Everything You Want to Know About Depression

 Depression can be more than a constant state of sadness or feeling “blue.”

Major depression can cause a variety of symptoms. Some affect your mood, and others affect your body. Symptoms may also be ongoing or come and go.
The symptoms of depression can be experienced differently among men, women, and children differently.

Men may experience symptoms related to their:

• mood, such as anger, aggressiveness, irritability, anxiousness, restlessness
• emotional well-being, such as feeling empty, sad, hopeless
• behavior, such as loss of interest, no longer finding pleasure in favorite activities, feeling tired easily, thoughts of suicide, drinking excessively, using drugs, engaging in high-risk activities
• sexual interest, such as reduced sexual desire, lack of sexual performance
• cognitive abilities, such as inability to concentrate, difficulty completing tasks, delayed responses during conversations
• sleep patterns, such as insomnia, restless sleep, excessive sleepiness, not sleeping through the night
• physical well-being, such as fatigue, pains, headache, digestive problems
  

Women may experience symptoms related to their:
mood, such as irritability
emotional well-being, such as feeling sad or empty, anxious or hopeless
behavior, such as loss of interest in activities, withdrawing from social engagements, thoughts of suicide
cognitive abilities, such as thinking or talking more slowly
sleep patterns, such as difficulty sleeping through the night, waking early, sleeping too much
physical well-being, such as decreased energy, greater fatigue, changes in appetite, weight changes, aches, pain, headaches, increased cramps

Children may experience symptoms related to their:
mood, such as irritability, anger, mood swings, crying
emotional well-being, such as feelings of incompetence (e.g. “I can’t do anything right”) or despair, crying, intense sadness
behavior, such as getting into trouble at school or refusing to go to school, avoiding friends or siblings, thoughts of death or suicide
cognitive abilities, such as difficulty concentrating, decline in school performance, changes in grades
sleep patterns, such as difficulty sleeping or sleeping too much
physical well-being, such as loss of energy, digestive problems, changes in appetite, weight loss or gain

The symptoms can extend beyond your mind.