Everyone feels low from time to time, so it’s not always easy to know when it is part of daily life, and when it’s time to seek help. In most cases, it is short-term and self-correcting, but for a significant minority this is not the case. For those individuals, it is important to seek treatment just as you would any other health condition. Here we discuss six warning signs which, together, might indicate that it’s time to seek professional help.

1. You’ve been feeling low or irritable for most of the day, every day for two weeks or more. You may have found yourself worrying about past or future events for long periods of time, or simply feeling sad, frustrated, or angry. Sometimes it’s hard to recognize a gradual change – have others noticed that you don’t seem your usual self?
2. You’ve lost interest in activities that you used to enjoy. Perhaps you have been seeing less of your friends or family recently, have stopped going to the gym, or cooking balanced meals. This really boils down to recognizing and addressing changes in what’s normal for you – no one is saying you have to exercise five times a week or eat your veggies, but changes in your routine can offer concrete indications that your mood is changing.
3. You are struggling to concentrate. You might notice that you struggle to focus when reading or watching television, for example, or to follow the thread of conversations. This could be affecting your performance at work, or limiting your ability to perform routine tasks such as food shopping. Again, we are looking for a change in what’s normal for you, so if concentration has always been something you find tricky there is little cause for concern.
4. Anxiety and Depression. Anxiety is a result of low self-worth. Anxiety affects over half of all persons who have depression. A depressed individual may be concerned about their personal and professional future on a regular basis. They might believe they’ll fail at both. Anxiety may lessen over time, but this does not necessarily mean that the person has given up.
5. Loss of energy. Sadness and other variables, such as anxiety-induced sleep deprivation, can create a lack of energy. In extreme circumstances, this might cause weariness. Fatigue, when combined with poor focus, wreaks havoc on professional and personal relationships, and can lead to a negative spiral if these symptoms result in reprimands or job loss.
6. Reckless behaviour.  Some depressed persons engage in high-risk behaviours to momentarily alleviate their emotional distress. An individual may waste money, go on perilous excursions, sleep with several partners irresponsibly, or develop a substance abuse problem. Though loved ones may be concerned about these signals and attempt to talk about them, this can result in an angry reaction or be unproductive.
7. Sleep pattern changes. People suffering from depression are more likely to develop irregular sleep habits, which include insomnia and frequent awakenings during the night. This can exacerbate other symptoms or give people more time to think about them. A person suffering from depression may sleep more than usual and spend an excessive amount of time in bed. It may feel impossible to get out of bed due to exhaustion and a lack of optimism.

Depression, like many mental health conditions, follows ‘the rule of thirds’: One third of sufferers will make a full recovery, one third will partially respond to treatment, and one third will not benefit from treatment at all. Your age, the duration of your symptoms, having a family history of depression, and co-occurring mental or physical health difficulties might all affect your prognosis. Some researchers believe that there is evidence for a ‘scarring’ effect, where the likelihood of suffering from a relapse in depression increases with the number of episodes you have already had. There is also an increased risk of suicide associated with severe depression.