Depression is a very common term today. People throw the word around like they actually understand what it means to be depressed. In truth, most people have a tendency to confuse depression with a poor mood.

Certainly, depression usually begins with a drop in one’s mood. However, the ailment is far more complex that the one-dimensional description people attach to it. It has a number of features, facets, and patterns that not only affect the mind but also the body.

Depression hits different people in different ways and the symptoms will vary with each passing day. If you think you are suffering from depression, ask yourself if you have experienced the following changes:

Motivation

One of the first things to go among the depressed is motivation. You lose the drive and energy to do anything. As a result, even the simplest of tasks becomes irritatingly difficult. For a lot of people struggling with depression, the prospect of brushing their teeth is difficult enough, let alone feeding themselves and meeting the requirements of their job.

Interactions

Depression makes social engagements very unappealing, primarily because the depressed tend to see the world as a much scarier place filled with insurmountable obstacles. When depression comes into the mix, merely interacting with other people becomes a herculean task that patients of depression would rather avoid. This explains why they eventually withdraw, seeking isolation over all else.

Focus

Depression is more than just a bad feeling. One’s cognitive abilities tend to suffer. If you have ever found yourself in a place where your negative feelings were accompanied by a disturbing lack of concentration, where your memory seemed to suffer and it became difficult to remember even the smallest of facts, then you were probably suffering from depression.

Rage

Depression makes people angry. They are less patient and more prone to violence. Even the depressed rarely understand the source of their agitation and irritability. None the less, do not be surprised to see them flying into fits of rage over the smallest issues.

Pain

A lot of people think that depression is an illness that only affects the mind. However, if you have ever been truly depressed, then you know that your mental and emotional hurts can transcend your consciousness, causing your physical body to actually hurt.

Physical aches and pains are very common among the depressed.

Most people do not understand depression. They think they do, but the majority have never truly experienced the multi-dimensional nature of this disease, instead prone to confusing a bad day or two with true depression.