Top 10 Symptoms of Depression
How Can You Know If Your Loved One Is Depressed?
Depression is a complex phenomenon. It can be hard to spot in some individuals. In many cases, it is hard to identify a clear cut cause behind it. This ambiguous nature makes identifying and overcoming depression quite an arduous struggle. Generally feeling the blues is temporary but low mood, lack of interest, and insomnia for an extended time could be depression. Every mental health patient may not have the same symptoms. However, here are a few major signs and symptoms that appear in most individuals when depression kicks in. Look out for these Top Ten Symptoms of Depression.
Top Ten Symptoms of Depression
1. Sleep problems
If your loved one is suffering from mental health problems, you will probably notice changes in their sleeping pattern. It does not have to be a drastic shift but sleep may become erratic, leaving them extremely fatigued.
Sleeping too early on some days, staying up all night on others or oversleeping until afternoon are a few signs to tell you that something is wrong. Trying acupuncture for sleep might help dissolve his stress and worries somewhat however he may still suffer from bad dreams and an unhealthy sleep cycle.
2. Listlessness
One of the biggest and most obvious signs of depression is when your loved ones begin to stop being themselves. If they used to love singing or jogging, you will notice that they barely do it after the depression kicks in.
The small and cherished happy moments of life become completely worthless to a depressed person. This might even trickle onto you and cause you to feel low. Their feelings of hopelessness do not allow them to enjoy anything anymore.
3. Turbulent Emotions
Unexpected mood swings ranging from bursts of anger to weeping for no reason are typical signs of depression. There is a rollercoaster of emotions which hampers all activities
4. Sudden unhealthy behaviour
A person suffering from depression often shows sharp changes in behaviour. They might shout or start taking drugs. They might develop other habits such as driving rashly or picking fights. It can be entirely opposite to their character as well; become quiet, weepy, and avoid any kind of interaction.
5. Reduced self-esteem
What do you do when your dear one is sad? If they are in low spirits then bring some cheer into their life. Try to take them for a walk outdoors to do away with the gloom. Fresh air and nature work wonders. Depression can often stem from a negative self-image and the person might get stuck in a cycle of reduced self-esteem.
By being depressed the person might further feel unworthy, undeserving and untalented. This tainted perspective might compel them to use harsh words for themselves or perform badly in different aspects of life.
Top Ten Symptoms of Symptoms
6. Changes in appetite
Appetite and weight can swing both ways for people with depression. The symptoms or food habits are not the same for all. Some may have a reduced appetite and lose weight while others may gain weight due to binge eating. Keep an eye out for these signs as these food habits are not planned but are a fallout of depression.
7. Chronic Fatigue
Even after a good night’s rest, they may feel tired and lethargic. They may want to carry out their daily activities but the chronic fatigue syndrome will not allow them to. There are various physical symptoms of fatigue that include decreased activity, low vigour, exhaustion or lethargy. The cognitive symptoms comprise diminished concentration, declined attention or reduced mental endurance
8. Anxiety and Depression
Most people suffering from depression also suffer from acute and continuous anxiety. Any kind of worry can trigger anxious episodes. These may last for a few hours but can be controlled with deep breathing exercises. Sometimes, simply breathing deeper and better for a few minutes can make a stressful situation easier to cope with.
9 Thoughts of Suicides
A depressed person goes through a chemical imbalance. They feel there is no way out of this depression. They may not want to die but see it as the only way out of this living hell. If you are helping your depressed loved one make them realize that it is a treatable illness. Just like physical illnesses like cancer or heart ailments, it is a treatable ailment.
10. Strange Physical Symptoms
Depression causes unexplained physical symptoms like headaches and gut issues. The pain can be severe and can affect one’s mood. Chronic pain can lead to stress and insomnia. This pain can be a deterrent in doing day to day activities like work, family chores and social activities.
‘This blog post is part of the blog challenge ‘Blogaberry Dazzle’ hosted by Cindy D’Silva and Noor Anand Chawla.’
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@wordsmithkaur
@wordsmithkaur
This is a very helpful post for me Harjeet. And for anyone suffering from the above symptoms or seeing a loved one suffering from them. Thanks for sharing such a detailed post. You have shared some vital symptoms and that could recognize someone’s mental illness at its early stage.
Depression isn’t easy and getting out of it needs alot of courage and self power. Been there and by God grace pushed myself out with great difficulty
Except for being suicidal and fatigue I had the other symptoms when I was suffering from depression.
Really very helpful post Harjeet. I can relate to this as many of these symptoms I had. If you have strong support system then you can fight with depression otherwise it’s a hell like feeling. Thanks for this post.
This was definitely an eye opener to know the symptoms. Thanks for sharing this
I have been through this. I know it takes time to come out from the depression. No one notice such things then how will they help you. Your detailed post is helpful Harjeet. I will share it because it is the problem which is not easily recognize by the people.
Your posts on mental health are always detailed and helpful. These signs would help family and friends spot depression timely. That can go a long way.
Thanks for this informative article. I think such things should be made more and more aware
A very helpful post mam. One needs to check on their loved ones with this checklist regularly.
This is very informative and well-researched. It’s so essential for people to know these signs and can make the difference between life or death to someone- thanks for sharing
This is a helpful post Harjeet ji. If we all aware of these symptoms then we can help people suffering from depression.
Hi Harjeet. Thank you for highlighting these. Most often we miss seeing the red areas.
Generally, the loved ones are more perceptive to the signs of depression. People often dismiss them as phases but these signs just add up. Thanks for sharing yet another helpful post on mental health.
This is a very detailed and informative post! Everyone should understand what depression is and identify the symptoms at the earliest with the help and support of loved ones depression can be ridden. I went through this last year and it was very very difficult to get out of it. The worst was the headaches and I constantly kept getting sick. It seems at that point nothing is left to live for. But thankfully I have a strong support system and they helped me get out of it.
Mental health is so much in focus now as we all realized that people we know may need help. It helps to have these points to identify when someone close to us or even we ourselves are suffering unknowingly.
Thank you for penning this down. I am going to save it and share it with my friends soon, it is a must to discuss mental health more and more. That is quite a detailed list on this.
This is such an important and sensitive topic. You have penned it down so well, I think. we all should help ourself as well as people around us to so that we can talk freely and help can be provided if one gets the clear picture about the same
I can understand these as i had gone through this.
Mental peace is everything.one must ask for help.and we should be a good listener to the people facing such problems around.
One has to be vigilant about oneself when it comes to mental health too. Discussions with others and right help can make us save from this difficult situation.
This is such a helpful post Harjeet… detailed yet not very lengthy. You have explained every bit very well. This will be my ‘Go To’ post from now.
Great piece on depression I think you have given all the symptoms of it on a detailed, understanding way plus such kind of articles are eye operners for everyone.
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As always a well-researched and well-written post on an important subject.