Table of ContentsView AllTable of ContentsMisunderstandingsWhat It Feels LikeSymptomsSeeking Help
Table of ContentsView All
View All
Table of Contents
Misunderstandings
What It Feels Like
Symptoms
Seeking Help
Depression is a debilitating mood disorder that goes beyond simply feeling sad. People withclinical depression, ormajor depressive disorder(MDD), often lose their ability to experience pleasure. Not being able to feel pleasure is calledanhedonia. The inability or reduced ability to feel joy is a key symptom of depression.
This article describes what depression feels like for someone going through a major depressive episode, its symptoms, and when treatment is necessary.
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Misunderstandings About Depression
From the outside, a person with depression might appear the same as usual to onlookers. But when a clinically depressed person looks in the mirror, they might see their own reflection and feel as if the person they used to be has disappeared and worry that their “former self,” who could feel happiness, will never return.
People going through a major depressive episode often feel as if they’ve been transported to a hellish place. Because clinical depression increases negative affect and reduces positive affect, it changes how someone sees the world. Through a depressed person’s eyes, their negative affectivity can makeeverythingseem hopeless and bleak.
In people with clinical depression, activities that once brought happiness are no longer joyful. This feeling of anhedonia makes it nearly impossible to feel joy, motivation, or interest.
Related:How Signs of Depression Feel and Look
What Depression May Feel Like
Each person’s experience of depression is unique. The examples of “how depression feels” listed below only scratch the surface. There isn’t a one-size-fits-all way to describe feelings of depression that’s universal. That said, here is how depression may feel for people:
No Pleasure or Joy in Life
The inability or reduced ability to feel pleasure and joy in life is a telltale sign of depression and one of its most common symptoms.
Difficult to Concentrate
People with depression often lose their ability to concentrate or focus their attention, which can negatively impact day-to-day functioning.
Feeling Hopeless
Hopelessness is a common feeling in people with depression. It can make them feel less motivated, and prevent them from completing tasks..
Lack of Self-Esteem
Low self-esteem and depression are strongly correlated, although researchers aren’t sure if one necessarily causes the other. Most likely, the two are intertwined in ways that perpetuate one another.
Difficulty Sleeping
Sleep disordersare pervasive among people experiencing depression. However, not everyone with depression has difficulty sleeping. During a major depressive episode, some people sleep all the time and have trouble getting out of bed.
Low or Nonexistent Energy Levels
Food Seems Unappetizing
Depression can trigger changes in the brain that make food seem unappetizing, which can lead to sudden weight loss.A sign of depression is losing more than 5% of total body weight in a month.
What Are the Best Foods for Depression?
Craving Comfort Food
Aches and Pains
Depression can change neural mechanisms in the brain that make people more susceptible to feeling physical aches and pains.
What Is Smiling Depression?
What Depression Symptoms Do Healthcare Providers Look For?
When screening for depression, healthcare providers typically look for nine symptoms listed in theDiagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fifth Edition(DSM-5) as clinical depression symptoms, which are:
In Crisis? Text or Call 988
When to Contact a Healthcare Provider
If you or someone you know has symptoms of depression lasting more than two weeks, contact a healthcare provider. It’s especially important to reach out and get help if depression symptoms are causing debilitating hopelessness or impairing how someone functions in their day-to-day life.
Summary
Clinical depression goes beyond just feeling sad. Everyone feels sad from time to time. But when you’re having a major depressive episode, the sadness or feelings of emptiness can last for weeks. People with depression often lose their ability to feel any joy or happiness. Not being able to feel pleasure makes life miserable.
Because depression changes how the world looks,everythingcan seem dark and hopeless when you’re depressed. If you or someone you know has been feeling hopelessly depressed for more than two weeks,text or call 988or reach out to a healthcare provider.
