Understanding Depression:Symptoms

Depression is most commonly used and misunderstood term. Every body has heard this word but nobody is aware what Depression exactly means and how one feels when he/she is depressed, or is aware how a loved one of his feels when depressed.People with depressive illnesses do not all experience the same symptoms. The severity, frequency and duration of symptoms will vary depending on the individual and his or her particular illness.Teenagers face a host of pressures, from the changes of puberty to questions about who they are and where they fit in. The natural transition from child to adult can also bring parental conflict as teens start to assert their independence. With all this drama, it isn’t always easy to differentiate between depression and normal teenage moodiness.

The intensity of depression varies from mild to severe depending on the level it affects your social and occupational life mild to severe depending on the level it affects your social and occupational life.Depression consists of persistent sadness of mood i.e. not feeling happy [there can be or can not be some reason behind it]. He is unable to cheer up even in happy circumstances or in situations he use to feel happy before. He feels gloomy, talks less and there is no shine on his face or in eyes. He sits with a stooped posture and has a tense looking appearance.

The patient looses interest in the pleasure activities, in which he had interest before like going out with friends, watching movies, TV, sexual activities or sitting among the family members and talking leisurely. He even looses interest in the routine work /activities of life and like to remain aloof or away in his own. He starts avoiding work and take frequent leaves. He himself also feels dull and out of life but still does not know what has happened to him.

A depressed patient has recurrent body aches and pains and feels fatigued most of the time. He has a sense of general weakness and feels that now on working he gets tired easily than before. He also can?t work enthusiastically and at that fast pace as before. He for his weakness go on taking tonics / vitamin pills or anti-pain tablets but without any results. This weakness hampers even his day-to-day life.

The victim has a disturbed pattern of sleep; there is either a delay in sleep onset or repeated awakenings at night or early awakening in the morning. Patient although sleeps at night but in the morning does not feel like he has slept and is not fresh so he wants to remain lying on the bed. Some patients even show increase in sleep, they can sleep at any time in the day and has a feeling of lethargy during the whole day.

The victim feels hungry but does not have the ?mood? to eat. He eats forcibly as the mealtime approaches. Thus patient looses considerable weight. Some of the patients feel relaxed on eating and thus eat more and gain weight.

The patient has difficulty in concentrating in his work/studies. He finds that the mind go on wandering here and there when he tries to concentrate. There are many useless thoughts in his mind and he finds it difficult to control them. The thoughts are either without any meaning i.e. are about one has done in the day passed or is going to do in the day to come or the are pessimistic, not pleasant and are disturbing.

He predicts a negative outcome of the future also and feels that nothing positive or good can happen to him now and in future. If he is facing a problem currently, he is not hopeful of getting it solved in the time to come. He even feel that there is no cure to his illness and does not go to the doctor for treatment or refuses to take the medicine.

The symptoms of depression are often subtle at first. It can be hard to recognize that symptoms may be connected and that you might have depression.

The two most significant symptoms of depression are:

• Sadness or hopelessness.

• Loss of interest in or pleasure from most daily activities.

Other symptoms include:

• Irritability, anger, or hostility

• Tearfulness or frequent crying

• Withdrawal from friends and family

• Changes in eating and sleeping habits

• Restlessness and agitation

• Feelings of worthlessness and guilt

• Lack of enthusiasm and motivation

• Fatigue or lack of energy

• Difficulty concentrating

• Thoughts of death or suicide

• Increased tearfulness, anger, and generally not feeling well.

• Sometimes, a feeling of heaviness in the arms and legs.

• Sensitivity to rejection

It is important to recognize the early warning signs of depression so that you can get treatment.If you have at least five of these symptoms for 2 weeks or longer, and one of the symptoms is either sadness or loss of interest, you may be diagnosed with major depression that needs treatment. Even if you have fewer than five symptoms, you may still be depressed and need treatment.