Depression onboard: Know the signs

In light of the situation, Standard Club along with Sailors’ Society’s Wellness at Sea focused on emotional wellness and mental health, recognising the signs and symptoms of mental illness such as depression and anxiety, and simple things that might help crew mental health.

As explained, depression is the leading cause of mental health issues – and recognising the signs is the first step in recovery.

All of us have bad days, but the key to recognising there may be a more serious problem is the frequency of the symptoms below. Understanding the signs can help you know whether to seek professional advice.

Emotional/ Behavioural symptoms

• Displaying unusual behaviour or changes in usual behaviour
• Being withdrawn
• Aggression or tearfulness
• Loss of humor
• Loss of confidence
• Disruptive behaviour
• Inability to concentrate on tasks, increased errors, missing deadlines or forgetting tasks
• Increased consumption of caffeine, alcohol, cigarettes and/ or sedatives
• Difficulty remembering things
• Poor job performance
• Becoming withdrawn, not participating in conversations or social activities and spending increasing amounts of time alone in cabins
• An employee who is normally punctual frequently arriving late

What is more Standard Club and Sailors’ Society mark the following physical symptoms:

• Suffering from frequent minor illnesses, headaches or stomach upsets
• Difficulty sleeping or constant tiredness or feeling of fatigue
• Lack of care over appearance
• Sudden weight loss or gain
• Minor physical ailments
• Displaying unusual behavior or marked changes in behavior

Feelings

• Irritable
• Anxious
• Overwhelmed
• Worthless
• Frustrated
• Unhappy
• Disappointed
• Sad
• Indecisive
• Unmotivated

Thoughts

• ‘I am a failure’
• ‘It’s my fault’
• ‘Nothing good ever happens to me’
•  ‘I’m worthless’
• ‘Life is not worth living’

EXPLORE STANDARD CLUB AND SAILORS’ SOCIETY GUIDANCE ON DEPRESSION HERE