More and more suicides in Poland. What are the symptoms of depression?

It often happens that when we feel depressed for a while, we say that we are depressed. Therefore, the environment usually ignores such declarations or acknowledges them with the text “head up”. Yet depressed mood is a hallmark symptom of depression. Provided that it is long-lasting (more than two weeks) and does not subside under the influence of positive stimuli. – Do not underestimate such symptoms, neither in ourselves, nor in people around us – warns Dr. Robert Kowalczyk, a psychologist from the Lew-Starowicz Therapy Center. – The combination of a depressed mood with other physical reactions in our body is reason enough to seek specialist help.

Depression doesn’t have to be sad – you may be in a dysphoric mood, for example. Dysphoria is manifested by exaggerating unpleasant situations and reacting to any stimulus with irritability, anger, regret, and discouragement. – Dysphoria occurs in numerous disorders, one of them is depression – adds Dr. Kowalczyk. So if your reactions seem incomprehensible to others and inadequate to the situation, you may be suffering from depression.

Although most of us understand very well what fatigue is, it takes many forms in depression. From a general lack of energy, physical exhaustion to slowness and sleepiness, to difficulty in performing tasks that were previously performed almost automatically. It happens that fatigue is also felt while taking antidepressants – these may be side effects.

Anhedonia is the inability to experience pleasure. Activities that used to bring you joy, excitement or relaxation evoke indifference. It may refer to the former hobby, sports and the sexual sphere. Instead of past pleasure, you feel indifference and life emptiness.

I can’t concentrate, you complain. You have difficulties processing information and memory. These symptoms are very annoying because they impair both professional activity and “entertainment” (reading books, watching movies). They can also make certain activities, such as driving a car, dangerous. Relationships with others can suffer, because inability to concentrate during a conversation is easily mistaken for a lack of interest. Concentration problems are associated with difficulties in making decisions. They lead to frustrating situations where it becomes too difficult to make the simplest choices, e.g. what to buy for dinner.

Do you often hear that you are a pessimist? You may be depressed because disabling is one of the key symptoms of it. The so-called Aaron Beck’s cognitive triad speaks of negative thoughts about oneself, the world and the future. People suffering from depression are convinced of their worthlessness and disability, the world appears to them as a bad and unfair place, and the appearance of anything good in the future seems impossible. This creates a vicious cycle of negative beliefs that are difficult to get out of.

You can have them for various reasons, e.g. you have done something or, on the contrary, you have not done it. You also feel responsible even for events beyond your control. – If this type of situation is not directly related to unpleasant events in our life, such as death or illness of a loved one, or lasts for several months, it may also mean that we have developed depression – warns the psychologist.

Most people who are depressed experience sleep disturbance. Some develop insomnia and problems with falling asleep, others – on the contrary – excessive daytime sleepiness. It happens that both symptoms occur during the same depressive episode. Sleep problems are often difficult to treat and increase the risk of the disease coming back. Interestingly, however, some studies talk about an improvement in mood resulting from sleep deprivation – then the secretion of dopamine and adrenaline increases.

Appetite disturbances are also a sign of depression. Either you eat too much to lift your mood, or you don’t enjoy eating and you avoid meals. You may also feel a tightness in your stomach and a “lump” in your throat, so you won’t be able to swallow anything.

Suicidal thoughts in most cases do not lead to suicide and also happen in healthy people. It should be emphasized, however, that among people who took their own lives, the dominant group are those suffering from some form of depressive disorder. The initiation of antidepressants reduces suicidal thoughts, but the relatives of the patient should watch him closely, especially in the first phase of recovery – suicide attempts occur precisely then due to a sudden surge of energy to act.