Symptoms of depression

Symptoms of depression in patients

you may feel sad, you are no longer amused by anything
you are downcast, glum, listless
you feel useless, unhappy
you easily cry feeling hopeless, which intensifies. You start to see only the “empty side of the glass”, you no longer see anything good around you, you become cynical, everything disappoints you, including yourself. Life seems to have no meaning/no purpose, you can no longer see a way out of the situations you find yourself in.
feeling of powerlessness. Life starts to seem more and more difficult, situations that once seemed easy to solve now become an effort/source of suffering.

These feelings of hopelessness are the most important characteristics of sadness in depression, and are also markers of progress in treatment.

Most patients say that the state in depression is different from that in ordinary sadness. That felt, for example, when a loved one dies, and is most often felt as a tormenting, unbearable grief.

Nearly half say there is no standard for symptoms in depression, with symptoms varying throughout the day, being more severe in the morning and gradually improving towards evening.

Symptoms of depression in children and adolescents

they get angrier,

more irritable,,

they lock themselves more in their room.

They don’t talk about what concerns them
becomes withdrawn, lonely
he/she is always alone (which he/she used to be)
he/she makes excuses not to leave the house (says he is tired, has other things to do, etc.)
no longer reacts to happy life events
he/she reduced his/her work efficiency or effectiveness
no longer wants to do the activities he used to enjoy or be passionate about (hobbies, friends)
no longer even feels like watching TV or talking to family members

Symptoms in parents:

you no longer feel like going to work
you don’t feel like meeting up with acquaintances/friends
you no longer feel like going out
you no longer enjoy life’s pleasant events, children, hobbies
you lose your zest for life, the pleasure of living
everything seems useless, pointless or no longer of interest to you

These signs are often most easily noticed by family and co-workers and are among the most common reasons for bringing the sufferer to the doctor.

change in weight by more than 5%. He/she loses weight or gains weight, no longer has an appetite, or on the contrary, eats more than usual – eats in anger or in a fit of rage
lack of sleep is felt, the second day being tired, sleepy, nervous, dizzy. Or on the contrary, it seems that the only thing he/she does is to stay in bed, doze or even sleep both day and night, sleep is restless, with nightmares
agitation or psychomotor sluggishness observed by others

Symptoms of depression in family and acquaintances:

seems out of place, restless
he/she is kneading his/her hands, he/she’s “fouling” around the house
he/she becomes more nervous and irritable than usual, sometimes shaking or showing sudden episodes of agitation
he/she appears tense, tense or panicked
maybe he/she even behaves bizarrely
he/she doesn’t listen to anyone, he/she gets agitated and he/she makes himself/herself sick

or

he/she became increasingly apathetic, slower in movement and speech, more slurred
he/she finds it difficult to move around even in the house
he/she doesn’t want to leave the house
he/she can no longer go to work or school, “lies” in bed
“lies” in bed
no energy to care for others or for himself/herself
fatigue or lack of energy almost every day

or

you can see that the person is always sad, looks like he’s crying
no longer seems to enjoy, no longer laughs, no longer wants to participate in happy events (parties, outings, etc.)
sadness becomes visible on the face and body of the sufferer. His/her eyes are sad, tearful, the corners of his/her mouth turned down, his/her gaze downcast, he’s kneading his/her hands
speaks with difficulty, in a low, muffled voice that is barely audible
no longer has confidence in his own strength
talks about his future in gloomy terms, sees nothing good in himself/herself, around him or in the future
he/she is pessimistic (and not “in his nature”)

in the elderly: they seem more distressed, they are mournful or irritable. They complain of more somatic symptoms as usual. They talk more often about death or their past suffering (“I had a hard life”, “let death take me”, etc.)
marked decrease in interest or enjoyment of all or most activities for most of the period

