Significant Depressive Disorder Signs and Symptoms
Depression is one of the common health conditions that we, in the modern world, undergo without realizing the gravity of the situation. Depression not only hampers our thinking but also impairs our ability to function properly in our day-to-day lives. It is not only a common health condition but also a mental state which requires medical help.
Medically, depression can be classified into two types depending on the gravity of the patient’s mental state – major depression and minor depression.
A slight depression is episodic, and symptoms are not significant enough to impair functioning to the level of major depression. It is also less severe and more manageable. Acupressure pen also gives good results.
On the other hand, major depression affects how you feel and the way you think and also behave. Major depression can lead to a variety of emotional and physical problems, which may impair the patient’s ability to conduct day-to-day activities without feeling suicidal.
Depressive Disorder Signs and Symptoms
Table of Contents
- Constant feelings of unhappiness
- Short temperament
- Feeling frustrated at the slightest matters
- Loss of interest in daily activities
- Reduced sex drive
- Loss or change in appetite, ie. Increase in hunger or loss of desire.
- Constant fatigue
- The overbearing feeling of guilt or grief
- Recounting one’s disappointment in past failures
- Trouble in concentrating
- Frequent thoughts about death
- Unexplained physical problems like backaches or headaches
- Crying inconsolably without a reason
These are the general symptoms, but they depend on the age, gender, and circumstances faced by the patient. These symptoms may be seen in an extremity or parts and differ significantly from those seen in teenagers and children. Nowadays, it is mainly after the onset of adolescence that most children show signs of depression in their behavior. These include uncontrollable anger, anxiety, suicidal thoughts, and unexplained reasons for feeling helpless or unhappy.
In teenagers, spotting major depression is more difficult as most of the listed symptoms are often dismissed as differences in behavior seen in all teenagers. Therefore, parents and teenagers must be aware of the subtle changes within.
In older patients, the need to socialize or interact with others disappears. Unlike before, they start preferring solitude and remain dissatisfied with their lives. This hampers their daily activities, and most people like this are cornered and left alone by people around them as well—this further worsens the situation. Hence, patients must undergo psychiatric counseling and take the required medication.
In the case of major depression, the symptoms have already been aggravated to a greater extent. Unlike in the case of minor depression, the patient’s health has reached an increased level of deterioration.
Therefore, it is advisable to be wary of the signs listed above and also of other risk factors that may contribute to the ill-state of the patient – such as taking to alcohol or any different kind of substance abuse, self-mutilation, or any significant biological problems (primarily seen in case of women).