The people with depression are characterized by feeling deep sadness, guilt, lack of motivation, anxiety, dependence, indecision, memory loss, sleep problems, appetite disturbances and lack of sexual desire.
This does not mean that all people who suffer from it have the same behaviors, or even that in all cases it manifests itself in the same way. But they do tend to present common symptoms that can help us identify if someone in our environment or ourselves is suffering from possible depression.
Until recently, there was not enough empathy or understanding with those who were suffering from this serious illness. Fortunately, there is a growing awareness of this problem and the delicate state in which people who suffer from it find themselves.
It is important to remember that luckily, research in this field is very extensive and that today there are well-established treatments with which to overcome this disease.
Different techniques and guidelines are used so that each person can choose the method that best suits their problem. In any case, the first step to fix it is to recognize it and then contact a mental health professional to remedy it..
Next, we are going to divide the symptoms based on the area that is affected. In this way we can classify them into affective, motivational, cognitive, behavioral or behavioral and physical or physiological symptoms..
This is usually the main symptom of people suffering from depression. It manifests itself in different ways and with different intensity depending on the subject. It is very common that the person who suffers from it does not give himself permission to feel sadness properly and this contributes to generating greater discomfort.
The person usually does not give himself permission to admit that he may feel that sadness, especially when he has gone through some serious event or experience, such as the loss of a loved one. In most cases, acknowledging the problem and allowing yourself to feel sorry for yourself helps you feel relief..
On the other hand, it is very common for those who suffer from this sadness to say things such as “I cannot bear so much sadness”, “I will always be very unhappy”, “I feel bad all the time”, etc..
These types of thoughts contribute to increasing the feeling of sadness that is fed back in a loop. It is necessary to get out of this vicious circle at some point in order to find a solution.
Experiencing periods of uncontrollable crying is another very common symptom of depression. The person may feel some relief after these episodes, but in the long run they tend to further increase their sadness..
In a very common way, the person suffering from depression tends to have feelings of this type due to some behaviors that they have carried out and even due to thoughts or desires that they have or have had.
The person is not able to identify that the fact of having a wish or thought does not influence reality and many times they believe that by thinking it can come to pass.
You may also feel guilty about being depressed. In most cases, this guilt comes from the fact that the person feels excessively responsible for their own behavior and even that of others..
It can also happen that the person performs counterproductive behaviors due to this feeling and this in turn leads him to feel even worse. For example, as I feel bad I drink excessively, and when I drink I feel guilty for not being able to control this behavior or solve the problem in another way, therefore the feeling of guilt increases..
Some people with depression have this kind of feeling. They think that they are weaker, childish or inferior to others because of this disease.
Sometimes they even think that they are crazy and that others will realize this fact. This feeling of shame also generates deep discomfort and usually leads to the person avoiding social contact.
Contrary to what is usually believed, depression and anxiety tend to go hand in hand and when one appears, it is common for the other to be suffered. The person who suffers from it has to learn to identify this discomfort as anxiety and, above all, internalize that although the symptoms are very annoying, they are not dangerous.
In this way, the patient is prevented from feeling anxiety at the very fact of experiencing the symptoms of anxiety.
It is very common for the person with depression to have a lack of motivation to perform even the simplest and most frequent tasks, such as getting out of bed or going to work..
The individual knows what he has to do but is unable to do it or thinks that he will not get any satisfaction from doing it, therefore it is not worth doing and remains in a state of immobility.
Closely linked with the above, it is very common for people who suffer from depression to appear avoidance or flight behaviors.
The person believes that he will be unable to perform a task or that he will perform it poorly, so he avoids facing certain situations. This contributes to increasing your discomfort and the belief that you are not capable of even the simplest task..
Overdependence on others is another of the common symptoms of depression. Although it is positive to ask for help from people around you, this type of dependency goes further and they often request, or even demand, help for tasks that they could easily perform alone.
Receiving this help from others, initially makes the person experience some relief when feeling loved and cared for by others. But in the long run it can contribute to increase the dependency and the feeling of worthlessness or incapacity of the patient.
In some cases, the person experiences periods of anger or rage. They usually appear when the individual begins to recover because anger is usually incompatible with the deep sadness experienced in the early stages of depression. They are also usually short periods and for a specific situation or person.
But, although it is rare, in other cases these periods of acute anger can be experienced regularly and in all stages of depression. If this happens, anger is usually directed towards a specific person and also generates feelings of anger and revenge towards this person..
Perception of problems as unsolvable or overwhelming. This type of belief is very common in the person who suffers from depression since they believe that they will never find the solution to their problems or that they will always find themselves just as bad.
The individual usually experiences a feeling of blockage that prevents him from seeing solutions or thinking of new ones. This lack of creativity when it comes to finding alternatives would not exist if it weren't under the symptoms and effects of depression.
So it is convenient to remember that this blockage will disappear when improvement is experienced or depression ends..
In this case, the person often stops making decisions because they always foresee a negative consequence as a result. It is also possible that you attribute your depression to certain decisions you have made and therefore making new decisions becomes an arduous and complicated task.
At other times, the person needs to be absolutely certain that the decision they are going to make is the correct one. In this case, it is necessary to remember that there are no absolute certainties and that it is impossible to know what the consequences of making a decision will be before taking it..
It is also possible that the person does not make decisions due to an inappropriate feeling of guilt that prevents them from seeing the realistic consequences of making one option or another..
On the other hand, in many cases it is even advisable for the person to postpone making decisions until they overcome the depression or feel better. As we have already commented, the individual can find himself in a situation of blockage that prevents him from generating options or alternatives that would arise if he were not depressed.
For this reason, if the decision is not urgent, it is advisable to delay it until the person is able to generate all possible alternatives and thus make the decision that is considered most appropriate at that time..
In a habitual way, the depressed patient usually attributes his suffering to some deficiency or error that he himself has committed. It is also common for him to receive this same message from his environment in the form of phrases such as "if he is like this, it is because he wants to" or "if he wanted to, he could be better".
These two characteristics often go hand in hand. The person has memory problems because they are not concentrating on the task, what they are saying or what they have to learn.
Instead of focusing their attention on the moment it is required, they are often thinking and rambling on their problems and discomfort. Therefore, when it is necessary to retrieve this information, it is not found because at the time it was not paid enough attention.
Inactivity is another of the typical characteristics of the person with depression. The main reasons for this passivity are usually the belief that they will not be able to do it, lack of motivation or simply arguing that they are too tired to do it.
It must be borne in mind that due to their state, these types of beliefs are strongly ingrained, and when they express that they do not feel capable of doing it, it is because they really believe that they will not be able.
In this sense, it is common for the patient to avoid social contact, or if he does so, he does so submissively, submitting to the wishes of others. In most cases, the person does have social skills but does not put them into practice.
Another of the symptoms that appear on a regular basis are sleep disturbances. Depending on the person, they can manifest as difficulty conciliating it, nighttime sleep interruptions, insomnia or, on the contrary, sleeping excessively. It is important to remember that when the depression subsides, the person will return to a normal sleep cycle.
One of the first symptoms that appear when suffering from depression is the alteration of the appetite. Depending on the person, in some cases these alterations are manifested with a loss of appetite and in others just the opposite..
At first, the person does not usually give it importance but if they lose weight or gain it excessively, it can be worrying for the health and self-esteem of the individual.
It is usually another of the symptoms that appear before in depression. It is believed that it is linked to the loss of pleasure that the person experiences in most aspects of his life. As with the other symptoms, it is important to bear in mind that when depression is overcome, the loss of sexual interest will disappear..
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