Everyone has ups and downs in life. There are times when people feel sad or develop feelings of despair and emptiness. However, when these disappointments, this despair, this sadness takes a hold of life, the situation is commonly referred as depression.
Many people mistake the constant feeling of sadness as depression. The truth is that depressed people are not essentially sad but they feel empty inside. Since there are no physical symptoms of depression, it is not easy to determine whether a person is clinically depressed. It is also important to keep in mind that it is possible to treat depression with the help of medications and therapies.
One thing that makes depression difficult to determine is that the signs of depression vary with each individual. However, there are some common symptoms and therefore, these symptoms can be used to determine whether one is suffering from depression. Here is a list of some of the common signs of depression.
Constant Body Fatigue
People suffering from depression feel constantly fatigued. They have constant pain in their body and they do not have the energy to do regular work. They also develop slow speech, thought processes and physical movements.
Too Much Sleep or No Sleep
People suffering from depression experience big changes in their sleep patterns. More often than not, they suffer from oversleeping where they feel like sleeping all day long. On the other hand, some of the sufferers develop insomnia where they are unable to sleep and feel drowsy all day long due to lack of sleep.
Feeling of Hopelessness
Depression sufferers have a very bleak outlook towards life. They generally feel that nothing is going to get better and they cannot do anything to improve their situation. They have this feeling of hopelessness and they feel no control over their own life.
Weight Change
Depression sufferers suffer from weight gain or weight loss at a very fast rate. Some of the sufferers gain weight at a high rate (5% of existing body weight in a month) whereas some of the sufferers start losing weight as they lose the appetite.
Unable to Focus
They have extreme problems in making decisions and are unable to focus even when they need it the most.
Diminished Interest in Daily Activities
A person suffering from depression will lose all interest in daily activities including the activities which he or she used to find interesting earlier. For instance, he or she may stop going out with friends and start developing social anxiety.
Anxiety
Depression sufferers display excessive worrying and are unable to sit still. They are highly anxious all the time.
Suicidal Thoughts
Depression sufferers have frequent thoughts of suicide attempts, death and suicide.
Recklessness
The often display reckless behaviour such as reckless driving, compulsive gambling, substance-abuse and sudden interest in dangerous sports.
Extreme Mood Changes
People who suffer from depression often display extreme mood changes where they become extremely calm and happy whereas they were extremely depressed a few moments ago.
Different Types of Depression
There are many different types of depression and it affects every individual in a different manner. It is also to be noted that men and women often display different signs of depression.
Most of the people suffer from low-grade depression where they feel moderately depressed on certain days and have normal mood on other days. Some suffer from major depression where they are unable to experience any kind of pleasure and are generally unable to enjoy life. If depression is left untreated, it can last for a very long time. It is also seen that major depression is often recurring.
Some people also suffer from seasonal depression that is known as seasonal affective disorder. It is usually triggered by a very limited daylight exposure during the winter months.
Depression is extremely complicated and it’s not possible to cure it only with the help of medication or pills. It is believed that psychological, biological and social factors combine to cause depression. Relationships, coping skills, lifestyle choices and many other factors play a role in depression.
The good news is that it is possible to recover from depression if one seeks help at the right time. Medical professionals understand depression a lot better these days.
A lot of studies have been conducted to study depression and there are suitable medications available to take care of depression and other associated disorders. It is important that one seeks professional help as early as possible to ensure that one is able to enjoy life as it is meant to be.
