Symptoms of depression

TINEKE OLDEHINKEL: So all complaints you just saw can be part of a depression. That’s how varied depression symptoms can be. Let me walk you through the list. The best-known symptom is depressed mood. Depressed mood can mean that you feel sad and cry a lot, but it can also mean feeling empty and hopeless. The second symptom is having no pleasure or no interest in things anymore.

SPEAKER 2: I’ve not been feeling well for quite some time. I cry at the smallest of things, and I just feel so lonely. To be honest, I’d rather spend all day in bed, but I try to do some things that used to make me happy, like going shopping and gaming with friends but even that doesn’t make me smile anymore. I just want to stay in my room on my own all day long.

TINEKE OLDEHINKEL: You need to have at least one of these two symptoms to have a depression. So if you don’t feel sad and still have pleasure and interest in things, you cannot have a depression. But you need more than just these two symptoms. Concentration problems, for instance, so that you cannot think clearly and struggle to keep your mind on your schoolwork.

SPEAKER 3: It started when my parents got divorced when they told me I felt miserable. I couldn’t focus at school. I mean, at first, I did have really high grades, and they just went really low. I found I couldn’t concentrate with homework or any other kind of work. I tried to watch some movies to relax but eventually, I just couldn’t. I didn’t even know what the movie was about.

TINEKE OLDEHINKEL: Feeling very tired and dreading the things you have to do is a symptom tOO. What else? Feeling less worthy than others, for instance. Depressed people often feel very bad about themselves. Feeling guilty without a good reason can be part of that.

SPEAKER 4: I had no energy, and I couldn’t push myself to do anything. I feel bad about that. I felt like a loser. I started to distance myself from my friends, and I barely met up with them because I didn’t think they wanted to be with me. I felt guilty though because I was always the one who cancelled all the plans.

TINEKE OLDEHINKEL: Sleep problems are in the list as well. Often, this means having difficulty falling asleep or waking up early but sleeping more than usual is possible too. The next two symptoms also have two sides. You may eat less than normal and lose weight. But overeating and weight gain can be symptoms too. And sometimes, depressed people are very restless and can hardly sit still, but their movements can also be fairly slow. Finally, depressed people can feel so hopeless and worthless that they think about ending their lives. When you have five or more of these complaints most of the day for at least two weeks, then you suffer from depressive disorder according to the official rules.