Health Conditions

What are the symptoms?

Depression is frequently overlooked, because it can present itself in a range of signs and symptoms that are not necessarily obvious, particularly because there may be no clear cause, or triggering event. The condition often manifests itself in physical symptoms like headaches, back pain, and chronic fatigue. There are also non-physical symptoms of depression that are sometimes harder to identify or separate from everyday behavior and can last weeks, months or even years if not treated, these symptoms include:

• A persistent feeling of worthlessness or sadness
• A numb or empty feeling or the absence of any feelings at all
• An inability to experience pleasure in hobbies and activities that were once enjoyed
• Irritability
• Restlessness
• Insomnia, early-morning awakening, or oversleeping
• Abrupt changes in eating habits; decreased appetite and/or weight loss or overeating and weight gain
• Difficulty concentrating
• Decreased ability to perform normal daily tasks
• Recurrent thoughts of death or suicide

Depression can also be associated with other disorders, such as alcoholism, anorexia, anxiety, and obsessive-compulsive disorders. This can make it hard to correctly diagnose a patient with depression.

• Depression in the elderly
• Depression in Adolescents
• Diagnosis of Depression
• Symptoms of Bipolar Disorder