupt your everyday life. So, how does depression affect your social life?
Effects of Depression on Daily Life
According to the APA (the American Psychiatric Association), the symptoms of depression vary from mild to severe, and they include any of the following:
- Problems sleeping or sleeping too much
- Feeling persistently sad with a depressed mood
- Loss of interest in favored activities
- Appetite changes leading to weight loss or weight gain
- Difficulties with thinking, making decisions, and concentrating
- Slowed speech and slowed movements
- Feelings of worthlessness or guilt
- Fatigue and lowered energy levels
- Suicidal thoughts or thoughts of death
- Increases in aimless physical activity – pacing, for instance
When the above symptoms last for at least two weeks and trigger a change in your normal level of functioning, you will be diagnosed with either mild, moderate, or severe depression.
One of the major effects of depressive disorder is the way symptoms cause problems in the day-to-day activities at home, work, and school. Social activities can be impacted, as well as your interpersonal relationships with friends, family, and co-workers.
Does Depression Affect Your Social Skills?
Research shows that depression is associated with:
- Social impairments
- Poor social functioning
- Social risk factors
While deficits in social skills are common among patients with depression, there has not been an abundance of research in this area.
This review of studies examines the roles of various depressive factors contributing to weak social skills. The analysis found three underpinning components of social behavior impacted by depression:
- Performance
- Perception
- Cognition
Evidence demonstrates that weak social skills in these areas can be manifestations of depressive factors. Fortunately, effective treatment can remit these deficits and promote normal functioning.
How does depression affect your social life specifically, then?
How Does Depression Affect a Person Socially?
Studies show that dysfunctional social behavior is often implicated in the experience of major depressive disorder. Beyond this, people with more severe depressive symptoms tend to more frequently experience negative social interactions. Also, they react more strongly to these negative interactions.
Most social interactions do not result in concrete instances of acceptance or rejection, though. This means that the true impact of social interactions is predominantly influenced by perception rather than reality. Biases in social information processing in depressed patients make it less likely they will pick up on cues of acceptance and belonging, even when social interactions are objectively positive.
Depression can impair your ability to feel a sense of social belonging. This can have a knock-on effect, impacting your overall well-being. Conversely, when you encounter positive social interactions during your day, you are more likely to feel a strong sense of social belonging.
How Does Depression Affect your Social Life?
Here are some of the most common ways in which depression impairs social life:
- Socializing less or withdrawing completely from social interaction
- Unwillingness to share how you’re feeling with friends
- Adverse effects on self-confidence and self-esteem
Socializing less or withdrawing completely from social interaction
A recent study shows that almost half of patients with major depressive disorder experience heightened sensitivity to rejection. This often manifests in impaired attachment and impaired social affiliation, per the same data.
Socializing can become challenging for many people suffering with depressive disorder. When symptoms present that make even routine tasks like showering feel monumental, it’s understandable that many people find their social lives impacted. People suffering from major depressive disorder tend to self-isolate and avoid most forms of social interaction including:
- Social gatherings and events
- Text messages and phone calls
- Even spending time with close friends and family
As these social obligations pile up, the person suffering from depression tends to detach and ignore them in order to release any sense of social pressure.
You should not minimize the importance of social interactions. If you find yourself withdrawing socially, schedule an appointment with your healthcare provider and voice your concerns.
Unwillingness to share how you’re feeling with friends
For many people with major depressive disorder, the fear of judgment or stigma prevents them from opening up to friends and family about mental health issues. Others feel ill-prepared to burden loved ones with their problems.
You can speak with your social network about depression without burdening them and without doom and gloom. Even outlining some of your struggles to a close friend or family member can be therapeutic, even more so if they understand and empathize.
Adverse effects on self-confidence and self-esteem
If you find yourself feeling unusually shy in social situations or doubting your contributions to a conversation, you could be manifesting one of the most common symptoms of depression, a lack of self-esteem and self-confidence.
Compounding this issue, depression often co-occurs with anxiety, another common mental health condition that inflames social difficulties.
