characteristics

• Emotional

  • Lowered mood - often experiencing feeling 'sad' 'empty' and 'worthless' 'numb'
  • Anger - directed towards others or the self
• Behavioural

  • Change in activity levels - lack of energy and withdrawal from activities once enjoyed or increased activity
  • Disruption to sleep - sleep may reduce (insomnia) or may increase (hypersomnia)
  • Disruption to eating behaviour - increased appetite leading to weight gain or decreased appetite leading to weight loss.
• Cognitive

  • Poor levels of concentration - unable to stick to task as they would usually would make straightforward decisions, this can interfere with an individuals work
  • Negative schema - they will interpret all information in a negative way, ignoring all positives
  • Black and white thinking - viewing an unfortunate situation as a absolute disaster