Symptoms

• DEPRESSION: A mental disorder characterised by low mood and low energy level.
• The DSM-5 recognises:

  • Major depressive disorder - severe but often short term depression
  • Persistent depressive disorder - long term or recurring depression, including sustained major depression and what used to be called dysthymia.
  • Disruptive mood dysregulation disorder - childhood temper tantrums
  • Premenstrual dysphoric disorder - disruption to mood prior to and/or during menstruation
• Many depressed individuals experience REDUCED ENERGY, a sense of tiredness and a wish to sleep all the time. This is a behavioural characteristic.
• However, some have become INCREASINGLY AGITATED and restless, and may pace around a room wringing their hands or tear at their skin (psychomotor agitation). This is a behavioural characteristic
• SLEEP may be affected - some people sleep much more (hypersomnia) whereas others find it difficult to sleep and experience insomnia. This is a behavioural characteristic.
• APPETITE may also be affected, again there is variation in this where some people have a reduced appetite whereas others eat considerably more than usual. This is a behavioural characteristic
• People with depression are often irritable and in some cases can become VIOLENT or aggressive, which can have knock on effects to other aspects of their lives, such as ending relationships or quitting jobs. This is a behavioural characteristic
• Sometimes this aggression is directed towards the self, resulting in SELF HARM tendencies. This is a behavioural characteristic
• A formal DIAGNOSIS of ‘major depressive disorder’ requires the presence of at least five symptoms and must include either sadness or loss of interest and pleasure in normal activities.
• SADNESS is the most common description people give of their depressed state, along with feeling empty. This is an emotional characteristic
• Associated with this, people may worthless, hopeless and/or experience low self esteem (all NEGATIVE EMOTIONS). This is an emotional characteristic
• LOSS OF INTEREST and pleasure in usual hobbies and activities is associated with feelings of despair and lack of control. This is an emotional characteristic.
• ANGER is also associated with depression - anger directed towards others or turned inwards on the self. This is an emotional characteristic.
• Depression may arise from feelings of being hurt and WISHING TO RETALIATE. This is an emotional characteristic.
• Depressed people often have a NEGATIVE VIEW of the world and expect things to turn out badly rather than well. This pessimism is a cognitive characteristic
• Expectations can be SELF FULFILLING, for example, if you believe that you are going to fail an exam, that belief might reduce the effort you make and/or increase your level of anxiety and thus you will fail, confirming your negative self belief. This is a cognitive characteristic.
• Depression is associated with POOR LEVELS OF CONCENTRATION, making it difficult to stick with a task or making it hard to make normally simple decisions. This is a cognitive characteristic.
• Most situations are not all good or all bad, but when a person is depressed they tend to think in these terms: sometimes called ‘BLACK OR WHITE THINKING’, when a situation is unfortunate, they may see it asn absolute disaster. This is a cognitive symptom