Are you depressed?

If you identify with several of the following signs and symptoms, and they just wont go away, you may be suffering from clinical depression.
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you cant sleep or you sleep too much you cant concentrate or find that previously easy tasks are now difficult you feel hopeless and helpless you cant control your negative thoughts, no matter how much you try you have lost your appetite or you cant stop eating you are much more irritable, short-tempered, or aggressive than usual youre consuming more alcohol than normal or engaging in other reckless behavior you have thoughts that life is not worth living (Seek help immediately if this is the case)

Common signs and symptoms of depression

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Feelings of helplessness and hopelessness. A bleak outlooknothing will ever get better and theres nothing you can do to improve your situation. Loss of interest in daily activities. No interest in former hobbies, pastimes, social activities, or sex. Youve lost your ability to feel joy and pleasure. Appetite or weight changes. Significant weight loss or weight gaina change of more than 5% of body weight in a month. Sleep changes. Either insomnia, especially waking in the early hours of the morning, or oversleeping (also known as hypersomnia). Anger or irritability. Feeling agitated, restless, or even violent. Your tolerance level is low, your temper short, and everything and everyone gets on your nerves. Loss of energy. Feeling fatigued, sluggish, and physically drained. Your whole body may feel heavy, and even small tasks are exhausting or take longer to complete. Self-loathing. Strong feelings of worthlessness or guilt. You harshly criticize yourself for perceived faults and mistakes. Reckless behavior. You engage in escapist behavior such as substance abuse, compulsive gambling, reckless driving, or dangerous sports. Concentration problems. Trouble focusing, making decisions, or remembering things. Unexplained aches and pains. An increase in physical complaints such as headaches, back pain, aching muscles, and stomach pain.

Depression in women
Rates of depression in women are twice as high as they are in men. This is due in part to hormonal factors, particularly when it comes to premenstrual syndrome (PMS), premenstrual dysphoric disorder (PMDD), postpartum depression, and perimenopausal depression. As for signs and symptoms, women are more likely than men to experience pronounced feelings of guilt, sleep excessively, overeat, and gain weight. Women are also more likely to suffer from seasonal affective disorder

Causes and risk factors for depression

Loneliness Lack of social support Recent stressful life experiences Family history of depression Marital or relationship problems Financial strain Early childhood trauma or abuse Alcohol or drug abuse Unemployment or underemployment Health problems or chronic pain

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Signs and symptoms of depression in women

The symptoms of depression in women are the same as those for major depression. Common complaints include:
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Depressed mood Loss of interest or pleasure in activities you used to enjoy Feelings of guilt, hopelessness and worthlessness Suicidal thoughts or recurrent thoughts of death

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Sleep disturbance (sleeping more or sleeping less) Appetite and weight changes Difficulty concentrating Lack of energy and fatigue

Depression symptoms include:

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Feelings of sadness or unhappiness Irritability or frustration, even over small matters Loss of interest or pleasure in normal activities Reduced sex drive Insomnia or excessive sleeping Changes in appetite depression often causes decreased appetite and weight loss, but in some people it causes increased cravings for food and weight gain Agitation or restlessness for example, pacing, hand-wringing or an inability to sit still Slowed thinking, speaking or body movements Indecisiveness, distractibility and decreased concentration Fatigue, tiredness and loss of energy even small tasks may seem to require a lot of effort Feelings of worthlessness or guilt, fixating on past failures or blaming yourself when things aren't going right Trouble thinking, concentrating, making decisions and remembering things

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Frequent thoughts of death, dying or suicide Crying spells for no apparent reason Unexplained physical problems, such as back pain or headaches

For some people, depression symptoms are so severe that it's obvious something isn't right. Others people feel generally miserable or unhappy without really knowing why. Depression affects each person in different ways, so depression symptoms vary from person to person. Inherited traits, age, gender and cultural background all play a role in how depression may affect you.

Main depression signs: What are the symptoms of depression?

