How to Recognize Depression Symptoms & Presentations
October is National Depression Education & Awareness Month! You are probably here because you or a loved one may have experienced the symptoms of depression, or a depressive episode and are looking for support. You are not alone: depression is a condition that an estimated 21 million U.S. adults experience every year, and is considered one of the most common mental health disorders in the United States.* Here at Woven, we want to be able to provide information and support for you. We have a few blogs planned out for this month to provide an understanding of depression and the supports available if you are struggling with depression. Today we’ll discuss the causes, symptoms, and presentations of depression. Let’s dive in.
There is not one specific cause for depression, but a variety of triggers or experiences that may lead to depression.
Causes of depression:
Environmental factors
Genetics
Abuse
Neglect
Trauma
Physical health issues
Substance use and misuse
Significant life changes
Poverty
Systemic oppression
Depression and its causes are complex, and a variety of factors may influence whether or not you experience depression.
Symptoms
There are several different depression diagnoses, but they have many overlapping symptoms. Our goal here is not to provide you with a specific depression diagnosis (that can only be done in a more one-on-one setting) but rather to help you understand some of the common symptoms of depression.
Here are some symptoms that you may experience.
Depression symptoms:
Depressed mood (feeling sad, empty, hopeless)
Decreased interest in activities
Significant weight loss or weight gain
Insomnia or hypersomnia
Fatigue or loss of energy
Diminished ability to think, concentrate, or make decisions
Recurrent thoughts of death, suicidal ideation, suicide attempt, or a plan to die by suicide
You may not be experiencing all of these symptoms. You only need some of them to meet the criteria for a depression diagnosis, and the severity of your symptoms informs which diagnosis fits your experience.
There are many possible combinations of symptoms, and there are many presentations of depression. This means you cannot know who is experiencing depression just by looking at them. Here are some ways that depression may present (this is not an exhaustive list).
Depression Presentations:
Sad/depressed: This person is displaying the symptoms that they are experiencing. They may have low energy and motivation, sadness, and lack of interest in activities and interests. This presentation is what people commonly associate with depression, but it is not the only presentation of depression.
Irritable or angry: This person may present as irritable or angry. There are a variety of reasons for this, but a few might be: because they are feeling a low interest in things that were once meaningful to them, they are using anger as a wall to keep people away, or they don’t know how to express their emotions and experience. Because many people associate sadness with depression, they may not connect irritability and anger with depression.
High achieving: From the outside, it may be difficult to identify that this person is struggling. They are completing tasks, seem to be happy, and don’t appear to be struggling with emotions or functioning. Many people with this presentation use the drive to be high achieving so that they aren’t alone with their thoughts, other people don’t know that they’re struggling, and to avoid addressing their depression.
Psychosomatic symptoms: For some, depression symptoms primarily appear as physical symptoms. Some of these symptoms are difficulty getting up in the morning, chronic pain, sleep issues, taking a lot of energy to complete tasks, brain fog, and more. Individuals with chronic health issues (autoimmune disorders, fibromyalgia, endometriosis, and more) may notice that their mental health and physical symptoms are closely connected. This means that while depression or other mental health concerns may not be the cause of someone’s chronic health concerns, they may notice increased physical symptoms when they are experiencing depressive symptoms.
If you think that you or someone you love is experiencing depression symptoms, we encourage you to start a conversation. There are many resources that can help provide support for and understanding of what you are experiencing.
We have three therapists on staff who are experienced in treating depression and depression therapy. You can read more about them in the links below.
If you are interested in learning more about depression therapy, you can read more here.
All therapists at Woven Together Trauma Therapy are trauma-informed and specialize in treating all forms of trauma. We also offer EMDR Therapy, Ketamine Assisted Psychotherapy, and Brainspotting Therapy which have shown to be extremely effective in treating and healing depression as well as treatment-resistant depression. Want to read more about our unique therapy options?
These blogs talk more about the basics of EMDR Therapy:
You can read more about Ketamine Assisted Psychotherapy here:
If you would like to learn more about Brainspotting Therapy, check out our blog: What is Brainspotting?
*Source: National Institute of Mental Health
Read more about our approach to trauma therapy
