10 Signs of Depression

10 signs of depression

Depression is a common and serious mental illness that negatively affects how you feel, the way you think and how you act. Depression causes feelings of sadness and and/or loss of interest in activities you once enjoyed. Feeling down from time to time is a normal part of life, but when the sadness and loss of interests take over your life, it could be depression. Here are 10 signs of depression:

1. Feeling sad or being in a depressed mood

You feel sad for no reason. You may cry and have no idea why.

2. Loss of interest in daily activities

You don’t care anymore about hobbies, social activities and sex. You lost your ability to feel joy and pleasure.

3. Decreased or increased appetite

When people struggle with depression, you’re eating habits may suffer. Some people tend to overeat and gain weight in the hopes of lifting their mood. Other people have lost their appetite. Sometimes people feel too exhausted to cook and prepare meals.

4. Sleep changes

Depression can affect your sleeping habits. You may find it hard to fall asleep and/or stay asleep during the night. Also experiencing periods of excessive daytime sleepiness may occur.

5. Anger or irritability

Feeling agitated, restless, irritable and maybe even violent. Your tolerance level is low, short temper and everything and everyone gets on your nerves.

6. Loss of energy

Feeling fatigued and physically drained. Your body may feel weak. Even small tasks exhaust you. All you want to do is lay on the couch and do nothing.

7. Reckless behavior

Excessive drinking, drug abuse, unsafe sex and cutting are reckless behaviors that people may use to provide temporary relief from intense emotional pain.

8. Difficulty concentrating

The more you lose focus due to depression, the harder and more pointless it may seem. Then the more you lose focus the harder it is to get back the focus and it all seems pointless. You keep going in this vicious circle.

9. Having physical issues

Having physical issues such as headaches, stomachaches or sexual dysfunction.

10. Thoughts of self-harm or suicide

Some people self-harm as a way of dealing with difficult thoughts and feelings that they can’t cope with in a positive way. Suicidal thoughts are thoughts of hurting yourself or taking your own life. Suicidal thoughts usually occur when a person is in intense emotional pain and doesn’t see a way out. Suicide is often preventable.

Depression diagnosis

Your doctor may determine a diagnosis of depression based on different things.

• Physical exam: your doctor may do a physical exam and ask questions about your health
• Lab tests: your doctor might do blood work to make sure your lab values are within normal range
• Psychiatric evaluation: the doctor might ask questions regarding your symptoms, thoughts, feelings, and behavioral patterns
• You may be asked to fill out a questionnaire to help answer the questions
• There are other disorders that include depression as a symptom
• There are different types of depression that are classified in the DSM-5

For you to have a depression diagnosis the symptoms have to last at least 2 weeks and must represent a change in your previous level of functioning.

Being sad is not the same as being depressed

If you experience a death in the family or a loss of a job. It is normal for you to feel sad, but this is not depression. Grief and depression are important in different ways:

• In grief, painful feelings come in waves and some positive feelings of the deceased. In depression, your pleasure and mood are decreased for more than 2 weeks.
• In grief, self-esteem is normally kept intact. In depression, feelings of worthlessness and self-loathing are common.
• In grief, you might fantasize about being with a loved one who is deceased. In depression, thoughts are focused on ending your own life due to feeling or worthlessness or unable to cope with the pain of depression.

Causes of depression

• Brain chemistry: an imbalance of neurotransmitters contributes to the development of depression
• Genetics: If you have a parent or sibling that has depression you are about 3x as likely to develop depression
• Stressful life situations: difficult experiences, such as death of a loved one, trauma and divorce can trigger depression
• Medical conditions: chronic pain and chronic conditions (such as diabetes) may lead to depression
• Medications: some medication side effects can cause depression. Substance abuse such as drugs and alcohol can cause depression or make it worse

Management and treatment of depression

Depression is a treatable medical condition. According to Cleveland clinic roughly 80% to 90% of people with depression who seek treatment eventually respond well to treatment. Treatments include:

• Psychotherapy: this involves talking to a mental health professional
• Medication: antidepressants can help change the brain chemistry that causes depression. There are several different types of antidepressants. It may take some time to figure out which one works best for you.

Things at home you can do to help relieve depression symptoms:

• regular exercise
• getting quality sleep
• eating a healthy diet
• avoiding alcohol (which is a depressant)
• spending time with people you care about

Without treatment

Without treatment depression can get worse. It can:

• increase your chance of other health conditions
• may lead to the worsening of existing health conditions such as chronic pain and diabetes
• may lead to self-harm or death
• symptoms can worsen

Depression accounts for nearly 40,000 deaths per year in the US. It’s essential to get medical help as soon as possible if you are having suicidal thoughts.

10 signs of depression

Have you suffered from depression? Do you know anyone who has suffered from depression?

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