Do you know what depression is? Can you say whether a person is depressed or not just by looking at him? Or to be more precise, can you say by looking at yourself, whether you are depressed or not? Do you know what really the early signs of depression are? If your answer to all these questions is NO, then you must spare some time reading what is written below.

Depression is that condition of mind which if diagnosed early can be treated with no harmful effects. Though it can be cured in the later stages also, but the problems associated become more complex and the amount of relief may not be remarkable. The best way for a promising relief is to detect it early, whether you are suffering from depression or not. A person usually shows extreme behaviors when he is depressed. The commonly shown symptoms can be divided into two broad categories: physical symptoms and mental symptoms.

Physical Symptoms noticed during depression:

1. Insomnia (difficulty in sleeping or no sleep) or hypersonic (sleeping a lot during the day).
2. Body ache especially in the head and the stomach.
   
3. Feeling irritated from the things happening around the individual.
4. Either no reaction or over reaction to a particular thing.
5. Excessive weight gain or weight loss.
6. Reduced drive towards sex.
7. Fatigue and reduced energy levels
8. Joint pain and muscle cramps, even after taking medicines.

Mental signs commonly visible are:

1. A longing to stay alone away from the crowd, dissociating from the world around.
2. Instability and difficulty in concentration.
3. Gloomy and pessimistic attitude (expecting the worst to happen).
4. Feeling sad and lonely every time.
5. Everything appearing void and empty.
6. Having a strong instinct to commit suicide.
7. Being devoid of clarity in thoughts.

If you notice any of the above mentioned symptoms, you must contact a doctor or a physician. He will definitely guide you in the right direction and help you come out of this situation in the best possible way. Remember this is no disease and you don’t need to shy away because you are going to some physician for such a thing. This is very normal and can happen to anybody. You just need to work a little bit over it and the things will be back to normal.