Learn about the Symptoms of Depression

Host: What are some symptoms of depression?
Dr. Kim Penberthy: Some symptoms of depression include obviously, a feeling of sadness or hopeless which is pervasive. It can also include loss of interest in things that used to be interesting to the patient or a sense of not be getting pleasure from things including sex and eating, that sort of thing. Other symptoms might also include things like changes in your appetite where you are either hungry all the time and eating just to self soothe or you have a loss of appetite and might even lose weight.
Some additional symptoms are problems concentrating or making decisions, becoming more irritable or angry and you often see that more in children or adolescents and some insomnia problems, either sleeping too much; so staying in bed and not able to get out or not sleeping well, having problems falling asleep or staying asleep. There can also be other physical problems like having pains and aches in your body, sometimes gastrointestinal problems, stomach ashes, headaches can be symptoms of depression as well. So there are multiple symptoms and not everyone has all of these symptoms, but in order to be diagnosed, you do have to have a certain number of them. Again, the most pervasive one is the feeling of sadness and not being interested in things.



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