Warning signs
Ole Tang, GP
The symptoms of depression can vary from person to person, and they can depend on the person's age, sex and normal personality. Women often find it easier to cry than men, and women also tend to talk about their feelings more often than men. On the other hand, men often keep things to themselves and can have sudden bursts of irritability and aggressiveness.
A person suffering from depression will often try to hide their depressed state to family and friends so as not to be a burden. The person may also be hiding his condition due to an unwillingness to accept the depression.
Although the person may try to fool people around them into believing that nothing has changed, you should be aware of these changes which can be symptoms of depression:
- Listlessness
- Greater tendency to reflect on things
- Introversion
- Sudden lack of initiative
- Complaints about problems sleeping
- Lack of enthusiasm for everyday chores
- Increased tiredness and lack of energy
- Tendency to constantly think "What is the point of it all?"
- Anxiety (the most common cause of anxiety is depression)
- Reduced self-esteem and self-confidence
You should therefore suspect depression if a person gradually withdraws from their usual social and leisure activities. Or if he or she loses interest in something that they have enjoyed for years, or starts to become indifferent towards friends or family.
Ask cautiously
If you suspect that the person may be suffering from depression, you could cautiously ask "Are you feeling depressed?" or "Are you having negative thoughts?". You will often get an honest answer. In this way, you will have steered the conversation towards depression. You can then sensitively discuss and comment on the illness.
The person will undoubtedly not have the energy to bring up this subject themselves. If you can "help the person to get started", they will hopefully acknowledge the depth of the depression and the need to start treatment.
Guilt and shame
Feelings of guilt and shame go hand in hand with depression. A person who is suffering from depression will therefore be inclined to turn everything against themselves. Feelings of guilt are a prominent symptom of depression.
He or she will turn over everything in their mind to find evidence of their own inabilities, selfishness and lack of love for those closest to them. Often, the person will suck in all the sadness in their family and circle of friends and take their own misery and that of others to heart. The person will then consider themselves to be the cause of the misery.
This feeling of guilt is often the driving force in the thoughts that can lead to a suicide attempt.