WHAT ARE THE SIGNS OF DEPRESSION?

If your temperament has a mix of melancholy, then there is the tendency to worry, be in despair, criticize and condemn. If not curbed, this constant approach to life may be a warning sign for potential depression. Here are some signs you may encounter when depressed:

Appetite and Sleep Changes: Depression altars a person's appetite, frequently causing a lack of appetite, but occasionally increasing hunger. Depression also causes disruption of a person's sleeping patterns. A person may tend to over sleep, but sleep for a shorter time period.
Changes in Energy Level: There are two extremes concerning energy levels in depressed people. Some find themselves fidgety and easily agitated, while others become sluggish and inactive. A person may experience difficulty in thinking, poor concentration and problems with memory.
Poor Self-Esteem: A depressed person is often overwhelmed by feelings of worthlessness, guilt, self-blame, and helplessness. The person maintains a distorted view of reality; they see an ugly person when they look in the mirror, a complement becomes a criticism, and life becomes too difficult to live out. Seriously depressed people often contemplate suicide.
Psychotic Symptoms: Delusions (false beliefs) and hallucinations (false sensory perceptions) are sometimes prevalent among seriously depressed people. People with such symptoms need to be hospitalized. When they are released from the hospital, they are often moody when they get out and still consider suicide as a viable way out of their misery.
The warning signs of depression mentioned above have a common link: your mental approach to life. You may think: "How simple, all I have to do is have a better outlook on life?" Not so fast, if a negative mental attitude has been your first defense or your only approach to life up till now, it is going to take considerable doing to reverse it. Do not try to overcome this depression on your own; ask God to help you in the renewing of your mental attitude and the refocusing of your entire life in accordance with the purpose He has for you.