Signs and Symptoms of depression
Everyone feels low every now and then. This is a normal feature of human life. However, when sadness and withdrawal become persistent for a long time, then they should not be ignored. Depression can be hereditary, but often it may affect people with no family history of the illness. Signs and Symptoms of depression are various in nature.
There is no one pattern of symptoms of depression that exist. They can be as common as crying and overwhelming despair to so subtle that the person may not notice by himself, but their friends and loved ones may notice. Depression may be mild, such as choosing to stay home to watch TV instead of going out with friends, to more severe, such as thoughts of suicide. Some people may look happy, but become totally depressed in a couple of days or weeks. The progression varies from person to person.
To recognize depression symptoms, whether in yourself or a loved one, here is the list of depression symptoms:
Signs of Emotions and Feelings in a depressed person:
- He/she feels unhappy, down, upset, tearful or sad
- He/she remains restless, agitated, overwhelmed, frustrated or irritable
- He/she feels guilty, worthless and down
- The person feels empty and numb and finds himself indecisive most of the times
- He/she feels isolated and unable to relate to other people
- They find no pleasure in life or things they usually enjoyed before
- There is a sense of unreality in them
- Lack of self-confidence or self-esteem is very common
- They feel hopeless, disappointed and despairing
- Suicidal feelings
Activities and Behaviour of a depressed person:
- The person avoids social events, withdraws from close family and friends and does not go out anymore.
- He/she does not enjoy activities usually enjoyed before.
- He/ she may find it difficult to speak or think clearly.
- He/ she loses interest in sex
- The person may feel unable to concentrate or remember things.
- He might start using more tobacco, alcohol or other drugs than usual.
- The person may sleep too much or is unable to sleep
- He/she feels tired all the time.
- There is a change in appetite. They may start eating too much and gaining weight or may stop eating.
- They may show physical aches and pains with no obvious physical cause and start moving very slowly.
- They might have self-harming or suicidal behaviour.
Mental Thoughts of a depressed person:
- They believe that nothing good ever happens to them.
- They have thoughts that they are failures.
- It is their mistake
- They believe that they are worthless.
- And life is not worth living.
- They feel that life has no significance and that people would be better off without them. A person who is severely depressed may think more about death and other similar topics. He or she may say about the things related to death and likely take risks. Sometimes when depressed people make a decision to take some drastic step, they may become more energetic as they feel a sense of relief to get a resolution. Hence, if someone notices a drastic switch in behaviour like this, it should be a matter of much concern.
It is significant to note that we all experience some of these symptoms from time to time, but it may not necessarily mean that we are depressed. Similarly, the person who is experiencing depression may not have all of these symptoms.
This information does not provide a diagnosis. For medical needs, it is a must to see a health professional.
