surprising signs of depression

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You're suddenly a slowpoke.

Easy things are taking you longer than usual to wade through at the office, but there's no discernable reason for that (or so you think). Research shows that depressed workers don't perform as well on the job. "Pay attention if work tasks are difficult to remember and follow through with or if you notice you can't seem to think as quickly as you used to, or you can no longer come up with ideas," says Pearson, who also notes that depressed patients become not just plodding in their thinking but also in their movements. "Depression is literally the slowing down of your system. Your body becomes depressed and your psychomotor skills slow down," she says. A 2013 study in PLOS ONE looked at 4,500 people ages 60 and older and found that a tortoise-like pace was associated with depressive symptoms. The researchers suggest that depression puts you at a higher risk for physical disabilities as you age, which is one reason why the sooner you seek help, the better.