Depression Is A Common Experience?

Depression is a common experience. We’ve all felt sad about something: a friend giving us the cold shoulder, marital misunderstandings, or tussles with teenage children. Sometimes we feel down for no reason at all. However, depression is considered to be an illness when the mood state is severe, if the feelings last for two weeks or more, or if it interferes with the ability to function at home or at work.

To detect a clinical depression, clinicians suggest looking for the following signs:

  • Lowered self-esteem or sense of self-worth
  • Changes in sleep patterns, such as insomnia or broken sleep
  • Changes in appetite or weight
  • Reduced ability to control emotions such as pessimism, anger, guilt, irritability, and anxiety
  • Emotions that vary throughout the day: for example, feeling worse in the morning and better as the day progresses
  • Reduced capacity to experience pleasure—being unable to enjoy what’s happening in the present, not looking forward to anything, and losing interest in hobbies and other enjoyable pursuits
  • Reduced pain tolerance—being less able to tolerate aches and pains and possibly having a host of new ailments
  • Reduced or nonexistent sex drive
  • Poor concentration and memory—occasionally to the extent that people think they’re demented
  • Reduced motivation—a feeling of meaninglessness or that nothing is worth doing
  • Lowered energy levels

Bear in mind that other diseases can produce these symptoms. This is one of the key reasons that you need to seek an accurate diagnosis from your general practitioner or another qualified health care professional.

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