Severity

It is possible to distinguish between different degrees of depression. Below you can read about these distinctions. You can also read more about the different  symptoms of depression here.

Mild depression

Despite its name a mild depression is painful. The symptoms of mild depression are the following:

• You generally feel sad and lack energy to carry out the chores that you normally do. You may be able to pull yourself together but not for very long each time.
• The things that used to interest you no longer appeal to you as much.
• You feel very tired and getting a good night's sleep doesn't help. You may misinterpret the tiredness and believe that you have got a physical disease.
• You can have diffuse physical symptoms. That means that you might feel pain "here and there", feel dizzy and a weight on the chest, etc.

If for a prolonged period of time, you have physical symptoms which you cannot explain, they may be caused by a mild depression. You should therefore go to see your General Practitioner.

Moderate depression

The symptoms of moderate depression are similar to those of mild depression but the symptoms are worse and are present almost all the time. You are only able to pull yourself together for very short periods each time. You are sad, lack energy and and lack interest in the people and events around you. Your thoughts revolve around low self-esteem and feelings of guilt, even though your family, friends and other people around you find it difficult to understand why you have feelings of guilt.

You also experience a lack of joy about people or things that used to be a source of joy. Your interest in your family and your work is reduced. Your level of concentration is greatly reduced, and you are no longer able to read books or keep up with reading the newspapers or watching TV.

Making small decisions in daily life becomes very difficult. It can be difficult to decide what you should buy for tonight's supper. You don't feel like going out or having visitors and just want to be by yourself at home.

Twenty-four-hour variation

If you are suffering from moderate depression, it is common for you to have a twenty-four-hour variation in your mood. That means that you can feel lousy in the morning and start feeling better towards the evening.

You don't sleep very well and don't feel refreshed. You may find it relatively easy to fall asleep but you wake up after only a few hours of sleep and cannot get back to sleep. Many people find lying awake in the early hours of the morning the biggest strain. You are completely alone then with your sad thoughts.

Reduced appetite

You usually have a reduced appetite in connection with moderate depression. It is not uncommon for you to lose 5-10% of your normal weight.

You usually lose your sexual drive during a moderate depression. You may have a need for closeness and touch but your lack of sexual drive can cause you to experience even more feelings of guilt.

Severe depression

In severe depression you have the same symptoms as in mild and moderate depression. But the symptoms are even more pronounced and it is often impossible for you to pull yourself together to do anything.

If you are suffering from severe depression, you experience the sadness as "black in black" instead of "grey in grey" as it the case with moderate depression. Some people cry a lot during a severe depression whilst others are not even able to cry.