Depression:

Melancholy: The symptom of melancholy is obligatory for the diagnosis of depression and is probably also therefore often used synonymously. It describes the feeling of a depressed mood and lack of motivation to perform certain activities. Often, the affected person cannot give a concrete reason for their feeling.

Another aspect that characterizes this symptom is its duration. Thus, melancholy is a condition that lasts for several weeks to years and can thus be clearly distinguished from normal emotional fluctuations. Depression, and therefore melancholy, is a serious condition, as it can lead to further complications.

Therefore it is all the more important to recognize and prevent depression. Loss of drive: Loss of drive is one of the symptoms of the depressive phase that can be best observed by outsiders and can have a significant impact on working life. For example, it often happens that people with pronounced listlessness often take sick leave and no longer find motivation to go to work or perform other everyday activities, such as shopping.

The social environment is also usually affected and increasing social isolation takes place. Slowdown: In stark contrast to the massively overexcited behavior and flood of ideas in manic patients, cognitive slowdown can usually be observed in patients in a depressive phase. This can manifest itself in concentration difficulties and a marked forgetfulness.

For many of those affected, the slowdown has a strong impact on their work, which they are sometimes only able to perform to a limited extent. In everyday life, the lack of concentration can lead to difficult situations in which one does not know what to do. To avoid these situations, we recommend the following article: Lack of Concentration – You should pay attention to thisRetreatment behavior: The symptom of withdrawal behavior in depressed patients is on the one hand to be seen as a symptom of depression in its own right, but can also be a consequence of the other symptoms.

For example, prolonged melancholy and listlessness can lead to a decline in acceptance in the social environment, which is perceived by those affected and only makes the existing symptoms worse. In addition, patients in this phase often have only a limited interest in social contacts.This vicious circle often ultimately leads to an ever-increasing social isolation of the patients, which can make the therapy of depression considerably more difficult. Loss of libido: The loss of libido is a very common symptom of depression.

It is not uncommon for this loss to occur together with a sexual dysfunction, which is manifested in men by ejaculation and erectile dysfunction and in women by dry mucous membranes. The loss of libido can lead to problems in a partnership, which can intensify the depressive symptoms of the patients. However, loss of sex drive can also occur in the form of side effects of many antidepressants.

Before taking medication, you should be aware of both the effects and the side effects associated with them. You can also read about the side effects of antidepressants below: Side effects of antidepressants – What you should knowSleep disorder: With 80-90%, almost all depressive patients are affected by the symptom of sleep disorder. This is usually characterized by the fact that those affected have difficulty falling asleep, wake up more often at night and are awake early in the morning.

In summary, this leads to a reduced duration of deep sleep and is often classified as requiring therapy. Therefore, in addition to the basic therapy of the bipolar disorder, a targeted therapy of the sleep disorder should also be provided if it exceeds a certain level. Suicidal thoughts: Suicidal thoughts and impulses occur very frequently in depressive patients.

In addition to the great suffering of the patients, the main focus here is on the hopelessness for an improvement of the situation. Together, this leads to the fact that those affected toy with the idea of taking their own lives in order to escape suffering. In over 50% of suicides there is a depressive background.

Should patients have such thoughts, it is advisable to contact doctors or psychologists quickly so that those affected can be helped acutely. In such a case we advise to do everything possible for an improvement. We recommend that you take a good look at the subject of “suicidal thoughts”. The following articles can be helpful:

What can be signs of suicide?
Depression and suicide