What are the symptoms of depression

symptom

The performance of depressive episodes can be divided into three aspects: core symptom group, psychological symptom group and physical symptom group.

Depressive episodes are often summarized as "three lows" in the past, that is, low mood, slow thinking, and decreased volition. These three symptoms are considered to be typical symptoms of severe depression, but these typical symptoms do not necessarily appear in all patients. .

Early symptoms

It is impossible to say exactly what the early symptoms of depression are. There are many symptoms of depression, and in fact, the symptoms shown by each patient at the beginning will have certain individual differences. If you find that you have significant and lasting abnormalities such as low mood in your daily life, you can use the "9-item Simple Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-9), Zung Self-Rating Depression Scale (SDS), Beck Depression Questionnaire (BDI), and quick Self-rating scales such as the Self-Rating Questionnaire for Depression Symptoms (QIDS-SR) have certain positive significance for early screening.

Typical symptoms

Core symptom group

upset

The depression, distress and sadness that I feel or that others can observe, feel that the pain is difficult to survive, and cannot feel happy, and even feel that life is like years, life is better than death, and often frowns and sighs.

There is a low mood almost every day, and it generally does not change with environmental changes.

Loss of interest or anhedonia

Can't be interested in everything or lose interest, lose enthusiasm for previous hobbies, lose the ability to experience happiness, and can't get fun from the activities that they usually engage in.

Even if there are some simple activities such as reading books and watching TV, the main purpose is just to kill time and cannot get happiness from them.

Psychological symptom cluster

anxiety

Manifested as upset, worried, nervous, cranky, worried about losing control or having an accident.

Slow thinking

Consciously slow response, difficulty thinking about problems, decreased decision-making ability, reduced speech, slower speech rate, lowered volume, and in severe cases, there will be obstacles to response and communication.

Cognitive symptoms

Mainly manifested as the decline in memory ability of recent events, attention disorder, decline in information processing ability, and indifference to self and the surrounding environment.

In severe cases, there will be "three asymptomatics", that is, feeling useless, helpless and hopeless.

Useless: Decreased self-evaluation, thinking that one's life is worthless, full of failures, and useless.

Helpless: Feeling helpless and helpless.

Hopeless: I think I have no way out, no hope, and a bleak future.

Self-crimination

If you blame yourself for some minor mistakes or mistakes you have made in the past, you will feel a deep sense of guilt or guilt when it is serious, thinking that you have a serious sin and must be punished by the society.

Attempted suicide and behavior

Severely depressed patients are often accompanied by negative suicidal ideas and behaviors. Suicide ideas are often stubborn and recurring. The suicidal behaviors adopted are often well-planned and difficult to prevent. Therefore, suicidal behavior is the most serious and most dangerous depressive disorder. Symptoms.

Psychomotor changes

There may be psychomotor retardation or agitation.

Hysteresis: It is manifested as slow movement, slow thinking, reduced activities, lazy life, distance from relatives and friends, avoiding social interaction, decreased work efficiency, and inattention to personal hygiene. In severe cases, it will develop into less speech, less movement, less food or no speech, no movement, Not eating is a state of "depressive stupor".

Agitation: Involuntarily thinking about things with no purpose repeatedly in the mind, the content of the thinking is unorganized, and thus the behavior is irritable, unable to control oneself, and even aggressive behavior.

Psychotic symptoms

Patients with severe depressive disorder may experience psychotic symptoms such as hallucinations or delusions.

Insight

Some patients with depression are able to actively seek treatment and describe their condition and symptoms, which is complete self-knowledge.

Patients with severe depressive disorder may lack a correct understanding of the current state, or even completely lose the desire to seek treatment. This is incomplete or lack of insight.

Somatic symptom group

sleep disorder

It is manifested as difficulty falling asleep, light and shallow sleep, more dreams, early awakening, lack of sleep sense, etc. Among them, difficulty falling asleep is the most common, generally more than half an hour later than usual, and early waking is the most characteristic, generally waking up 2-3 hours earlier than usual, and cannot fall asleep again after waking up.

Eating and weight disorders

Mainly manifested as decreased appetite and weight loss.

Energy loss

Manifested as listlessness, fatigue, and laziness.

Depressive mood is heavy day and night

Depression often worsens after waking up in the morning, and is reduced in the afternoon and evening. This symptom is one of the typical manifestations of "endogenous depression". However, the symptoms of some psychogenic depression patients may worsen in the afternoon or evening, contrary to the foregoing.

Sexual dysfunction

It can be a decrease in libido or even a complete loss, and the appearance of sexual dysfunction.

Other non-specific physical symptoms

Pain in any part of the body, such as headache, backache, etc., can also have various manifestations such as dry mouth, sweating, blurred vision, palpitation, chest tightness, nausea, vomiting, stomach burning, frequent urination, and urgency.