Pain and the sense that you might puke aren't fun things to feel, but these play a big role in your life as they can make you wise to the fact that things aren't right with your health. You can go see the doc to break free of the pain and pin down what's at the heart of it all. Cancer can take so long to be found that it may be too late when it is. First, it sneaks up on you, gets the drop on the parts of you that are meant to set bells off when things are wrong, and then grows in parts of you like your brain, heart, and lungs at a snail's speed. This is why it's a good step to screen for it. But then, what of depression? When things shift in the mind and take a turn for the worse it's just that much more work to get wise to it than when you've got a cut or a scratch. Plus, there's no bell that goes off in your brain to let you know what's up. The big things to look out for when you might have it are a low mood and a loss of your sense that things which used to seem fun are still worth your time, but most folks don't catch on at first. "Do I need to sleep?" "Am I just a bum?" Though you might have come to know what the deal is, you may fail to face up to it and tell all the lies in the book to soothe your mind, such as "It will heal on its own at some point" or "Who's got time to see the doc?", and in the end wind up with more harm than good to show for it. Thus, it may take quite a few months or years for most folks to seek help once they've got more than just a touch of the blues, which can cause a whole host of things to be that much worse down the road. It sure would be nice to catch on to what's up with your health as soon as you could as that may make it so that a lot of the pain that may lay in store for you can be dodged. That's why, in 2015, a way to do a stress check for it while you're at work once a year was set up. It's much like when they screen you for cancer. But the sad truth is that there are still lots of folks out there who don't get it checked or who don't care what the test says, in part thanks to the fact that it may still not get through to them that they need help. It's not that hard to fail to see when more than just a touch of the blues is at your door if folks at work or at home don't rub it in your face that it's there in the first place. As such, I'd like to go through a quick run of its signs at this time so that all of us can be swift to take the steps that are called for as soon as we've got it. By the way, if you should feel one or more of the things I will list off next, you should try to get some rest first and take it slow, but if that's not what does the trick for you then it may be time for you to go see one of our good friends who wears a white lab coat. 1. Lots of stress and a lack of calm. Stress is one of the big signs to watch out for, and though it's just one word, it can be felt in a wide range of ways. There may be times when you can't stop a flood of thoughts that tries to sink you once, twice, three times, and so on, in spite of how much you push it back. You may wish to throw your hands up in the air and scream as you fight with no luck not to drown. Some folks may feel like they can't sit still or stay put, have a high heart rate, and get a strong urge to parch their thirst. If your mind sits there in a slump and cooks up a bad batch of thoughts like "I don't get what the point of life is" or "Is it worth it for me to still be here in this world?", then that can be a sign as well. You might feel as though you can tell what's up with your health in a more clear way than you're used to and fret that you could get so ill that it kills you. 2. Rage and a bump in how much things tend to irk you. The blues can make you feel low, but it can make you want to rage and set you off more when things get on your nerves too. It can be a huge red flag if you or one of your friends is now more of a crank or a grump than they've been in the past. 3. More balls dropped when you're at work. When your brain falls down on the job, you can fall down on the job as well. You might not know where you put your keys and cash or lose your phone on the train, your PIN might slip your mind, or it might be hard to read names. If you drop the ball in ways like this too much of the time, then you've got a big red flag on your hands. 4. Fun things aren't as fun now. The songs and flicks you had hoped to have fun with now don't feel as if they're worth it to you. The things that you do to pass the time will come to seem like a waste of your time and funds. The blues can do this to you too so you should keep an eye out. 5. You feel so beat, but you can't beat it. There's a chance you'll come down with a sense that your heft has gone up, that your need for sleep won't take a rest, and that joints such as those in your neck or back are in a world of hurt. Don't be late to pick up on when you've got stuff like this to deal with as these are all hints of the blues to keep in mind. Be sure to help the doc pay off some of their debts from school with a quick trip to see them should signs like this crop up for you as you live your life as soon as you can. 6. You feel like crap all day. It's a fact that the blues can take a toll on the stuff that makes up the bulk of who you are as a form of life by means of your nerves, which means your gut could act up in lots of big, bad ways, your heart rate could go through the roof, or that you may be short of breath. If one of our dear friends in a white lab coat can't find a source for these things not linked to the health of your mind, then your mind's health may be to blame. As I've said, joint pain could be at play such as in your back or neck, and a cause that can be seen plain as day may not show up on a scan. Take great care if such pain won't let up. And now, the last but not least sign to look out for is when you can't sleep or at least can't get good sleep. The blues can lay waste to your sleep, but it's got more than one trick up its sleeve for how to strike your sleep. You might have a whole set of things that you do each night to prep for sleep. You brush your teeth, change your clothes, use the john, and so on, but the blues still comes to put a crimp in your sleep plans so that you get to have dreams but don't feel at rest. Since this can mess with your life once you wake up, you should try to find help from those who can give it like I've said all this time. Sleep can give you a lot of clues as to the health of your mind. If this list sounds like you, take five and try to think of ways in which you may push too hard or hold back too much when you're out there in the world. "If my job is to spread joy does it take the joy out of my own life at the same time?" First, if you cut down on work or take a trip to take a load off, then your mind may come to know peace, and don't wait to get help if you need it. If you're not the type to know when this kind of stuff is off, you may need to chill out. Some folks take too much pride in their work and don't take time off, some pay too much mind to what those near them think of them and can't say what they want to do, and some stay on the job out of fear that it may hurt their work life that has yet to come. You may want to push things as far as they can go in life, but that should not come at the cost of your health, so be smart. There are steps you can take to take charge of the blues, but if it gets worse then it will take that much more time and work to treat. You can think that you'd be the best to know what's right for you, but help is out there if you'd like to see what you've got on your plate through new eyes which may not be as blind as your own eyes.