Seven Symptoms That You Are Getting Into A Depression

There are lots of reasons for a person to get depressed but you can easily identify the symptoms of depression and help the person to overcome it. Few symptoms are easily identifiable .The symptoms like Over weight or loss of weight, insomnia or excessive sleep can be the symptoms of depression. Read through.This article cover

• What is depression?
• What makes someone clinically depressed?
• Manic depression symptoms and other types

Feeling sad or "down" for a few days is not the same as exhibiting symptoms of depression. A clinical case of depression symptoms as outlined in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-IV-TR) is a disorder with both physical and mental characteristics that negatively disrupts an individual's ability to function day to day in social and work environments. According to the DSM, real depression is a condition of this nature that lasts for more than two weeks.

It is estimated that at any one time, some 16% of the population of the United States is clinically depressed. The condition is actually the leading cause of disability in this nation. By 2020, statistics gathered by the World Health Organization suggest that depression will be the second major cause of disability in the world.

What Makes Someone Clinically Depressed?

The DSM lays out a stepped approach to diagnosing and evaluating clinical depression. First one of two clinical depression symptoms must be present, either a depressed mood or a loss of interest or pleasure. If either of those major depression symptoms is present, the patient must also exhibit four of the following symptoms.

People who are depressed are often overwhelmed by sadness or fear and at times feel incapable of experiencing emotion. Another major symptom is loss of interest or pleasure in an activity or pastime that was previously a source of considerable engagement.

Marked weight gain or loss is an indicator as is a change in sleep patterns to either extreme - insomnia or excessive sleep. Restlessness, slowed movements, and mental or physical fatigue may also indicate depression.

Other feelings that may be present include guilt, helplessness, hopelessness, anxiety, fear, and decreased self esteem. People who are depressed have trouble concentrating and find themselves struggling to think clearly. They will also have memory issues. Additionally, individuals suffering from depression entertain thoughts of self-harm in the form of either self-mutilation (cutting for instance) or suicide.

If the patient in question is a child, the symptoms of depression may include recurrent nightmares, a loss of appetite, and problems in school with learning or discipline that were not previously present. Children will also exhibit marked changes in behavior. They may become withdrawn or exhibit uncharacteristic social aggression.

In adults it is not uncommon for people who are depressed to abuse alcohol, drugs (or both), and to engage in excessive behavior, perhaps developing an eating disorder or a sexual addiction. The Beck Depression Inventory, a depression symptoms test, uses twenty-one multiple choice questions to evaluate a potential case of depression and is considered to be an excellent diagnostic tool.

Currently there are two versions of the Beck Depression Inventory being used, the original that was published first in 1961 (and then revised in 1971) and the 1996 version. The one drawback to the Beck test is its emphasis on physical symptoms like fatigue that might result in an inappropriate evaluation if the patient in question also has a physical illness that causes the same physical symptoms.

Continue to: Manic Depression Symptoms and Other Types

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