Depression can be recognized from a person's appearance or behaviours (Regents of the University of Michigan, 2014). One of the most common symptoms of depression is 'rumination'. Depressed people tend to spend a lot of time having negative thoughts like constantly thinking about sadness and how miserable of their life. The ruminating of a depressed person can actually make things worse rather than better. Time spending on ruminating affects a person's problem solving skills and may subtract a person's interest or pleasure from life (Psychology Today, 2016).

 

Below are the symptoms of a person who suffered from depression:

 

Feelings

• Intense sadness

• Hopelessness

• Guilty

• Low mood

• Irritability

• Anxious

• Lose interest in things, including pleasure of sex

• Worrying

 

Thoughts

• Trouble in concentrating

• Trouble in remembering

• Trouble in focusing

• Trouble in making decision

• Self-harming

• Delusions or Hallucination

 

Behaviour

• Social isolation

• Substances abuse

• Absent from work, school or others commitments

•  Suicide thoughts

 

Physical behaviour

• Fatigue or lack of energy

• Encounter aches and pains

• Changes in appetite

• Changes in body weight

• Changes in sleep behaviour

 

Healthcare professionals suspect depression only occurs if a person has one or more of the above for continuously at least 2 weeks or more and affecting their functioning aspects of their daily life (Regents of the University of Michigan, 2014).