Symptoms of depression for patient or family/relatives:

you may feel exhausted, permanently tired
you gradually lose your energy, vitality, appetite for life
you wake up more tired than you went to bed
you no longer have the strength, the drive for your current activities, which you do with difficulty, slowly, partially or not at all

feelings of worthlessness or excessive and inappropriate guilt, which may be delusional and not just self-reproach or guilt related to being in pain

initially there may be vague feelings of inadequacy, of not being “good enough” as a husband/wife, of not being good at work/failing a project of being wrong towards certain relatives/friends then gradually there are worries about certain situations in life, where they would think they made the wrong choice, that they “shouldn’t have…”
that he’s/she’s guilty of the difficulties in other people’s lives
that it is useless/”good for nothing”
thinks he/she is, “a burden”, thinks “others would be better off without me”, that his/her existence “hurts others”

Some people can hardly stand the drop in energy and become irritable, nervous and others look for other illnesses to explain this fatigue.

Sometimes they blame themselves for the problems of the whole world.

Considers himself/herself “the greatest sinner”, that he will be punished by God, in severe cases losing touch with what may be real (delusional idea)

Sometimes the person may have hallucinations, which may or may not be congruent with the mood. That is, the patient can see, hear, feel things that do not exist in reality and that may or may not be related to sadness. For example, an elderly woman may see her husband (dead for many years) calling her to come to her bedside, or she may hear a voice talking to her in the street, with no one there.

In severe cases, the person may have delusions, with or without a connection to sadness. That she is being stalked, that someone wants her dead, is poisoning, persecuting or harming her or someone close to her. That she is possessed, that she is talked about, that she is guilty of the misfortunes of others. That she is a sinner, that she will be poor, that she or those close to her will die of serious illnesses, etc. Rarely, delusions of size, grandeur, mysticism, etc. (expansive delusions) may occur.

Sometimes it happens that the family does not notice that the person has been sad for a long time, but only brings them to the hospital when they notice behaviors related to these delusions.

Decreased ability to concentrate

Thinking or indecision, which manifests itself almost all the time. They can’t pay attention for long in conversations, at work or in their daily activities, they have the feeling that their mind is “cloudy”, that their thinking is “blurred”. They find it hard to decide what they want, or to start an action and find it difficult to concentrate on finishing it.

They have memory impairment due to a decreased ability to concentrate, which can sometimes be the only reason why recurring thoughts of death (not just fear of death) reach the doctor. Recurrent suicidal ideation or a suicide attempt or a specific plan to commit suicide

The symptoms cause significant distress and markedly impair a person’s functioning in work, social, family and other important areas of life.

Other symptoms?

Poza decorativa pentru articolul Depresie

In many cases, along with the main symptoms of depression listed above, physical signs and symptoms may also appear, sometimes delaying or confusing proper diagnosis. If the person suffers from a somatic diseasethe pain will be more intense if the illness coexists with depression.
Many of these physical symptoms are due to anxiety.

Depression is frequently associated with anxiety (90% of cases), defined as a feeling of tension, intense emotion or fear for no apparent reason or much more intense, inappropriate or in excess of the cause, when it exists. Anxiety can be sudden and very intense, in the form of a panic attack, or generalized, usually of lower intensity but persistent.

The most common physical symptoms are:

Headaches; migraines are worse during a depressive episode
Tremor of the limbs
Feeling of weakness in the legs, muscle twitching (twitching of muscles) or paresthesia (tingling of the skin)
Muscle tension, restlessness
Digestive disorders: feelings of nausea, “burning” or “knot in the stomach”, diarrhoea or chronic constipation, aerocolia (bloating), vague, diffuse abdominal pain, lack of appetite
Dizziness, feeling of a “cloudy head”, dizziness

Chest pain

As a feeling of heaviness, tightness; feeling short of breath or choking; palpitations; increases in blood pressure

Sweating or cold or heat waves
Low back, muscle and joint pain
Fatigue, despite at least 6-8 hours sleep
Increased frequency of urination
Syncope
Menstrual disorders, sexual dynamics disorders

Symptoms of depression – physical symptoms should be carefully investigated by your attending physician, endocrinologist, neurologist, cardiologist or other specialists before attributing them to depression.

However, it should be noted that depression, especially that associated with anxiety, can also have physical symptoms, which can be multiple and affect all the systems and systems (“mimics any disease”).

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