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2 • Mood
+
substance use
What is depression?
• Everyone feels sad or depressed from time to time, especially when faced with
stress, relationship breakdowns, or disappointment. Feeling sad or depressed in these
circumstances is normal, and these feelings usually only last a short time, usually hours.
• Depression is when these feelings are experienced excessively (for most of the day) or
for a long period of time (two weeks or more).
• Depression can affect the way a person feels physically and emotionally, the way they
think and the way they behave (see Table 1). These effects can have a severe impact on
a person’s life.
Table 1:
Symptoms of depression
Depression can affect the way you feel emotionally and physically, the way you think,
and the way you behave. This table shows some common symptoms of depression.
Have you experienced any of these symptoms? Tick (
4
) the box next to the
symptoms that you have experienced.
Emotions
Feeling sad, upset, worthless, guilty or numb
Feelings of hopelessness and despair
Loss of interest in activities that used to be enjoyable
Physical reactions
Tiredness or lack of energy
Restlessness or agitation
Having trouble sleeping
Changes in appetite, eating habits and weight
Loss of interest in sex
Thoughts
Having trouble remembering things or concentrating
Difficulty making decisions
Having negative thoughts about yourself, others and the future
Thoughts of suicide
Behaviours
Withdrawing from friends or family
Crying a lot or feeling unable to cry
Moving or talking more slowly than usual
Outbursts of irritability or anger