depression symptoms checklist

Depression is one of our most common emotions. It is common to experience feelings of sadness and tiredness in response to life events such as losses or disappointments. In most cases, as people come to terms with changes in life, the sad feelings resolve. In situations such as bereavement, these feelings may continue for months and return at significant times such as birthdays or anniversaries of the lost friend or family member who has died. Sometimes people continue to feel sad for longer periods and develop feelings that interfere with their ability to cope with everyday life.
This is the type of depression that needs specialist help. People who are
depressed may experience some of the following:
Persistent feeling of low mood
Loss of interest in usual activities
Loss of energy
Changes in sleep pattern
Changes in appetite and weight
Not socializing as much as normal
Low self-esteem and a lack of confidence
Not wanting to communicate with others
Feeling guilty or blaming yourself about things that you
normally would not
Feelings of wanting to hurt yourself or end your life
Not being able to concentrate
Feeling irritable and losing your patience with other people
In severe depression people may experience psychotic symptoms, and the context of these tends to be in line with the person’s low mood. They may have hallucinations, such as hearing voices telling them they are worthless or bad. Sometimes people have delusions, for example someone might think they are rotting away inside or they are to blame for something bad that has happened in the world (e.g. a disaster).
In people with severe intellectual disabilities depression may present as
a new or an increase in challenging behaviour. Such behaviour may
include self-injury, aggression and screaming. You might also notice that
the person cannot or is unwilling to do things for themselves like they used to. Those who are normally continent might have incidents of incontinence.
One of the main problems in diagnosing depression in people with
severe or profound intellectual disabilities is their limited verbal and
non-verbal communication and difficulty in expressing how they feel.
Carers have an important role in helping the mental health professional to
make the diagnosis. Because you know the person, their likes and dislikes, you can notice changes in mood, sleep, energy, appetite etc.
Some people may have one episode of depression in their lifetime,
whereas others may have re-occurring episodes. Depression is very
common. In fact one out of four people in the wider community are likely
to visit their GP at some time in their life because they feel depressed.