Depression - Unofficial and Official Symptoms

Dealing with depression requires first and foremost an understanding that it is a common and treatable illness. Its symptoms include the following:

DEPRESSION - MAJOR SYMPTOMS

· Miserable frame of mind over a period of time, sometimes in a number of weeks

· Expresses grief in activities and life in general, and fails to feel satisfaction

· Disheartened thinking - negative approach about oneself, the present and the future
· Difficulty in focusing and remembering

· Under the dilemma in making decisions - often even the more simple ones

· Feelings of unimportance and desperation

· Anxiety - a sense of being afraid - that something “dreadful” is going to happen

· Phobias or doubts about specific situations

· Loss of appetite and weight loss or, alternatively, increased appetite and weight gain

· Disrupted sleeping patterns - not much sleep or wanting to sleep all the time

· Feeling weary and lacking in energy and inspiration

· Loss of interest in sex

· Physical symptoms - aches and pains, gastrointestinal upsets, headaches

· Incapacity to do the usual everyday activities

· Thoughts of suicide

Various people do not try to find treatment in the early stage of depression as they started to observe such symptoms and thought that it will just pass away in a period of time, not noticing how severe the health problem can be.

DEPRESSION - UNOFFICIAL SYMPTOMS

People with depressive illness are:

· Indifferent, uncommunicative, silent

· Selfish, unaware or insensitive about the needs of others

· Dominant

· Irrational and unreasonable

· Outgoing and pleasant in public, the opposite at home

· Fickle-minded and unpredictable

· Makes unexplainable and sudden references to separation and divorce

· Cruel, belittling, and critical

· Take alcohol and drugs in excessive amounts

The unofficial list of symptoms demonstrate why depressive sickness threatens good relationships and disrupts families. Identifying, understanding, and learning how to cope with depression is the primary solution to end the sufferer’s misery.

DEPRESSION - OFFICIAL SYMPTOMS

These official real-life symptoms are the ones doctors use to diagnose depression.

· A consistent sad, empty, or distressed mood

· Irritability, excessive crying

· Sleep and appetite disturbances

· Chronic aches and pains that don't respond to treatment

· Difficulty in remembering, focusing, and making decisions

· Feelings of hopelessness, pessimism

· Loss of interest or pleasure in activities previously enjoyed, including sex and sports

· Thoughts of death or suicide; suicide attempts 

Next Chapter The Causes of Depression

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