How do I know if I am depressed?
Depression is not always easy to recognize, because it can show itself in different ways. For a trained doctor or psychologist a depression is more easily recognized, but for oneself it is often difficult to be sure of. Even more difficult is finding out if someone close to you has a depression. This article will give you some possible alarm signals to look out for.
How do I recognize depression?
Depression can show itself in different ways. A depressed person often shows different characteristics from different parts of depression. This then all concerns varieties of depression, rather than several separate illnesses:
1. The psychological symptoms of depression
The psychological symptoms of depression are the things you feel. In the first stage of the psychological symptoms of depression you experience a somber mood, you feel unhappy, and you are often pessimistic. Furthermore, you think that the future is useless and you do not feel any need to do the things which you have to do. Your self-esteem also suffers from the depression. In the second stage, the complaints get worse and your feelings disappear: you have the feeling that you can no longer feel anything and that your emotions have disappeared. At this time, the center in your brain which is responsible for both positive and negative feelings has been affected and no longer work well. This is definitely reversible by treatment which you can follow, eventually combined with a self-help program.
2. The physical symptoms of depression
If you are depressed, you often feel tired and fatigued, without being able to explain this feeling. This means that there is no actual reason for you to feel physically tired.
3. The social symptoms of depression
If you are depressed, you will start to socially isolate yourself. You want to avoid contact with other people because you have poor self-esteem. When others ask you if you want to do something with them, you prefer to decline. You do not accept help, either, and prefer to just lock yourself away from everything.
Online self-help program treats depression.
According to a study in the Artsenkrant, the depression score of the average participant reduces by 77% after having followed 15 Minutes 4 Me for one month. In recent years, online self-help has become more and more popular as a proper alternative for minor depressions and as a good support for therapy for major depressions.
Am I depressed? Take the depression test!
15 Minutes 4 Me developed a simple online depression test for you which will explain to you what your depression level is after a few minutes. This way, you can evaluate yourself in a better way later on and see where you are at when it comes to treating your depression.
