10 Signs of depression you should worry about
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Muhamad Rawi- 05/07/2018
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Depression is a very serious disease which possesses a great risk of losing someone's life. Anyone could suffer depression for different reasons, it could be you or anyone close to you. Think about it as a silent killer which may put someone close to you at great risk of hurting themselves or even committing suicide.
Depression is totally curable and preventable if you can diagnose it early. However, diagnosis of depression could be problematic as people who suffer depression may tend to keep it a secret. The don't usually like to share it with others and even they might have secret plans for committing suicide. It is very important too to differentiate depression from grief.
Grief is a normal reaction to loss or sensing loss where someone tries to cope with catastrophic sad events by sensing grief and not to be missed with depression which usually persists without any relief of symptoms.
The major symptoms of depression which should make you worry about yourself or anyone close to you and ask for immediate help from specialized facilities are as follows:
1- Insomnia or hypersomnia:
People with depression tend to sleep too less or too much. Both are indicators signs for depression especially if they persist for a long time (more than two weeks).
2- Loss of self esteem, feeling guilt, feeling helpless, losing of one's sense of worthiness:
Depression patients lose their own faith in themselves, they feel useless and purposeless.
3- Loss of hope:
especially in cancer patients who tend to suffer loss of hope at some point and decide to quit treatment.
4- Persistent sense of fatigue:
Depressed people feel persistent sense of fatigue and lack of will to go to work or perform normal day activities.
5- Lack of concentration, poor memory, and poor decisions making ability:
Due to their loss of interest in life, depression patients suffer bad memory and concentration with inability to take complex or even simple decisions that may precipitate their sense of worthlessness.
6- Irritability, restlessness, agitation, and aggressiveness:
Patients with depression may suffer extreme irritability and aggressive anti social behavior which bypasses stressful situations to even normal ones with tendency to push close people away from their life.
7- Disturbed eating habits:
Depressed people may suffer increased appetite or even loss of appetite. Disturbed dietary habits are signs for depression that you shouldn't ignore.
8- Loss of interest and inability to experience happiness:
People with depression can't experience happiness the way normal people do. Funny and humorous situations have no effect over them.
9- Physical symptoms:
Although depression is a psychological disease, it may affect also normal body functions. Depressed patients suffer headaches, cramps, pain anywhere in the body, and abdominal symptoms (vomiting, diarrhea, inability to swallow). These symptoms will not respond to medications and will usually persist as long as they suffer depression.
10- Suicidal attempts, suicidal plans, suicidal thoughts, or even suicidal justification:
Be warned if someone you know starts to discuss openly his acceptance to suicide and dealing with suicide as a normal life act. Suicidal plans, notes, or suicidal thoughts are good alarms for a future suicidal attempt. Don't take it easily and ask for help immediately.
Diagnosis of depression is not an easy process and any 5 symptoms of the previously mentioned items combined when persist for more than two weeks should alarm you of a major depressive disorder including suicidal attempts and worthlessness.
However, you should be careful diagnosing depression as only one symptoms is not sufficient for making sure that you or your close ones suffer depression. The main factor of diagnosing depression is the persistence of symptoms for a long time without any relief. Another important thing to differentiate between depression and grief is that people suffering grief may cope with pain with laughter or even a smile but depressed people will not experience happiness at all. Grief is easy to cure with some psychological and social support while depressed people might need pharmacological treatment in addition to psychological support. Even administration at specialized facilities to keep them safe from suicidal attempts. Keep away any sharp objects, any wires, and any firearms as they may tend to use these objects for suicide.
There are numerous depressions help hotlines in many countries. If you suspect that you or anyone close to you is suffering depression, don't hesitate to call the hotline in your country for help as you may save someone's life.
Visit these websites for further help if you need to:
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