Depression Symptoms
Medical professionals define a major depressive disorder as a long-term condition characterized by a depressed mood and Anhedonia. The latter refers to a state of mind, whereby the activities which are normally considered pleasurable (e.g. eating, exercising, socializing) are no longer perceived to be so. If a patient has suffered with these symptoms for more than a two week period, alongside at least five other symptoms, s/he will be diagnosed with clinical depression. Other symptoms of depression include extreme feelings of unhappiness or fear, or a sense of numbness. A depressive's feelings may include guilt, nervousness, despair and fear of being left alone.
Depression can affect a sufferer's daily life by reducing or increasing appetite, reducing or increasing the need for sleep, using up the sufferer's energy, making trouble concentrating or encouraging the patient to engage in risky or self-destructive behaviour, such as drinking or taking drugs. Depression is a complex disorder and affects different individuals in a variety of different ways, but there are common features found by most sufferers. Patients often experience self-loathing, a fear of decline into insanity and may exhibit aggressive or defensive behaviour. Depressives may reduce their attention to matters of personal hygiene and appearance, and are often unwilling to socialize or spend time outside of the home. Physical affects, of which there are sometimes many, may include hypersensitivity to light and noise, non-specific aches and pains and migraines.
Depression in children can be incredibly difficult for a parent to spot, but symptoms are similar and those that are most easily noticed include loss of (or increase in) appetite, sleep problems and extreme changes in behaviour. For those with no experience of the condition, these symptoms can often be mistaken for something altogether less harmless, and this can be difficult for sufferers to deal with.