General
Depression can have many causes and manifests itself somewhat differently in each patient. The severity of depression also varies greatly from patient to patient. A distinction is made between mild, moderate and severe depression. In order to recognise the signs of depression, it is often necessary to seek help from relatives, as they are often the first to notice that it is not a simple mood disorder, but a fulminant depression that requires medical attention.
Signs of depression
There are various symptoms or first signs by which depression can be recognized. These symptoms are initially very subtle and it is difficult for the patient to distinguish whether he or she is suffering from depression or whether it is a short-term period when the patient is simply a little sad or upset. However, if certain signs occur over a longer period of time, these can be seen as a guideline that makes it possible to recognise a depression.
It is very difficult to say at what point a depression is considered to be depression, and even trained psychiatrists sometimes find it difficult to determine. In order to recognise a depression, the patient has to take care of himself or herself and take a critical look at himself or herself. A first sign is the loss of all interests.
Especially outsiders often recognise the depression of a relative by the fact that the patient withdraws more and more, cancels appointments and prefers to spend time alone at home. Calls are also made less frequently and contacts break off. Patients often do not even notice that they withdraw more and more and renounce all appointments or hobbies.
Nevertheless, this withdrawal and the failure to take up interests is an important sign of depression. In addition to this “shyness”, there are many other symptoms that point to depression and make it easy for the patient and relatives to recognise the depression. The loss of pleasure or enjoyment of sexual intercourse (loss of libido) and the loss of enjoyment of general family life are also important indicators of depression.
In addition to this loss of interest (anhedonia), there is also great sadness or emptiness. The patient cannot pull himself up to anything and sometimes starts to cry for no apparent reason. Other patients report that during their depression they are completely empty and emotionally cold and cannot allow or perceive any emotions.
This inner emptiness or inner sadness is also an important leading symptom. Furthermore, the patients sleep very often, but in other cases the patient may also have sleep disorders. Both symptoms can indicate depression, whereby most patients spend a lot of time in their bed and lack any drive to leave it again.
In order to recognise a depression it is therefore also important to pay attention to the patient’s daily routine. In most cases, this is very disturbed by the enormous amount of sleep time and the patients lose their day-night rhythm. In addition, there is often a large loss of weight, as patients forget to eat or simply cannot manage to go to the supermarket to buy something to eat.
This feeling of listlessness is an important symptom that can indicate depression and serves as a clear sign for the patient or relatives. Also important to recognise a depression is to see how well the patient can still concentrate and to what extent he or she is still attentive to other people or the environment. Often, the patient no longer has any self-confidence or self-esteem.
In addition, there is often a feeling of guilt, which can relate to a wide variety of situations or moments and is often not rational at all. However, this can put a heavy burden on the patient and make him feel completely worthless. Much more typical, however, is the sign that patients see the entire future only as negative and cannot imagine that good times will ever come back to the patient.
This pessimism is a typical sign of depression. In the worst case this can even lead to suicidal thoughts. These suicidal thoughts are the last warning sign of a depression and require immediate and urgent psychotherapeutic help and measures.
