These symptoms are:
1. Loss of interest/pleasure
2. depressed mood
3. fatigue
4. concentration problems.
Although depression has many symptoms, some are more central than others. These four emerged as the most central symptoms in that they were more strongly linked to other less common symptoms.
They were also the most likely to predict the onset of clinical depression.
The results come from a study which included data from 501 people who had no symptoms of depression or anxiety at the beginning.
The authors also said that hypersomnia, suicidal thoughts and a decrease in weight/appetite had the lowest symptom strength.
They explain that targeting the main four symptoms may be the best way to treat depression because, "a strategy that encourages a person to engage in pleasant activities does not only have the potential to improve (or prevent) a person’s ability to experience pleasure (symptom ‘loss of interest/pleasure’) but, subsequently, also his or her energy level (connected symptoms ‘fatigue’ and ‘psychomotor retardation’) and ability to concentrate (connected symptom ‘concentration problems’).”
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Category(s):Depression
Source material from PsyBlog
