10 Symptoms of Depression

What is depression?

Being Sad or having mood swings are normal reactions to our life’s struggles and disappointments. Most people use the word “Depression” to express this feeling but most of them are not aware of the fact that Depression is not just being Sad.

People also call the feeling of depression, a feeling of constant hate or sadness towards their life, themselves and others around them. But some people who are actually depressed don’t feel sad at all because depression is not just being sad. These people may feel lifeless, empty, and apathetic, and men in actually feel angry, aggressive, and restless.

The symptoms however don’t matter because depression is completely different from normal sadness because it has a great impact on your everyday life. It interferes with your ability to work, study, eat, sleep, and have fun. These feelings of helplessness, hopelessness, and worthlessness are intense and unrelenting, with little relief.

What are the signs and symptoms of depression?

Depression is different for every person because it affects every person in a different way, but there are some common signs and symptoms among people which can help determine if you are suffering from depression or not. It’s important to keep in mind that these symptoms are part of life’s normal lows. But the more symptoms you suffer, the stronger they will become and it will become more likely that you’re dealing with depression. When the symptoms become overwhelming and disturbing, that’s the time when you should seek help.

Signs and symptoms of depression include:

Signs and symptoms of depression include:

• Feelings of hopelessness. Giving up hope on everything and feeling like nothing will ever become better and you can do nothing about it. Having this symptom is very likely to determine if you are suffering from depression or not.
• Concentration problems. Trouble focusing on a task which may result in delays, hard to make decisions and it becomes very hard to remember things.
• Weight changes. You start to suffer from Significant weight loss or weight gain. It has a change of more than 5% of body weight in a month.
• Self-hate. Having feelings of worthlessness or guilt towards yourself. You blame yourself for perceived faults and mistakes.
• Anger or irritability. Feeling agitated, restless, or even violent. You start feeling angry towards the smallest of things. Your tolerance level becomes low, you become short tempered , and everything and everyone starts getting  on your nerves.
• Sleep changes. Sleep changes are common among people who suffer from Depression. Insomnia, especially waking in the early hours of the morning, or oversleeping (also known as hypersomnia) are symptoms of Depression.
• Loss of energy. Feeling tired, sluggish, and feeling like your energy is drained. Your whole body may start feeling heavy, and even the smallest of tasks start becoming exhausting or take longer time to complete.
• Interest in daily activities lost. You lose interest in almost all the activities of you daily life. Nothing seems worth doing or paying attention to. You start giving up on hobbies, social activities or even sex. You start losing the ability to feel or have pleasure.
• Reckless behavior. You engage in reckless behavior such as object abuse, gambling, careless driving, or dangerous sports.
• Unexplained aches and pains. There becomes an increase in physical complaints such as headaches, back pain, aching muscles, and stomach pain.