Depression affects how people feel about themselves. They may lose interest in work, hobbies and doing things they normally enjoy. They may lack energy, have difficulty sleeping or sleep more than usual. Some people feel irritable, and some find it hard to concentrate.Depression makes it more difficult to manage from day to day. A person may be depressed if, for more than two weeks, he or she has felt sad, down or miserable most of the time or has lost interest or pleasure in most of his or her usual activities, and has also experienced several of the signs and symptoms across at least three of the categories in the table overleaf. It’s important to note, everyone experiences some of these symptoms from time to time – it may not necessarily mean a person is depressed.Equally, not every person who is experiencing depression will have all of these symptoms.
