Depression: What are the symptoms of depression?

Are you feeling low and sad and like you don’t have the energy like before but you are not sure whether it classifies as depression? There are different severities of depression. Sometimes a person may misunderstand symptoms of depression and come to conclusions of having clinical depression without professional help or guidance.To understand the symptoms of depression, it is essential to understand what depression may look like.

Decoding depression…

In medical words, depression is a psychological disorder that affects human emotions as well as behaviour. A person experiencing depression may feel less hopeful and more helpless than he or she actually is. All of these affect the ability of that person to thrive in his or her surroundings to their fullest potential.

Depression can be mild, moderate or severe and it is quite common to have negative thoughts and a tendency to self-harm or even suicidal ideation when suffering from clinical depression. There is less awareness about what depression is and also about ways to deal with it in terms of treatment which is why many don’t even consider seeking professional help. Never to forget, both hope and help are always available if looked for in the right direction. Read out the symptoms, to know more about depression, and help yourself gain awareness for yourself as well as to be able to help others if someone is in need.

Signs and symptoms of depression:

The state of depression varies from every individual. Some may show up their signs and symptoms at an early age, while others may be good at hiding it. To understand the condition well, check out the symptoms, if you have more of it, then take medical help.  

Most common signs of depression:

Feeling helpless: Even after being in the crowd with your loved ones, you feel lonely. You are not able to share your problems with anyone. You start to feel helpless and hopeless.

Loss of interest: You don’t feel like continuing your work. Your hobbies and passion are not exciting for you. You stop doing routine activities, and you continuously overthink a lot.

Physical body changes: You have no control over appetite, either you eat a lot or end up having no meal in the day. This will lead to physical changes in your body; you will get overweight or underweight.

Insomnia: Depression makes you think a lot, and because of this, you can become insomniac. In some cases, some individuals sleep a lot.

Hypertension: When you constantly think about a situation or a person, you may end up getting hypertension. This can even lead to severe medical issues.

Increased irritation: You often get irritated in the smallest incident. You stay frustrated and can end up having fights with your closed ones.

Difficulty in concentrating: This is one of the common symptoms of depression. Many depressed people face problems in academics or at work.

Suicidal thoughts: When a person goes through hyper depression, then they will have thoughts of death and suicide, and it becomes unbearable.

Unexplained body aches: Through constant tension in mind, a person will face a lot of body aches and headaches.

Apart from all the above depression symptoms, in hyper cases, a person encounters a strong feeling of worthlessness and guilt. While in depression, you even engage yourself in gambling and drug addiction, which can cause severe medical issues.

Depression varies according to age and gender!

The symptoms of depression vary according to the age and gender of an individual. A kid may face depression in school because of its poor academics, and young people will suffer from depression as they will be having problems at the workplace. 

Symptoms of depression in men:

• Hopelessness
• Self-hatred
• Fatigue
• Irritation
• Sleep problems
• Loss of interest in the workplace

Symptoms of depression in women:

• Constant feeling of guilt 
• Overeating or undereating
• Excessive sleep or insomnia
• Irregular periods

Symptoms of depression in teenagers:

• Constant irritation
• A sudden drop in grades
• Physical pain like headaches 
• Loss of interest in playing games and other fun activities 

Symptoms of depression in adults:

• Unexplained body aches
• Memory loss
• Medical problems
• Fatigue and irritation

Significant causes of depression:

There are a lot of triggers of depression. You can’t blame a single cause for your depression; it is always a series of events. The regular stress can prompt you to overthink a lot, and it can make you more anxious. Some of the significant causes of depression we have seen are:

Loneliness: Many people get depressed because they feel lonely, and they have no one to share their feelings. The risk of depression heightens because of self-isolation. So whenever you feel low, always try to talk to your family members or close ones instead of keeping it all to yourself.

Stressful life: The current lifestyle of humans is to stay busy to be productive. But it has harmful side-effects. You keep on hustling; you don’t give yourself and your brain enough time to rest. This stressful life is the primary trigger behind depression.

Relationship problems: A healthy relationship is a remedy to stay away from anxiousness and depression. But if there are already lots of issues and abuse in your relationship, then it can cause depression to anyone or both.

Childhood trauma or abuse: Most of the youngsters face depression because of an old childhood incident. You might have encountered a bully or abuse that is hard to forget, and you always think about it, causing you depression.

Alcohol and drugs: Many of the individuals intake alcohol or drugs as a remedy of depression or to forget their stress. But it is never this way! Alcohol and drugs can have a significant effect on your mind, and you will overthink the situation instead of forgetting it.

Family history of depression: Depression can come to you from your family, too; it is genetic. But there is no hormone found yet that is responsible, sometimes it’s your own life choices affecting you.

It’s essential to understand the primary cause of your depression. And after that, you should recognize your symptoms. If you feel like you are going through depression, then reach out to your closed ones or go for therapy. Although you might think that there is no ray of hope, but your life matters.

So, Treat depression by taking professional help and feel better!