Dear Benjamin
Hello and welcome to Beyond Blue.
First of all I suggest you browse this site. Go to the top of the page and explore the blue tabs. BB has a huge amount of information on depression and anxiety. This is available to download or send for hard copies. I think you will find this very useful.
May I ask, have you been prescribed any antidepressant medication. Sometimes these waves can be the result of meds starting to work. Generally they take a couple of weeks to become noticeable and up to six weeks to be fully working. That's one possibility.
The other is, as you have suggested, that this is how depression works. As John Denver sang, Some days are diamonds, Some days are stone. To some extent we experience this as part of normal life, good days, bad days, days when staying in bed would have been better than getting up. You know how it goes. Depression makes it more obvious and worse because it can fool us into thinking we will have the bad days for the rest of our lives.
Did you discuss these waves with your doctor or whoever gave you the diagnosis? If you are going to see your doctor soon, or a psychologist if you have been referred to one, then it would be a good idea to talk about these moods. Not being a doctor I cannot give you a definitive answer about your depression. I can say I have days when I get up feeling pretty ordinary and this changes as the day goes on and I feel far more confident about everything. And I can be like that for some time before falling down the hole again.
I am now taking a new AD which is helping my moods to become even, not erratic. So in answer to your questions. Yes your moods can vary from day to day and during the day. Yes, many people experience depression in this fashion.
Diet plays a huge part in this. No need for special diets, just a good diet, with plenty of the goodies all doctors and dieticians tell you. Not huge amounts of meat, lots of vegetables and fruit, some carbohydrates and dairy. No need to give up tea and coffee, but try to drink lots of water. Also exercise. This has been shown to have good effect on your body and brain by releasing endorphins into your body. Makes you feel good. You may like to notice your moods in relation to what you have eaten and how much exercise you do.
Read the information BB has and write in again.
Mary