To reiterate, the importance of social issues should not be downplayed, and you should reach out to your doctor if you find your social life is disrupted, impaired, or destroyed as a result of major depressive disorder.
Depression and Everyday Social Interaction
This study explores the relationship between social interaction and depressive symptoms.
Participants classified at risk for depression reported fewer rewarding social interactions than those not classified at risk.
Those participants at risk for depression also reported enjoying more rewarding interactions with their closest friends of the opposite sex relative to the interactions with other opposite-sex friends.
Social factors of Depression
The social risk factors for depression include:
- Gender
- Inadequate social support
- Major life events
- Abuse
Gender
According to a robust body of research, women are roughly twice as likely to develop depression as men.
The reasons for this are still unclear, although hormonal changes could play a role, as well as depression during pregnancy and following childbirth.
Inadequate social support
Having unsupportive relationships, few friends, or experiencing prolonged periods of social isolation can all trigger depression.
If you are already prone to mood disorders, feelings of loneliness can bring on depressive episodes.
Major life events
The following major life events are all associated with depression:
- Moving house
- Buying a house
- Losing a job
- Getting a divorce
- Having a baby
- Retiring
- Death of a loved one
The problems above and other negative life events such as losing a job, getting a divorce, and losing a loved one can cause a downward spiral leading to depression and suicidal ideation.
However, positive life events such as moving, starting a new job, and having a baby can also trigger depression due to an excessive amount of stress brought on by major change.
If you find yourself experiencing feelings of sadness or grief that last for months rather than weeks, you should schedule an evaluation for depression with your doctor.
Abuse
Many types of abuse can contribute toward the development of depression in later life, according to research.
Those abused or neglected in childhood have a heightened risk for major depressive disorder.
Additionally, all forms of abuse can also cause other mental health disorders – post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), for instance.
Depression and Motivation
The onset of depression is often linked to low levels of serotonin, but there are also many other chemical variables involved.
Serotonin is a neurotransmitter or chemical messenger. Neurotransmitters facilitate signaling from one brain cell or nerve cell to the next, and they also control the following actions in your body and mind:
- Reward
- Addiction
- Motor movements and behavior
- Alertness and focus
- Sleep
- Learning and memory
- Mood
- Muscle function
Some chemical messengers encourage rapid signaling, while other neurotransmitters slow down your brain synapses. If these neurotransmitters are firing too quickly or too slowly, this can contribute to depression and other mental health conditions like anxiety.
Impaired dopamine signaling can affect depression just like serotonin imbalances in the brain, particularly in the following areas:
- Motivation
- Joy
When dopamine signaling is disrupted by stressful situations, dopamine activity drops. The resultant dip seems to cause decreased motivation.
Lack of motivation in people suffering from depression can lead to a lack of social engagement and a lack of interest in building and maintaining personal relationships.
If you have found yourself asking the question “how does depression affect your social life?” or feeling less motivated about life – especially if this coincides with low mood and other symptoms of depression, you should consider seeking the appropriate treatment so you can live life to the fullest.
Depression Treatment at The District Recovery Community
Major depressive disorder is the most common psychiatric disorder worldwide, so you are not alone if you are suffering from the social effects of depression.
Fortunately, with the right treatment – especially with early intervention – you can address the symptoms impairing your daily functioning and enjoy life without such dramatic shifts in mood.
Here at TDRC, we offer fully personalized treatment programs for depression, as well as dual diagnosis for anyone with depression and a co-occurring addiction.
You can engage with outpatient treatment for depression at varying levels of intensity, including:
- OP (standard outpatient program)
- IOP (intensive outpatient program)
- PHP (partial hospitalization program)
If you are unable or unwilling to attend face-to-face therapy sessions, we also provide virtual outpatient treatment with remote therapy sessions.
Our team of experienced mental health professionals and medical specialists will create an individualized treatment plan for you that may include antidepressants, psychotherapy like CBT or DBT, and counseling (both individual and group).
Regardless of the scope and severity of your depression, we can help you here at The District. To pursue a path to inner healing, reach out to our friendly team today at 844.287.8506.
