Diagnosis of Depression
When deciding whether to give someone a diagnosis of depression, professionals look for the following key symptoms:
- Loss of interest or pleasure
- Changes in weight or appetite
- Sleep problems
- Agitation
- Tiredness and loss of energy
- Feeling guilty or worthless
- Difficulty in concentrating or making decisions
- Thoughts of death or suicide
A diagnosis of depression should be given if you experience at least five of these symptoms over a two-week period. However, everybody’s experience of being depressed is different. For example, some people are severely depressed for a relatively short time while others have milder depression over a number of years, and there are other patterns in between. Even if the depression seems mild it is still important, and can have a big impact on someone’s life and ability to enjoy life.
