What is depression?
About 5 in 100 adults suffer depression every year. Sometime it is mild, however an episode of depression serious enough to require treatment occurs in about 1 in 4 women and 1 in 10 men at some stage in their lives.
What are the symptoms?
Many people know when they are depressed. However, some people do not realise when they are actually depressed. They realise they are low and not functioning normally, but don’t know why.
Core symptoms
- persistent sadness and low mood,
- marked loss of interest or pleasure in activities.
Other common symptoms
- Disturbed sleep, unusual to normal sleeping pattern.
- Change in appetite resulting in weight loss or gain.
- Agitation.
- Reclusive and poor concentration.
- Feelings of worthlessness.
- Excessive guilt.
- Despairing thought, such as life is not worth living.
Many people with depression often say these symptoms are worse in the morning. Often with depression, it can be common to develop physical symptoms, for instance, headache, palpitations, irregular breathing, chest pain. Severity of depression can vary from mild, which would be five of the symptoms listed above, to seven, which would be all of the above list.
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