How can you diagnose someone with depression?
It is not always easy to diagnose someone with depression because there are many ways in which depression can express itself. On top of this it is made more difficult because there are several other mental disorders which are very much like depression, such as burnout. To help you in your search, we list the symptoms of depression here and you can find a depression test, which can help you decide if you are depressed or not.
Depressed test? The symptoms of depression
The symptoms of a depressed feeling can be divided up into several categories:
The mental symptoms
These symptoms are largely based on feelings, because depression is a mental illness which mainly makes you unhappy. You will thus experience an overwhelming somber feeling. Even if something funny were to happen, you are unable to laugh. You furthermore want to cry more and more often and you want to stay in bed all day.
The physical symptoms
If you are depressed, you physically do not have a lot of energy. You do not want to partake in any activities and would like to stay in bed all day if you could. Your work is thus likely to suffer from your depression, too. Even though you do sleep a lot sometimes, you still do not feel rested and you do not want to do anything.
The social symptoms
If you have a depression, you prefer to isolate yourself from other people as much as you can. You generally find it annoying when people start to talk to you and you generally do not attempt your hobbies anymore. You find it more and more difficult to accept help or you dread things where you know other people will be. Even meeting up with friends or family because annoying to you.
Depressed test? Treating depression
You will notice that a depression sometimes can have large consequences. It is not only a mental illness, but also a physical illness. Depression can thus, for example, make it so that you fall ill more easily. It is therefore best to treat depression and its symptoms as early on as possible. This way you also have the largest chance of fully turning the symptoms around. For people who have more frequent or more extended depressions, depression often leaves a scar which increases chances of another depression following. 15 Minutes 4 Me developed an online self-help program which reduced depression by 40% on average after the participants followed the program for one month (according to a study published in the Artsenkrant, 2011). The program has proven its efficiency in treating minor depressions and is a good supplement to therapy in cases of major depression.
Depressed test? Take the depression test!
Would you like to know to what extent the symptoms of depression are applicable to you or in what stage your depression is? Then take the free online depression test here!
