Depression Signs

Perhaps the most important depression warning signs you should be looking out for is a sudden and unexplained change in behavior.  Though that is also a common sign of a new drug-habit (or at least, one that just got out of control), episodes of depression often are cited as the cause of such an episode.This is, perhaps, one of the reasons that many people who have recently moved are prone to suffer some side effects of a depressed emotional state – because no one knows how they usually are and don't see the onset of depression.  Warning sings also include the yearly cycle of the winter season and its short-length days, reaction to chemicals (such as a natural gas leak) or hormonal shifts due to age or monthly cycling.

However, even if you're not known someone for a long time, there are plenty of other clues that they're having a tough time of things.  People (both men and women) who report that they cry a lot or engage in random and violent activities can both be suffering from depression.  Causes many vary, but reactions to the very same sadness vary by person, too.  Even individuals who've experienced depression in one form or another in the past can have a subsequent bout of depression with very different symptoms.

If you suspect someone you know might be having a problem with depression and are simply lacking their usual courage to tell you about it, look for patterns in her or his behavior that supports your theory.  For instance, if your friend mentions that he or she is having trouble sleeping, you might want to take note of how they react to things they usually love to do.  If you notice that they don't seem to enjoy otherwise enjoyable things and activities, you might want to ask further about whether they've been feeling sad or not. 

Of course, there are plenty of other questions you might want to ask that are more appropriate for a physician to question them about, but some other symptoms include a loss of sexual appetite, difficulty concentrating, a general malaise and loss of energy, sudden weight fluctuations, unexplained pains and a very short temper. 

With depression, sings and symptoms tend to stem from a deep and incessant dialog of self-loathing that causes extreme feelings of worthlessness, sadness and hopelessness.  The physical manifestations can be real, as a result of the way someone feeling that badly about themselves is like to take care of themselves.  Nutritional deficiencies, for instance, are common among depressed people, especially when eating and preparing food looses its appeal.

While many of the symptoms feed into each other when someone is depressed, this can be very helpful for someone trying to decide if some sort of intervention should be attempted with a friend or not.  Such a serious step must be taken very carefully and after you give someone a chance to seek help on their own.  However, don't be fooled, if the signs of depression are there and someone seems to be on the verge of taking their own life, someone should certainly do something.  Accurately recognizing the symptoms of depression can be the difference between life and death.