What Is Depression?

What Are tThe Signs Of Depression?

Most people feel sad or low in mood at times. It’s a normal and healthy reaction to life’s struggles. However, when intense sadness lasts for many days to weeks and keeps you from living your life, it may be something more than sadness. In its mildest form, depression can mean just being in low spirits. It doesn’t stop you leading your normal life but makes everything harder to do and seem less worthwhile. At its most severe, depression can be life-threatening because it can make you feel suicidal or simply give up the will to live. If symptoms, such as, feeling helpless, hopeless, and worthless persist for many weeks you could have a depression – a mental health condition.

You may suffer from depression when you have five or more of the following symptoms for at least 2 weeks:

• A depressed mood during most of the day, especially in the morning
• You feel tired or have a lack of energy almost every day.
• You feel worthless or guilty almost every day.
• You have a hard time focusing, remembering details, and making decisions.
• You can’t sleep or you sleep too much almost every day.
• You have almost no interest or pleasure in many activities nearly every day.
• You think often about death or suicide (not just a fear of death).
• You feel restless or slowed down.
• You’ve lost or gained weight.

Among other, less common symptoms are:

• Feel irritable and restless
• Lose pleasure in life
• Overeat or stop feeling hungry
• Have aches or pains, headaches, cramps, or digestive problems that don’t go away or get better with treatment
• Have sad, anxious, or “empty” feelings

Even though these symptoms are common, it is less likely for them to occur. It is down to the individual how severe these symptoms are, how often they happen, and how long they last can vary.

It is often the case that the symptoms of depression may also happen in patterns. For example, depression may come with a change in seasons (a condition formerly called seasonal affective disorder).

Are There Any Physical Symptoms of Depression?

It’s common that people who suffer from depression will have some physical signs. The most frequent may include digestive problems,joint pain, back pain, sleep trouble, and appetite changes. You might have slowed speech and movements, too. Depression is accompanied by physical symptoms because certain chemicals in the brain, specifically serotonin and norepinephrine, play a role in both mood regulation and pain.

What Are Different Types Of Depression?

There are also some specific types of depression:

• Seasonal affective disorder (SAD) – depression that usually (but not always) occurs in the winter. Less commonly, some people find they experience SAD in reverse – in summer. SAD is most common in countries like the UK where there are large changes in the weather and daylight hours in the different seasons.
• Dysthymia – continuous mild depression that lasts for two years or more. Also called persistent depressive disorder or chronic depression.
• Prenatal depression – sometimes also called antenatal depression, it occurs during pregnancy.
• Postnatal depression (PND) – occurs in the weeks and months after becoming a parent. Postnatal depression is usually diagnosed in women but it can affect men, too.