Below is a list of the main depression symptoms which may be observed for different types of depression. It is important to keep in mind that not every depressed individual will experience each one of the following symptoms. Someone might experience only a few symptoms while another person might have a lot of depression signs, and this can also change over time.
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Sadness: this symptom may include a groundless sense of grief, sorrow and constant blues. Unlike the sadness or blues that we may experience from time to time in our lives, this deep sense of sadness is chronic and does not disappear for several weeks in a row. Often, if someone examines the reasons for such sadness, he finds none significant. Pessimism: this symptom means that someone has a negative view of things and events. Such people do not expect anything good to happen in the future and do not see any good things in the past. When you get pessimistic during depression, you feel like you have always been this way and always will be. Guilt, low self esteem: self loathing is common when someone is experiencing this depression symptom. Someone may take the guilt for his actions, feel embarrassed and ashamed of himself and be too sensitive when it goes about mistakes or faults. People can also become too judgmental of themselves, and consequently, to other people and the world around them. Low self esteem leads to the feeling of being fairly punished for something. Someone does not feel the need to fight off depression, as he feels that it is a fair punishment. Fatigue: when you are experiencing this symptom, you may feel exhausted as soon as you get out of your bed. In fact, you may start having problems getting up, and feel sleepy all the time. You may run out of energy, not even getting through half of your day. Loss of energy: if you experience this symptom, you might feel tired all the time, with a need to sleep. You might also feel physically drained as if you had been doing a lot of physical efforts. Your legs, arms and your whole body may feel heavy. You might have difficulty to perform even small everyday tasks and feel exhausted, or it might just take you much longer to do these tasks.

No interest in life and no enjoyment: people with depression do not enjoy life anymore. It turns life into a dull or sorrowful experience. People tend to lose interest in their hobbies or in the social activities they used to enjoy. This may lead to marriage and sex life problems as well as a lack of satisfaction. Someone may start withdrawing from its daily life routine, and may start having a hard time going through the day and coping with daily choirs. Someone may also withdraw from his social life and relationships and become passive. Difficulty to make decisions and to focus: the decision making process may become hard, first of all because when you are depressed, your emotions and thoughts tend to be negative. You do not perceive the world around you adequately. This may lead you to make wrong decisions. People with confused emotions or thoughts have a hard time focusing on events and circumstances around them. Sleeping disorders: some people with depression experience insomnia. They wake up early in the morning with the feeling of emptiness; they may also have nightmares several times a week. Such people have a hard time falling asleep. Others experience constant sleepiness. They have a hard time waking up and getting out of bed. The day starts very slow for such people, and they may experience constant drowsiness. Eating disorders: during depression, some people may become anorexic and stop eating. Such appetite loss leads to body weight loss, which can become critical when it reaches 5 percent of the body mass. Other people, on the contrary, start overeating. This may lead to obesity as they might start gaining weight fast. Anger, aggressiveness, irritability: these emotional states are very characteristic of depressive disorders. Such lack of self control may be caused both by depression directly and by its other signs, such as insomnia. These symptoms may be prevalent in men with depression. Physical symptoms: headaches, chronic pains, stomach pains, numbness in arms and legs and many other physical problems can be caused by depression. These physical symptoms are not caused by any physical disorder or illness. This is why they cannot be treated with medications other than those used for the treatment of depression. To know whether these physical symptoms are caused by depression or by other medical conditions, a doctor may perform blood tests. Crying: people with depression can easily start crying. They may have crying fits that start with no real reason and end up rapidly. Socialization problems: people with depressive disorders may start to withdraw form their circle of friends and family. Or they may start having interpersonal problems caused by their medical condition. Friends and relatives may not realize the need for help and think that your mood swings or other problems are caused by character faults or personal weaknesses. Sex life problems: someone with bipolar depression may experience a rapid increase in sexual desire. On the other hand, people with other types of depression or people with bipolar disorder in a first stage may start having difficulties enjoying their sexual life or even have a complete loss of sexual desire.

Problems in making it through the day: someone who is depressed may feel like there is no way he can make it through the day. Simple, seemingly easy and ordinary tasks such as getting dressed or fixing dinner become too complicated and impossible to accomplish. People in depression may start dreading larger tasks or dealing with more complicated assignments, which required some amount of decision making. Self-destructive behaviors: drinking, drug abuse, fast driving and other forms of socially unacceptable and dangerous behavior may be caused by depression. Depressed people with low self-esteem may subconsciously or consciously head themselves towards destruction. Inappropriate social behavior: people with bipolar depression tend to experience such a symptom. On the maniac stage of their depression cycle they may become too talkative, too active and sometimes too aggressive. This may lead to various forms of asocial behavior., and may even lead to homicide in extreme cases. Suicidal thoughts and acts: thoughts about death can bother people with depression. This is a characteristic symptom of people with major depression or bipolar disorder, but it can also be experienced by people with any kind of depressive disorder. Such thoughts may be life threatening, as they may lead to suicidal acts.