How would I know if I was suffering with depression?

Paul Madden
Jun 5
2 min read

The word 'depressed' is a common everyday word. People might say "I'm depressed" when in fact they mean "I'm fed up because I've had an argument or failed an exam, or lost my job", etc. These ups and downs of life are common and normal. Most people recover quite quickly. With true depression, you have a low mood and other symptoms each day for at least two weeks. Symptoms can also become severe enough to interfere with normal day-to-day activities.

What are the symptoms of depression?

Many people know when they are depressed. However, some people do not realise when they are depressed. They may know that they are not right and are not functioning well but don't know why. Some people think that they have a physical illness - for example, if they lose weight.

There is a set of symptoms that are associated with depression and help to clarify the diagnosis. These are:

Key Symptoms

Persistent sadness or low mood. This may be with or without weepiness.
Marked loss of interest or pleasure in activities, even for activities that you normally enjoy.

Other common symptoms

Disturbed sleep compared with your usual pattern. This may be difficulty in getting off to sleep, or waking early and being unable to get back to sleep. Sometimes it is sleeping too much.
Change in appetite. This is often a poor appetite and weight loss. Sometimes the reverse happens with comfort eating and weight gain.
Tiredness (fatigue) or loss of energy.
Agitation or slowing of movements.
Poor concentration or indecisiveness. For example, you may find it difficult to read, work, etc. Even simple tasks can seem difficult.
Feelings of worthlessness, or excessive or inappropriate guilt
Recurrent thoughts of death. This is not usually a fear of death, more a preoccupation with death and dying. For some people despairing thoughts such as "life's not worth living" or "I don't care if I don't wake up" are common. Sometimes these thoughts progress into thoughts and even plans for suicide.