Symptoms Of Severe Depression - Know The Signs

Symptoms of severe depression

how to spot the signs and get help before it spirals out of control.

Life has many up and down moments. Depression is different from just having a bad day every now and then. Depression effects many of us and some people find that it's hard to ask for help when they suffer from depression too.

What is depression?

People who are depressed feel empty, unenthusiastic about life and at times can also feel apathetic. They are generally withdrawn from society and constantly are thinking about bad thoughts (which may also include self-harm thoughts) depressed people also feel like they're alone in this world (even if they have many loving family and friends) they can feel helpless and hopeless.

Signs of depression

Here are some of the classical signs of clinical depression that can help you to identify the symptoms.

• feeling hopeless, guilty, helpless or useless most of the time.
• consistantly worrying about events (whether real or imagined)
• the inability to control negative thoughts and emotions
• feeling trapped or suffocating with no logical reasons as to why
• loss of apetite (including self-starvation)
• loss of will to survive (can include self-harm and suicidal thoughts)
• the inability to control your temper and have sudden outrages
• thoughts of wanting to hurt yourself or others around you
• major sleeping difficulties
• lack of energy (severe lethargy)
• difficulties in accepting positive events/changes
• socially withdrawn
• overeating

Some of these symptoms will manifest themselves if you're depressed. It's important to seek medical help if you feel the negative impacts that depression have on yourself is getting out of control (especially if you have thoughts about self-harm and suicide)


Here are some important points to consider when diagnosing depression states.

1) Adolescence and teenagers going through rapid hormonal changes can result in mood swings and natural chemical imbalances. This is entirely normal.
2) Depression is a constant thing (having a bad day every now and then does not mean you're depressed; it just means you where stressed on that day)
3) Depression and severe depression. Certain symptoms are indicative of having depression - severe depression is where the symptoms are consistant and the individual is actually attempting self-harm.
4) Woman also tend to suffer from depression more so then men. This is due to hormonal fluctuations such as premenstrual syndrome (PMS), premenstrual dysphoric disorder (PMDD), postpartum depression, perimenopausal depression and seasonal affective disorder (SAD).

Different types of depression

Major depression

Major depression is mainly characterized by having an inability to enjoy life and experience natural pleasure. Symptoms may be current or reoccur with regularity. There may also be a certain time frame for the amount of time you experience major depression (eg. 3-6 month periods).

Atypical Depression

Atypical depression is another subtype of major depression. Featuring temporary positive mood lifts in response to stimuli. An example of this would be after hearing something good from your friends or family. The positive feeling seldom sticks around and the individual goes back to feeling depressed after a short time.

Dysthymia (classic mild depression)

Dysthmia is a more mild form of depression. This type of depression is moderate and alternates between a mild feeling of depression and normal mood levels. Classical symptoms of dysthymia are not nearly as strong as symptoms of major depression - but tend to last longer periods (2+ years).
Dysthymia sufferes have problems 'living life to the max' and tend to forget positive events that occur in life easily. If you have dysthymia you may have always just felt depressed (and this would be 'normal' to you) it's a relatively easy form of depression to treat.

Seasonal affective disorder (SAD)

Stormy and rainy days can cause seasonal affective disorder. This is due to people getting easily depressed in seasons like autumn and winter. Where there are many frequent overcast days and natural sun light is quite scarce. This depression is called seasonal affective disorder or otherwise known as SAD. Researchers believe that this type of depression is due to the functioning of the pineal gland. The pineal gland is photosensitive (is affected by light) and because the pineal gland helps convert melatonin to serotonin, with the use of light. SAD can effectively be treated with light therapy (using artificial lights that mimics the sun to boost your mood)

15 steps to self improvement that you can begin to apply immediately

Here are 15 steps to self improvement that you can being to apply immediately. There's nothing overly complicated about these exercises. Some will come to you naturally, whilst others you may have to work on. Which ever is the case.. here are 15 steps to improving yourself.

Cultivate a healthy and positive state of mind - Your state of mind will dictate your actions and your actions will also dictate your state of mind. Think positive and smile in even the toughest of times. Positivity is a contagious thing.
Learn to forgive (yourself and others) - We're all human and we all make mistakes. Learn to forgive yourself as well as other people in your life. You won't need to carry any resentment or sorrow if you can do this well.
Learn to love yourself before you love others - It's easier to love other people for who they are if we can first love ourselves in the same way. You're unique and there's no one else in this world like you. Loving yourself means that you accept yourself for who you are, your weaknesses, strengths and personalitiy make you who you are.
Smile more often - I used to have a friend who never smiled. He was rather melancholic at the best of times. I would smile more often around him and gradually.. he would begin to too. Smiling releases neurochemicals that make us feel good (and it also makes others around us feel good too).

Say hi to a random stranger - It's amazing how many of us are so busy most of the times that we zoom through life not acknowledging those around us. Next time your out, smile and say hi to a random stranger. I guarantee this will boost your confidence levels and you'll probably have many fun and interesting conversations.
Be confident (and assertive) - Natural confidence comes from the belief that you'll be ok no matter what the situation is. Believing in yourself and your natural given rights will empower you. Even if you're not too confident; you can fake it till you make it (it still works)
Trust in your judgement and follow your hunches - Sometimes we'll fail to act because we're not 100% sure of the outcome. Even if we're confident there may be times when inner self-doubt kicks in. It's in these moment that I would advise to follow your hunch. Your brain may not always know the answer.. but your heart certainly does!
Develop a winning midset - This also can stem from confidence and 100% belief in yourself. Having a winning mindset is one of the most powerful self improvement tips. Because having one, will ensure that you are successful in every endeavour (winners never give up).
It's important to de-stress (regularly) - Stress can develop over time. It can spread through your body like a vicious disease (a lot of people believe that disease originates from being too stressed out) so it's important that you take time out every now and again to relax, unwind and de-stress. Allow yourself whatever opportunities you have to do it (very important)

It's ok to say no sometimes.. - Sometimes people will ask too much from us that we just cannot comply with. It is ok to say no every once in a while. It's also ok to put yourself first whenever necessary.
Remove negative aspects and barriers in life - Are there certain negative people in your life that always seems to be bringing you down? If you feel like this is the case, then it's ok to eliminate them from your life (and no i don't mean to murder them lol). You do have a choice.
Make more friends - On the flipside to the above; remove bad friends from your life and replace them with some good ones (people that are always positive and encourage you). You may find that it's exactly what you needed. It's a refreshing feeling.
Appreciate the small things in life - Sometimes we're too used to having the finest things in life that we forget about all the smaller things... take the time to see things for what they really are (even the smallest of kind gestures) this will make you enjoy life more.
Practice patience - They say patience is a virtue. It's taken me many years to learn the art of patience  and I'm only starting to understand it better as I get older. It will contribute to a calmer you.
Meditate - Meditating solves many mental blocks, promotes great health and helps to clarify your senses. Take the time to do it every now and then and it will feel like you're rejuvenated after each session.


Practice these 15 self improvement steps daily and you will be well on your way to a happier and healthier you.

Anxiety Relief - Get Help With Anxiety Symptoms

It's been studied that there are five major anxiety disorders. These include: Panic Disorder, Social Anxiety, Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, Obsessive Compulsive Disorder and Generalised Anxiety.


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