9 Warning Signs of Depression You Shouldn’t Ignore

Diagnosing depression often starts with a screening tool, which is a short questionnaire that asks about depression symptoms and frequency. If you have one or more of the nine warning signs below, talk to your healthcare provider about getting a depression screening.

1. Depressed Mood

Feeling low, sad, or having an overall depressed mood is a hallmark sign of depression. For teenagers and children, an irritable mood can also be a sign of depression.

2. Loss of Interest or Pleasure

When you have depression, you may lose interest in activities that you used to enjoy. Perhaps love cooking elaborate dishes, but now you can only muster up the energy for microwave meals. Or maybe you are an avid runner, but haven’t laced up your shoes in weeks.

If you’ve lost interest in your hobbies or find that you’re not getting as much enjoyment from them as you used to, this could be a sign of depression.

3. Weight or Appetite Change

Unintentionally gaining or losing weight is another sign of depression, especially if it’s more than 5% of your body weight in a single month.

Depression can also cause changes in your appetite. Losing your appetite or feeling hungry all the time can both be warning signs of depression.

4. Sleep Disturbance

If your regular sleeping pattern has recently changed, it might be worth talking to a healthcare provider about a depression screening. Depression and sleep have a bidirectional relationship, meaning that depression can cause changes in your sleep, but sleep changes can also contribute to depression.

Sleep changes can manifest as trouble falling or staying asleep, or sleeping for extended periods, and finding it difficult to get out of bed in the morning.

5. Changes in How You Move

Psychomotor changes (changes in how you move) affect up to 70% of people with depression. You may experience very agitated, fast movements or have very slowed-down movements. Usually, these changes are significant enough for other people to notice.

6. Fatigue

Fatigue, low energy, and tiredness are all signs of depression. It can also manifest as being less efficient with routine daily tasks. For example, the thought of brushing your teeth or getting dressed might sound exhausting. Alternatively, you might spend 45 minutes preparing a simple lunch that typically takes you 15 minutes.

7. Feeling Worthless or Guilty

Many people with depression grapple with feelings of worthlessness. It’s also common to experience excessive guilt that goes beyond self-criticism and is of an extreme nature.

8. Difficulty Concentrating

Depression can affect your ability to concentrate, think, and even make decisions. You might find that your attention span feels shorter, or you have trouble remembering things. You might also take longer to process information. All of these are signs of depression.

9. Thoughts of Death

Finally, having recurrent thoughts of death can be a warning sign of depression. In some cases, people might experience suicidal ideation (thoughts or contemplations about death or suicide) or suicide attempts.

What Is Depression Screening Like?

Screening typically involves completing a short form or questionnaire, such as the Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ)-2 or PHQ-9.

The PHQ-2 is a two-question screening tool used in many primary care offices, which asks you to rate your responses on a scale from 0 to 3, with 0 being “not at all” and 3 being “nearly every day.”

It asks: Over the last 2 weeks, how often have you been bothered by the following problems?:

• Little interest or pleasure in doing things
• Feeling down, depressed, or hopeless

Based on your responses, a healthcare provider will determine your depression risk. If they flag you for depression, they will then administer a nine-question screening tool (the PHQ-9), which takes about five minutes to complete.

Why Screening Is Important

Screening for depression can help your provider understand your symptoms and determine the appropriate treatment.

Sometimes, your symptoms can be caused by an underlying health condition. A good example of this is hypothyroidism (underactive thyroid), which causes fatigue, weight gain, and many similar symptoms to depression.

If you are diagnosed with depression, your provider will talk to you about your treatment options, which typically include psychotherapy, medication, or a combination of the two to treat depression.

It can feel scary to get a depression diagnosis, but understanding what’s causing your symptoms is one step toward getting the proper treatment and improving your quality of life.