Depression

Emp­tin­ess and dwind­ling inte­rest in life. Depres­si­on is often accom­pa­nied by a low, depres­sed mood. Some pati­ents also report an inner emp­tin­ess and an ina­bi­li­ty to per­cei­ve their own fee­lings. They say they feel petri­fied. Depres­sed peo­p­le lose inte­rest in things and acti­vi­ties that used to be important to them. For exam­p­le, hob­bies, work, lei­su­re acti­vi­ties or joint acti­vi­ties with fami­ly or fri­ends are no lon­ger enjoya­ble. The inte­rest in the­se things is “lost”.

Depres­si­on is cate­go­ri­zed accor­ding to seve­ri­ty :

• Mild depres­si­on: Slight­ly pro­no­un­ced sym­ptoms that are easy to tre­at and can usual­ly be over­co­me quick­ly.
• Modera­te­ly seve­re depres­si­on: Expres­ses its­elf through a broad spec­trum of sym­ptoms, usual­ly asso­cia­ted with pro­blems in coping with ever­y­day pri­va­te and pro­fes­sio­nal life.
• Seve­re depres­si­on is a serious ill­ness: ever­y­day life situa­tions are unma­na­geable and are often accom­pa­nied by sui­ci­dal thoughts.

Main sym­ptoms and com­plaints of depres­si­on

• depres­sed mood
• Lack of inte­rest and joyl­ess­ness
• Dri­ve dis­or­der with increased fati­ga­bili­ty, weak­ne­ss of will and rest­ric­ted acti­vi­ty

Addi­tio­nal sym­ptoms of a depres­si­ve epi­so­de:

• Redu­ced self-esteem and self-con­fi­dence
• Hel­p­less­ness and hope­l­ess­ness, nega­ti­ve and pes­si­mi­stic future pro­s­pects
• Fee­lings of guilt and wort­hl­ess­ness
• Anxie­ty
• Tired­ness, lack of dri­ve, fee­ling of mas­si­ve exhaus­ti­on
• Redu­ced abili­ty to con­cen­tra­te and make decis­i­ons
• Point­less cir­cling of thoughts (broo­ding)
• Irri­ta­bi­li­ty
• Sleep dis­or­ders
• Redu­ced appe­ti­te
• dimi­nis­hed emo­tio­nal life up to the ina­bi­li­ty to show an emo­tio­nal reac­tion,
• Redu­ced sexu­al inte­rest
• Sui­ci­dal thoughts/​actions

The­se sym­ptoms can pro­vi­de indi­ca­ti­ons of a depres­si­ve ill­ness. Fur­ther mea­su­res are always requi­red to con­firm the dia­gno­sis.