|
|
Depression - How to Recognise it?
Symptoms of depression:
- An unusually sad mood or anxious state that does not go away and may be worse in the morning
- Loss of enjoyment and interest in activities that used to bring pleasure
- Lack of energy and tiredness despite rest
- Slowing of thinking and body movements
- Loss of appetite or eating too much
- Difficulty concentrating or making decisions
- Sleep problems including difficulty getting to sleep, waking early or oversleeping
- Feelings of hopelessness or worthlessness
- Excessive or inappropriate guilt
- Aches or pains without a physical cause
- Recurrent thoughts of death or suicide
- Feeling anxious, tense or irritable
- Negative thoughts about self, others and the world
- Feeling unable to cope with everyday things
- Loss of interest in sex
- Social withdrawal
- Delusions and/or hallucinations (in severe cases)
If five or more of the above symptoms are present for more than two weeks, it probably is a depressive episode.
|