HOW TO KNOW IF YOU HAVE DEPRESSION: 7 SIGNS (CHILDREN AND ADULTS) - ARTE - 2025

In this article I will explain how to know if you have depression, whether you are a child, adolescent or adult, based on physical and psychological symptoms that are usually present in people with this psychological disorder.

Everyone at some point feels sad or melancholic, usually for a specific reason. But these moments are fleeting and after a few days, the negative feelings disappear.

Depression is a fairly common illness, but it is a serious condition that can have serious consequences if left untreated. That is why it is important to know if you have depression, distinguish the symptoms and if you recognize them, consult a psychiatrist to reverse the situation.

When a person suffers from some type of depression (there are different variants of depressive disorders), feelings of sadness are permanent and interfere with activities of daily life

If you think you may have depression or you think someone close to you may be suffering from this illness, pay attention to the following symptoms.

Main symptoms to know if you have depression

Long-lasting depressed mood

If you feel sad all or most of the day for more than two weeks, and if your mood seems a little better in the morning but worsens by the end of the day, then you may be experiencing depression.

People with depression feel sad and discouraged almost all the time, without this situation being attributable to the use of psychoactive substances or the presence of any other mental disorder.

Those with depression often think things such as "I am worth nothing", "I feel unable to carry on my life", because the depressed state can be accompanied by low self-esteem.

If in the last two weeks you have cried almost every day, or much more than before, this could also be another symptom of depression.

Loss of interest in previously enjoyable activities

The lack of interest and inability to enjoy activities that were previously pleasant and enjoyable is another of the main symptoms of depression: depressed people lose interest in doing activities they previously enjoyed, including sexual intercourse.

Before you wanted to have some free time to ride a bike or go for a walk and now you no longer enjoy it? Do you no longer have a good time when you get together with friends or family? Does sex no longer interest you in the least?

If you have answered yes to these questions, you should consult your doctor.

Sleep disorders

People with depression often have trouble falling asleep (conciliation insomnia), staying asleep (maintenance insomnia), or waking up very early in the morning.

In other cases, however, a symptom of depression may be daytime hypersomnia, that is, being very sleepy during the day. So if you feel permanently sad and sleep all day, you may be suffering from depression.

Appetite disturbances

In many people, depression causes a decrease in appetite. So much so that those who suffer from this disease often lose more than 5% of their body weight in just one month.

However, the opposite situation can also happen. In some people, anxiety in combination with depression can lead to uncontrolled appetite, and for this reason some people with depression eat everything at any time of the day or night.

Lack of energy

Are you tired or fatigued all day? Do you feel like you don't have the energy to carry out everyday tasks, which you used to do without problems?

It is another of the symptoms of depression, increased fatigue and decreased vitality. This chronic tiredness, along with the loss of interest in previously enjoyed activities and chronic sadness, are the three most important symptoms of depression.

Inactivity or passivity is a characteristic that occurs frequently in patients who have depression. In the most severe cases, people may stop going to work due to lack of energy.

The movements in general may be slowed down, although in some cases there may also be agitation.

Loss of self-esteem and self-confidence

It is common for people with depression to have an unjustified feeling of inferiority, which lasts over time.

People who are depressed often have thoughts such as, "I'm grossed out" or "I'll never be able to achieve my goals" or "I'm useless." And it is here that constant and disproportionate self-reproaches and excessive and inappropriate feelings of guilt also appear.

Depressed people usually feel very vulnerable to the opinions of others and often interpret that they will be rejected, signs of low self-esteem.

Decreased ability to concentrate

Many people with depression find it difficult to concentrate at work or other activities and cannot think clearly. This is usually accompanied by a lack of decision and a very negative vision of the future.

Other feelings frequently associated with depression are apathy, hopelessness, irritability, and a feeling of permanent discomfort.

Suicidal thoughts

The person who is depressed views the world and its events in a very pessimistic and negative way. Life can be seen as a dark tunnel with no exit, without any inducement or hope for the future.

With this scenario, many begin to think that life is absurd, that there is no point in living. Guilt feelings make the situation worse, many people think that they are a burden to others, and they begin to think of suicidal thoughts as a possible solution to their situation. If this is happening to you, you must go to a medical consultation urgently.

Depression is a disease that in most cases improves or is cured with proper treatment.

Diagnosis of depression

As mentioned above, depression can present cognitive, emotional and physical symptoms, with special emphasis on the emotional area. In many cases the doctor can easily detect depression because the symptoms are clear, but in other cases the diagnosis is not so simple, because depression usually appears in conjunction with other pathologies.

Whatever your case, to find out if you have depression you should consult your doctor. He will ask you several questions in the clinical interview and these will be the main data that he will use for the diagnosis.

He will ask about your family history, about events in your life, your habits and about your feelings. You must be completely sincere and open so that the doctor can reach an accurate diagnosis.

Special cases

There are some special circumstances in which depression can present different symptoms. Here are some of them:

Psychotic depression

Psychotic depression occurs when a severe depressive condition appears in combination with certain forms of psychosis. In these cases there may be a lack of contact with reality, hallucinations and delusions.

Bipolar disorder

Also called manic depressive illness, it is not as common a condition as major depression. These patients present cyclical changes between two totally opposite moods: a manic state with euphoria, hyperactivity and verbiage, and another completely depressed mood, opposite to the first.

Postpartum depression

In postpartum depression, symptoms begin to appear in the first days after giving birth. It is estimated that around 10-15% of women suffer from this type of depression.

Depression in old age

Symptoms of depression in older age may be different from those that usually occur in young adults. The mood disturbance is usually not as marked, and in some cases, depression may be masked by other somatic symptoms, memory lapses, anxiety, or irritability.

This set of symptoms can even resemble those of senile dementia, and in these cases we speak of depressive pseudo-dementia.

When an elderly person becomes depressed, this situation is often considered a natural aspect at this stage of life, but this is a mistake. Depression in old age, if it is not properly diagnosed and therefore not treated, can have very negative consequences on the quality of life of the elderly and cause a lot of pain in their family members.

On many occasions, when the depressed old man consults the doctor, he only describes physical symptoms, since it is often difficult for him to talk about his hopelessness and sadness.

Depression in children and adolescents

Children and adolescents can also suffer from depression and have very different symptoms from adults.

In children under 7 years of age, the most common symptom of depression is anxiety. They manifest frequent tantrums, irritability, crying for no reason, lack of interest in normal games, excessive tiredness or increased motor activity. School phobia can also appear.

In children between 7 and 13 years old, there may be aggression, irritation, recurrent ideas about death, apathy, sadness and psychomotor agitation or inhibition.

In adolescents, there are oppositional and dissocial behaviors, social isolation, drug or alcohol abuse, fear of being rejected, neglect of personal care, eating disorders and attention deficit disorders, among others.

If you feel identified with some of the symptoms described in this article, do not hesitate to consult your doctor. Your problems have a solution, seek the help you need!