Symptoms of Depression

Depression's symptoms extend well beyond sadness, affecting mood, the body, and thinking simultaneously.

Emotional Symptoms

Persistent sadness, emptiness, or hopelessness, loss of interest or pleasure in most activities, irritability, and feelings of worthlessness or excessive guilt.

Physical Symptoms

Changes in appetite or weight (either increased or decreased), sleep disturbances (insomnia or sleeping too much), fatigue or low energy nearly every day, and unexplained physical aches or digestive problems.

Cognitive Symptoms

Difficulty concentrating, making decisions, or remembering things, and, in more severe cases, recurrent thoughts of death or suicide.

How Many Symptoms Point to Depression

A formal diagnosis generally requires several of these symptoms present most of the day, nearly every day, for at least two weeks, and a noticeable change from how the person normally functions — a single symptom alone, or a brief low mood, isn't the same as clinical depression.

Warning Signs of an Emergency

Thoughts of suicide or self-harm, a specific plan, or a sense of having no reason to live are signs of a mental health emergency requiring immediate help.