It’s important to discuss all the symptoms you may have with your doctor.
2‐4 It will help your doctor find the treatment that works best.
The goal for any treatment is to help you feel more like yourself again and for you to be able to enjoy the things you used to. But it goes beyond just getting better it’s also about staying better.
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Depressive symptoms can include:
2‐4
- Sadness throughout the day, nearly every day
- Loss of interest in or enjoyment of your favorite activities
- Feelings of worthlessness
- Excessive or inappropriate feelings of guilt
- Thoughts of death or suicide
- Trouble making decisions
- Trouble concentrating
- Feelings of irritability
- Fatigue or lack of energy
- Aches and pains (such as headaches, stomach pain,
joint pains or other pains)
- Sleeping too much or too little
- Change in appetite or weight
- Feelings of restlessness or being slowed down
For a person to be considered as having a major depressive episode (bout of serious depression), their symptoms must either be new or must be noticeably worse compared to what they were prior to the episode. These symptoms also have to persist for most of the day, nearly every day for at least two consecutive weeks. The episode must also be accompanied by clinically significant distress or impaired functioning.
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The symptoms listed above may not include all of the possible symptoms a person with depression might experience. Speak to your doctor about all your symptoms and fill out the
symptom checklist.
Get tips on
talking to your doctor about depression.
