Mental Health Awareness; Symptoms and Types of Depression

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Mental Health Awareness

Symptoms and Types of Depression

Mental Health Awareness; Mental health is as important as our physical health. Therefore, it is important to take good care of your mental health. For this, first, we should have Mental Health awareness, Depression Symptoms and Types of Depression. However, there are certain disorders that affect mental health and depression is one of those disorders. Feeling down or feeling sad is very natural in normal life, but when the hopelessness and despair just don’t go away it means that you have depression. There are certain Depression Symptoms and Types of Depression. Here we will briefly discuss the Mental Health Awareness, Depression Symptoms and Types of Depression.

Depression Symptoms

Feeling helpless and Hopeless

The feeling of helplessness takes over you and you remain hopeless about your life. You feel disappointed that nothing will get changed and you will continue to face these problems.

Lack of interest in Daily life Activities

You lose your interest in your daily life activities. The hobbies and interests, once you had immense interest seem boring and dull and you do not take part in social life.

Abrupt Changes in Appetite and Weight

You have abrupt changes in appetite and weight. Either you eat too much or lose your appetite at all. Either you gain too much weight or lose even your ideal weight.

Sleep Changes

Either you face insomnia or sleep too much if you have depression.

Anger and Irritation over Minor Things

You get annoyed easily if you have depression. Your tolerance level is low and because of your short temper, everything and everyone get over your nerves.

Loss of Energy

You feel fatigued and face the problem of loss of energy. You even don’t have the energy to perform your daily life tasks.

Concentrating Problems

You face problems in focusing, making decisions, or remembering things.

Unexplained Aches and Pains

An increase in physical complaints such as headaches, back pain, aching muscles, and stomach pain.

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Types of Depression

Major Depressive Disorder

A major depressive disorder is a mood disorder and it is characterized by the following symptoms.

Depressed mood
Lack of interest in activities normally enjoyed
Changes in weight
Changes in sleep
Fatigue
Feelings of worthlessness and guilt
Difficulty concentrating
Thoughts of death and suicide

If a person experiences the above symptoms for longer than a two week period, they will often be diagnosed with major depressive disorder.

Persistent Depressive Disorder

If a person experiences the following symptoms for two months or less than two months than he may have a persistent depressive disorder. The symptoms include;

Feelings of sadness
Loss of interest and pleasure
Anger and irritability
Feelings of guilt
Low self-esteem
Difficulty falling or staying asleep
Sleeping too much
Feelings of hopelessness
Fatigue and lack of energy
Changes in appetite
Trouble concentrating

The treatment of the disorder includes the therapy as well as medication.

Bipolar Disorder

It is a mood disorder and characterized by mood swings known as mania. A person may feel extreme mood swings or they can be of a minor level, in addition to the mood swings, a person may feel the following symptoms.

Fatigue, insomnia, and lethargy
Unexplained aches, pains, and psychomotor agitation
Hopelessness and loss of self-esteem
Irritability and anxiety
Indecision and disorganization

Postpartum Depression

Pregnancy can bring significant hormonal changes that can often affect women’s moods. Depression can be experienced during pregnancy and after the birth of the child. A woman with postpartum depression may have the following symptoms.

Low mood, feelings of sadness
Severe mood swings
Social withdrawal
Trouble bonding with your baby
Appetite changes
Feeling helpless and hopeless
Loss of interest in things you used to enjoy
Feeling inadequate or worthless
Anxiety and panic attacks
Thoughts of hurting yourself or your baby
Thoughts of suicide

Seasonal Affective Disorder

If you experience depression and anxiety during the summer season but live perfectly fine during the winter season, then you have the seasonal affective disorder. However, it often went undiagnosed because people don’t report it to the psychologist or psychiatrist.

Atypical Depression

If you have the signs of depression, but respond extremely well to certain events, then you have Atypical depression. The following symptoms relate to Atypical depression.

Excessive eating or weight gain
Excessive sleep
Fatigue, weakness, and feeling “weighed down”
Intense sensitivity to rejection
Strongly reactive moods