Characteristics

What is depression

All forms of depression and depressive orders are characterised by changes to mood  

DSM recognises the following characteristics of depression and depressive orders:  

1. Major depressive disorder- severe but often short-term depression  

2. Persistent depressive disorder- long term or recurring depression, including sustained major depression and what used to be called dysthymia 

3. Disruptive mood dysregulation disorder- outbursts of temper in childhood  

4. Premenstrual dysphoric disorder- disruption to mood prior to and/or during menstruation

Behavioural

Activity levels- Typically people with depression have reduced levels of anxiety making them lethargic. This has a knock-on effect as people tend to withdraw from work, education and social life

Disruption to sleep and eating behaviours- Depression is associated with changes to sleeping behaviour. A person may experience reduced sleep (insomnia), particularly premature walking, or an increased need for sleep

Aggression and self-harm- People with depression are often irritable, and in some cases, they can become verbally or physically aggressive. This can have serious knock-on effects on several aspects of their life

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Emotional

Lowered mood-daily kind of experience of feeling lethargic and sad. People with depression often describe themselves as ‘worthless’ and ‘empty’  

Anger-People with depression also frequently experience anger and this can be directed at the self or others.

Lowered self-esteem- People with depression tend to report reduced self-esteem, in other words they like themselves less than usual

Cognitive

Poor concentration- The person may find themselves unable to stick with a task as they usually would, or they might find it hard to make decisions that they would usually find straightforward.

Attending to and dwelling on the negative- When experiencing a depressive episode, people are inclined to pay more attention to negative aspects of a situation and ignore the positives

Absolutist thinking- This means that when a situation is unfortunate, they tend to see it as an absolute disorder