It’s probably true to say that just about everyone has shown symptoms of depression at some time or another. Even those annoying people who always seem to be full of beans and bouncing with the joys of life have had cause to be upset at some point or other in their lives. Being upset about something though does not mean that they have a clinical disorder. It is important to understand the real symptoms of depression so that you can:

1- Be sure you are actually suffering from the condition
2- You are treating it accordingly.

First thing to understand is that the symptoms of depression are similar to the symptoms of other forms of emotional distress except that other emotional problems can be traced back to one particular problem or incident. An example would be someone grieving over a loved one’s death and feeling sad, upset, angry, and just plain depressed for a long time. These feelings aren’t necessarily symptoms of depression unless they persist after a full year and are serious enough to interfere with a person’s everyday routine after that year or so. There is no time limit on grief and of course some people can feel sadness over the loss of someone else for the rest of their own life, but when this grief is so overwhelming that it interferes with their own life after a good period of time, this may signal something much more serious and require further investigation.

The extent of one’s sadness and the consistency of it are also symptoms of depression. While anyone can have a very bad day and get a severe case of the blues for no apparent reason, usually this type of thing clears up after a good night’s rest or some time spent with friends or family. Some are even affected by the weather, so once the rainy day is over or the snowstorm clears, they feel better. However, true symptoms of depression last much longer than a day or two and are more severe than just feeling “blue.” Someone with true clinical depression sees no point or purpose in anything, even hobbies and activities they once enjoyed, and find it difficult even spending time with family and friends. They may not necessarily be suicidal but often suffer from a sever lack of self-esteem. Everyone’s symptoms of depression are different in how they manifest themselves and the degree of those symptoms, but they are usually severe enough to interfere with their everyday life. While most people don’t look forward to going to work on Monday, those with clinical depression never want to get out of bed, ever.

If your symptoms of depression are causing interference in your own life such as it becomes noticeable that you are no longer caring for the responsibilities of your friends, your career or even your family, it is time to talk to a doctor. If you don’t seek help the condition and the symptoms of depression will more than likely get worse and worse over time. A person may easily get swallowed up in their condition and wait until things are much worse than they need to be before he or she seeks medical intervention. Talk to your doctor about your symptoms of depression the moment you notice them and get the help you deserve and before it gets worse.

Our ebook “Diagnose Depression” explains in more detail how to spot the symptoms of depression. You can download it for free by entering your name and email in the form at the top right of this page.