Depression is one of the leading causes of disability in the human race. It is not common in developed countries but is also an emerging problem in developing countries. The lifetime prevalence of depression ranges from 20% to 25% in women and 7% to 12% in men. Depression can cause your quality of life to degrade very quickly. We should all have a better understanding of depression as a lay person and a loved one. The top nine symptoms or signs were made part of a patient health questionnaire to screen for depression. You can access this questionnaire here. If your score is more than 10, you should probably seek therapy from a reputed mental health facility or approach a nearby psychiatrist.
- Loss of interest: This one can be noticed by a closer caregiver if the child or adult loses interest in the things they used to do with great interest but no longer find interesting.
- Feeling of helplessness: At times you will see someone who discuss with you that they feel helpless inside and have nowhere to go, alone this symptom could trigger a milder form of depression and may need a therapist for a detailed exam.
- Trouble falling, maintaining sleep or sleeping too much: Although you will find many people complaining about this one but a chronicity of this symptom can be trigger of depression in a person. Ideally we should not be using mobile or laptops late at night and use our bed only for two “S”, sleep and sex.
- Feeling tired or loss of energy: The way our corporate world works now it is pretty common for people in North America and Europe to feel tired most of the day. But having a loss of energy or losing the will to continue your routine may be a sign that you need a break or time-off from your regular routine. If your break didn’t solve the problem than look into it as a sign of depression.
- Poor appetite: Weather changes can make your appetite change. Moving out of city, tourism or bad health could also be triggers. But a chronic loss of appetite along with unintended weight loss are crucial signs to look for.
- Feeling of guilt: Most of the people would not announce it to people around them but may be very close friends. This is why that depression screening should be done in almost all the patients.
- Memory and concentration: This is also subjective and objective a boss or caregiver may be able to feel that your concentration is decreasing but reliable answer would be from the patient itself. Loss of concentration in things which you use to find interesting is a sign of depression.
- Moving or speaking so slowly that others notice: This is a defense mechanism that is used by many patients so that others around them can notice that they have a problem. People are reluctant to speak up if they are struggling inside. You have to be on the look-out for this one.
- Thoughts of suicide: In males, this in itself is a diagnosis of moderate depression but in females it could be less bothersome, only because females are less likely to execute their thoughts. However, thoughts of suicide should be thoroughly investigated and taken care of. You cannot let it go.
Depression affecting millions of people around the world need further research on how to prevent it. You can also buy research paper from Custom Essay Meister.