The alarm goes off on your bedside table, startling you awake, but you’re not sure if you have the energy to turn it off. Many people wake up sluggish, but in depression, that same feeling can last the whole day—your energy drains away, and everything feels difficult. Fatigue is a common symptom of depression and is due both to the prefrontal dysfunction that we already discussed—such as reduced serotonin, which makes planning and decision making sluggish—and reduced activity in the dorsal striatum.1
