Last Updated on December 27, 2022 by Mike Robinson

People with depression have many different feelings, including deep sadness, guilt, lack of motivation, and anxiety.

This does not mean that all the people who suffer from it have the same behaviors or even that, in all cases, it manifests in the same way. But they tend to present common symptoms that can help us identify if someone in our environment or ourselves are suffering from possible depression.

Until recently, there was not enough empathy or understanding for those suffering from this serious disease. Fortunately, there is a growing awareness of this problem and the delicate state of the people who suffer from it.

Fortunately, research in this field is very extensive, and nowadays, there are consolidated treatments to overcome this disease.

Different techniques and orientations are used so that each person can choose the method that best suits their problem. Therefore, the first step to solving it is recognizing it and then contacting a mental health professional to remedy it.

Symptoms of people with depression

Next, we will divide the symptoms according to the affected area. This way, we can classify them into affective, motivational, cognitive, behavioral, and physical or physiological symptoms.

Affective symptoms

1- Sadness

This is usually the main symptom of people suffering from depression. It manifests in different ways and with different intensities depending on the subject. It is very common for people who suffer from it not to permit themselves to feel sadness properly. Unfortunately, this contributes to generating greater discomfort.

2- Self-pity

The person does not usually permit to recognize that he can feel that sadness, especially when he has gone through some serious event or experience, like losing a loved one. In most cases, recognizing the problem and allowing yourself to feel compassion for yourself helps you feel relief.

On the other hand, it is very common for those who suffer this sadness to say things such as “I can not bear such sadness,” “I will always be depressed,” “I feel bad all the time,” etc. These thoughts increase the feeling of sadness, which is seen as feedback, forming a loop. It is necessary to break out of that vicious circle at some point to be able to solve it.

3: Uncontrollable crying

Experiencing periods of uncontrollable crying is another very common symptom of depression. It is possible that the person feels some relief after these episodes, but in the long run, they tend to increase their sadness even more.

4: Feeling guilty

In a very usual way, the person suffering from depression usually has feelings of this type for some behaviors he has performed and even for thoughts or desires that he has or has had.

The person cannot identify that having a wish or thought does not influence reality. Many times they believe that thinking about something can make it a reality. 

It can also happen that you feel guilty about being depressed. In most cases, this guilt comes from the person feeling excessively responsible for their own behavior and even that of others.

It can also happen that the person performs counterproductive behaviors due to this feeling, which makes him feel even worse. For example, when I feel bad, I drink excessively, and when I drink, I feel guilty for not being able to control this behavior or solve the problem in another way, thus increasing the feeling of guilt.

5- Shame

Some people who suffer from depression have this kind of feeling. This disease makes them think they are weaker, childish, or inferior to others. Sometimes they even think they are crazy and that others will realize this. This feeling of shame also generates deep discomfort and often results in the person avoiding social contact.

6- Anxiety

Contrary to what is commonly believed, depression and anxiety usually go together, and when one appears, it is common for the other to suffer. The person who suffers from it has to learn to identify this discomfort as anxiety and, above all, internalize that although the symptoms are very annoying, they are not dangerous.

In this way, the patient is prevented from feeling anxiety before experiencing the symptoms of anxiety.

Motivational symptoms

7: Lack of motivation

It is very common for a person suffering from depression to lack motivation to perform even the simplest and most frequent tasks, such as getting out of bed or going to work.

The individual knows what he has to do but is either unable to do it or thinks he will not get any satisfaction from doing it; therefore, it is not worthwhile to carry it out, and he remains in a state of immobility.

8: Avoidance behavior

Coupled closely with the above, it is common for avoidant or flight behaviors to appear in people suffering from depression.

The person believes he will be unable to perform a task or perform it poorly, so he avoids certain situations. This increases your discomfort and the belief that you cannot perform even the simplest task.

9- Dependency

Dependence on others is another common symptom of depression. It is positive to ask for help from people in the environment. However, this type of dependency goes further. Often their request is more like a demand for tasks that could easily be done alone.

