Symptoms of depression

Each person with depression will experience unique symptoms. Your experience of depression may differ greatly from the experience of another person with depression. Click here for more information on how a doctor diagnoses depression based on your symptoms. Symptoms of depression may include: emotional symptoms (tearfulness, sadness, brooding, blues, irritability, anxiety) behavioural/cognitive symptoms (indecision, lack of concentration, trouble focusing, withdrawal from social and work activities, decreased personal care such as grooming) physical symptoms (changes in sleep habits, weight, or appetite; fatigue; complaints of pain, which can include headache, joint pain, abdominal pain, and other unexplained pain) These symptoms may not include all of the possible symptoms someone with depression might have.

Depression can have a major impact on your feelings, emotions, and mood. You may feel like you're not your "old self" or may feel emotions that are unfamiliar or that would usually seem illogical to you. And unlike a case of the blues, when you have depression you experience your symptoms most of the day, nearly every day for at least 2 weeks.

A common misconception about depression is that it only affects a person's mood. But people with depression may also notice changes in the way they behave and in the way they are able to think and concentrate. These are called behavioural/cognitive symptoms of depression. The behavioural/cognitive symptoms of depression can interfere with your ability to complete tasks or to achieve your work goals.

Many people with depression will also experience physical symptoms. This can be upsetting, because you may not link these symptoms to depression and may worry that you are sick. In fact, it's been shown that up to 76% of depressed patients experience some form of physical symptoms, including headache, back pain, stomach pain, and general aches and pains.