Depression Symptoms

“It’s a recession when your neighbor loses his job; it’s a depression when you lose yours.” Harry S Truman

We are all depressed, with no exception; just do not deny or stigmatize depression. It is because we are living in a world of depression that can make us unhappy in many different ways, and we are all vulnerable.

Depression is always an inner struggle against unhappiness and insecurity; it is a deliberate and desperate but futile attempt to lose contact with the realities of life. Depression is no more than a mental escape from the inescapable.

Depression is evidenced by many symptoms that may be imperceptible in the beginning, but these symptoms often get worse if they are not properly addressed.

Depression begins in the mind, affecting the emotions and feelings of an individual, with some of the most common symptoms, including the following:

Lethargy and loss of appetite

A depressed individual begins to feel lethargy and listlessness without any apparent reason. The mind simply refuses to function, causing physical tiredness and even loss of appetite.

Involuntary tendency to weep

Many depressed individuals get the sudden “weeps”—a tale-telling sign of the beginning of depression.

Irritability and hostility

A depressed individual, who is often passive or inactive, may express irritability towards someone who wishes to activate that individual physically or mentally.

A depressed individual may also initially express hostility directed towards someone who has rejected or insulted him or her, before turning that hostility inward at himself or herself.

Sadness and hopelessness

The most common symptom of depression, of course, is feeling sadness and hopelessness that may drag over a long period of time. The almost worldwide symptom of all depressed people is withdrawal from others, including the loved ones due to their loss of affection for self and others.

The bottom line: overcome your depression not by avoiding it with distractions, not by taking medications to suppress its symptoms, but by going through it with TAO wisdom, known as the Way, the ancient wisdom from China more than 2,600 years ago. The Way is the only way. 

Stephen Lau

Copyright© by Stephen Lau