Receiving this help from others initially makes the person feel some relief at feeling loved and cared for by others. But in the long run, it can increase the patient’s dependence and sense of helplessness or incapacity.

10: Anger or anger

In some cases, the person experiences periods of anger or frustration. They usually appear when the individual begins to recover because anger is typically incompatible with the deep sadness experienced in the early stages of depression. They are also usually periods of short duration and for some specific situation or person.

But, although it is rare, in other cases, these periods of acute anger can be experienced in a habitual way and all stages of depression. If this happens, the anger usually goes towards some concrete person and generates feelings of anger and revenge.

Cognitive symptoms for people with depression

Perception of problems as irresolvable or overwhelming. This type of belief is very common in people who suffer from depression. They believe that they will never find the solution to their problems or that they will always be just as bad.

The individual usually experiences a sense of blockage that prevents him from seeing solutions or thinking about new ones. This lack of creativity in finding alternatives would not exist without the symptoms and effects of depression.

So it is convenient to remember that this blockage will disappear when you experience improvement or end your depression.

11- Indecision

In this case, the person often stops making decisions because he always foresees a negative consequence. It is also possible that he blames his depression on certain decisions he has made; therefore, making new decisions becomes an arduous and complicated task.

On other occasions, the person needs to have absolute certainty that the decision he will make is correct. In this case, it is necessary to remember that there are no absolute certainties. Also, it is impossible to know the consequences of a decision before taking it.

It is also possible that the person does not make decisions because of an inappropriate feeling of guilt that prevents him from seeing the realistic consequences of taking one option or another.

It may be advisable for the person to postpone decision-making until they overcome depression or find themselves better. As we have already commented, the individual can be in a situation of blockage that prevents him from generating options or alternatives that would arise from not being depressed.

For this reason, if the decision is not urgent, it is advisable to delay it until the person can generate all the possible alternatives and thus make the decision that is considered most appropriate at that time.

12- Self-criticism

Habitually, the depressed patient usually attributes his suffering to some deficiency or error he has committed. You commonly receive this same message from your environment in phrases such as “if this is how it is because you want” or “if you would like to be better.”

13: Memory loss and difficulty concentrating

These two characteristics usually go together. The person has memory problems because they do not focus on the task, what they are saying, or what they must learn.

Instead of focusing your attention on the crucial moment, you usually think and ramble about your problems and discomfort. Therefore, when it is necessary to recover this information, it is not found because it was not given sufficient attention at the time.

Behavioral or behavioral symptoms

14- Passivity

Inactivity is another one of the typical characteristics of a person with depression. The main reasons for this passivity are usually the belief that they will not be able to do it, a lack of motivation, or simply arguing that they are too tired to perform it.

We must bear in mind that, due to his state, this type of belief is firmly rooted, and when he expresses that he does not feel capable of doing so, it is because he believes that he will not be able to do so.

15: Lack of social skills

In this sense, it is usual for the patient to avoid social contact or, if he does so in a submissive manner, to submit to the wishes of others. In most cases, the person does have social skills but does not put them into practice.

Physical and/or physiological symptoms

16: Sleep problems

Another symptom that appears regularly is alterations in sleep. Depending on the person, they can manifest as difficulty reconciling, nighttime sleep interruptions, insomnia, or on the contrary, sleeping excessively. It is important to remember that when depression subsides, the person will have a regular sleep cycle again.

17: Alterations in Appetite

One of the first symptoms that manifest when suffering from depression is the alteration of the appetite. Depending on the person, in some cases, these alterations manifest as a loss of appetite, and in others, just the opposite.

Also Read: 25 Celebrities Who Fought Against Depression

At first, the person does not usually give it much importance. But losing weight or gaining excessively can affect the individual’s health and self-esteem.

18: Loss of sexual desire

It is usually another one of the symptoms that previously appeared in depression. It is believed to be linked to the loss of pleasure that the person experiences in most aspects of their life. As with the other symptoms, it is essential to keep in mind that when overcoming depression, the loss of sexual interest will disappear.