Anthony’s comment:
It is possible that a person wouldn’t recognize the symptoms he or she had in order to seek help. In fact, it isn’t necessary to recognize these symptoms in order to seek help. Your doctor can help sort out and define for you what might be going on and if it is consistent with depression. Symptoms are not only emotional but physical as well, with such problems as insomnia, excessive worrying, loss of appetite, change in behaviors/activities, change in bowel patterns, etc. When I ’m depressed, I have found that I don’t want to be bothered by people and prefer not to associate with people I once considered friends. The signs and symptoms of depression include the following:
- Sadness or irritability
- A loss of enjoyment in once pleasurable activities
- A loss of energy
- Difficulty concentrating
- Insomnia or excessive sleep
- Fatigue
- Unexplained physical complaints (e.g., headache, backache, stomach upset) Decreased sex drive
- A change in appetite (increased or reduced)
- Feelings of hopelessness, helplessness, and/or worthlessness
- Suicidal thoughts or attempts
If these symptoms persist for more than 2 weeks, clinical depression may be present. The greater the number of symptoms present, particularly if associated with sad-ness or irritability, the more likely depression is present.
Suicidal thinking warrants an immediate evaluation, especially if associated with hopelessness. As can be seen from the list, many of the features of depression involve physical symptoms. Depression is not strictly a condition of the mind. Lack of energy and fatigue may make it difficult to get moving or follow through with commitments (work, school, and family). Some people exhibit psychomotor retardation —a condition in which it is difficult to initiate and sustain activity . Symptoms may change over the course of a day with a worse mood in the morning and a better mood at night or vice versa.
Because of the multitude of physical symptoms in depression, many patients seen by a primary care health provider for certain physical complaints actually have depression. Certainly, a physical evaluation excluding any other medical conditions is warranted, but depression needs to be considered as a possible condition. Many times the clinician does not consider it, or when asked about mood or the possibility of depression being present, some patients may become upset, thinking their doctor considers their symptoms “all in their head.” In fact, depression is a medical condition that causes real physical symptoms. Physical symptoms get better as the depression is treated.