Depression

• Cognitive characteristics are based on how people think.
• Behavioural characteristics are based on the way people act.
• Emotional characteristics are based on how people feel.
• Behavioural characteristics include reduced activity and energy, tiredness, agitation, restlessness or sleeping and eating too much/ too little.
• Emotional characteristics include sadness, loss of motivation and interest in usual activities, emptiness, hopelessness and low self-esteem.
• Cognitive characteristics include negative self belief, negative self concept, feelings of guilt, and recurrent thoughts of self harming or death.
• DSM recognises depression as a mood disorder.
• Disruption to eating and sleeping patterns is a behavioural characteristic of depression.
• Anger and aggression can lead to self harm, which is a behavioural characteristic of depression.
• Psychomotor agitation is a behavioural characteristic of depression.
• Low mood and feelings of sadness are emotional characteristics of depression.
• Low self esteem (how we view ourselves) is an emotional characteristic of depression.
• Poor concentration and trouble making decisions are cognitive characteristics of depression.
• Overthinking and emphasising the negative (glass half empty) are cognitive characteristics of depression.