1. Increase your awareness.

When you are active in your addiction, you are unaware of important information in the
world around you, as well as inside your own head. Be on the lookout for signs of an
impending depression so you can take steps to ward it off.
• Pay attention to your mood changes. When you start to feel sad, gloomy, ashamed,
bored, lonely, or rejected, tune into what’s going on. These are important clues to your
thinking.
• Own your feelings. If you are having trouble recognizing your feelings, start talking
about them. Tell someone just how you are feeling at any given moment.
Be alert to your body language. This is a clue to your emotions. Notice your posture,
your facial expression, how you are walking and moving.
• Label your avoidance. Keep a lookout for (sober) people, places, and activities that
you once enjoyed but are now avoiding. Don’t try to analyze the reasons; just be aware
that you are avoiding them.
• Watch for times when your confidence disappears. Are there times and places
when you feel inadequate or lean on others for help?
Ask yourself whether you were able to handle this particular task on your own before.
Remember, a loss of confidence can be a symptom of depression.
• Look for activities that take great effort. Do you have to force yourself to make or
return phone calls? Do you have trouble completing tasks around the house? One of the
symptoms of major depression is lethargy and decreased interest in activities. You
simply do not feel like doing things anymore, even those things you used to enjoy.
• Become aware of times when you have trouble concentrating or making
decisions. Do you vacillate over simple decisions or secondguess yourself? Both can be
signs of depression.
Remember, everyone experiences some of these symptoms at one time or another; that’
s completely normal. Problems arise when either individual symptoms are pushing you
toward relapse or you’re suffering from more than one at once.