16 SourcesVerywell Health uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.Serretti A.Anhedonia and depressive disorders.Clin Psychopharmacol Neurosci. 2023;21(3):401-409. doi:10.9758/cpn.23.1086De Fruyt J, Sabbe B, Demyttenaere K.Anhedonia in depressive disorder: a narrative review.Psychopathology. 2020;53(5-6):274-281. doi:10.1159/000508773Boumparis N, Karyotaki E, Kleiboer A, Hofmann SG, Cuijpers P.The effect of psychotherapeutic interventions on positive and negative affect in depression: A systematic review and meta-analysis.Journal of Affective Disorders. 2016;202:153-162. doi:10.1016/j.jad.2016.05.019Dunn BD, German RE, Khazanov G, Xu C, Hollon SD, DeRubeis RJ.Changes in positive and negative affect during pharmacological treatment and cognitive therapy for major depressive disorder: a secondary analysis of two randomized controlled trials.Clinical Psychological Science. 2020;8(1):36-51. doi:10.1177/2167702619863427Cooper JA, Arulpragasam AR, Treadway MT.Anhedonia in depression: biological mechanisms and computational models.Current Opinion in Behavioral Sciences. 2018;22:128-135. doi:10.1016/j.cobeha.2018.01.024Keller AS, Leikauf JE, Holt-Gosselin B, Staveland BR, Williams LM.Paying attention to attention in depression.Transl Psychiatry. 2019;9(1):279. doi:Marchetti I, Alloy LB, Koster EHW.Breaking the vise of hopelessness: targeting its components, antecedents, and context.J Cogn Ther. 2023;16(3):285-319. doI:10.1007/s41811-023-00165-1Sowislo JF, Orth U.Does low self-esteem predict depression and anxiety? A meta-analysis of longitudinal studies.Psychological Bulletin. 2013;139(1):213-240. doi:10.1037/a0028931Plante DT.The evolving nexus of sleep and depression.AJP. 2021;178(10):896-902. doi:10.1176/appi.ajp.2021.21080821Higson-Sweeney N, Cooper K, Dunn BD, Loades ME.“I’m always going to be tired”: a qualitative exploration of adolescents’ experiences of fatigue in depression.Eur Child Adolesc Psychiatry. Published online June 10, 2023. doi:10.1007/s00787-023-02243-3Simmons WK, Burrows K, Avery JA, et al.Depression-related increases and decreases in appetite: dissociable patterns of aberrant activity in reward and interoceptive neurocircuitry.AJP. 2016;173(4):418-428. doi:10.1176/appi.ajp.2015.15020162Hur K, Choi JS, Zheng M, Shen J, Wrobel B.Association of alterations in smell and taste with depression in older adults.Laryngoscope Investig Oto. 2018;3(2):94-99. doi:10.1002/lio2.142Spence C.Comfort food: A review.International Journal of Gastronomy and Food Science. 2017;9:105-109. doi:10.1016/j.ijgfs.2017.07.001Sheng J, Liu S, Wang Y, Cui R, Zhang X.The link between depression and chronic pain: neural mechanisms in the brain.Neural Plasticity. 2017;2017:1-10. doi:10.1155/2017/9724371American Psychiatric Association.Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fifth Edition. American Psychiatric Association; 2013. doi:10.1176/appi.books.9780890425596Mueller J, Ahern AL, Jones RA, et al.The relationship of within-individual and between-individual variation in mental health with bodyweight: An exploratory longitudinal study. Ballarotto G, ed.PLoS ONE. 2024;19(1):e0295117. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0295117Additional ReadingDanquah, Meri Nana-Ama.Willow Weep for Me: A Black Woman’s Journey Through Depression. Norton; 1998.Jamison, Kay R.An Unquiet Mind: A Memoir of Moods and Madness. Vintage Books; 1996.Ramprasad, Gayathri.Shadows in the Sun: Healing From Depression and Finding the Light Within. Hazelden; 2014.Solomon, Andrew.The Noonday Demon: An Atlas of Depression. Scribner; 2001.Styron, William.Darkness Visible: A Memoir of Madness. Vintage Books; 2009.
16 Sources
Verywell Health uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.Serretti A.Anhedonia and depressive disorders.Clin Psychopharmacol Neurosci. 2023;21(3):401-409. doi:10.9758/cpn.23.1086De Fruyt J, Sabbe B, Demyttenaere K.Anhedonia in depressive disorder: a narrative review.Psychopathology. 2020;53(5-6):274-281. doi:10.1159/000508773Boumparis N, Karyotaki E, Kleiboer A, Hofmann SG, Cuijpers P.The effect of psychotherapeutic interventions on positive and negative affect in depression: A systematic review and meta-analysis.Journal of Affective Disorders. 2016;202:153-162. doi:10.1016/j.jad.2016.05.019Dunn BD, German RE, Khazanov G, Xu C, Hollon SD, DeRubeis RJ.Changes in positive and negative affect during pharmacological treatment and cognitive therapy for major depressive disorder: a secondary analysis of two randomized controlled trials.Clinical Psychological Science. 2020;8(1):36-51. doi:10.1177/2167702619863427Cooper JA, Arulpragasam AR, Treadway MT.Anhedonia in depression: biological mechanisms and computational models.Current Opinion in Behavioral Sciences. 2018;22:128-135. doi:10.1016/j.cobeha.2018.01.024Keller AS, Leikauf JE, Holt-Gosselin B, Staveland BR, Williams LM.Paying attention to attention in depression.Transl Psychiatry. 2019;9(1):279. doi:Marchetti I, Alloy LB, Koster EHW.Breaking the vise of hopelessness: targeting its components, antecedents, and context.J Cogn Ther. 2023;16(3):285-319. doI:10.1007/s41811-023-00165-1Sowislo JF, Orth U.Does low self-esteem predict depression and anxiety? A meta-analysis of longitudinal studies.Psychological Bulletin. 2013;139(1):213-240. doi:10.1037/a0028931Plante DT.The evolving nexus of sleep and depression.AJP. 2021;178(10):896-902. doi:10.1176/appi.ajp.2021.21080821Higson-Sweeney N, Cooper K, Dunn BD, Loades ME.“I’m always going to be tired”: a qualitative exploration of adolescents’ experiences of fatigue in depression.Eur Child Adolesc Psychiatry. Published online June 10, 2023. doi:10.1007/s00787-023-02243-3Simmons WK, Burrows K, Avery JA, et al.Depression-related increases and decreases in appetite: dissociable patterns of aberrant activity in reward and interoceptive neurocircuitry.AJP. 2016;173(4):418-428. doi:10.1176/appi.ajp.2015.15020162Hur K, Choi JS, Zheng M, Shen J, Wrobel B.Association of alterations in smell and taste with depression in older adults.Laryngoscope Investig Oto. 2018;3(2):94-99. doi:10.1002/lio2.142Spence C.Comfort food: A review.International Journal of Gastronomy and Food Science. 2017;9:105-109. doi:10.1016/j.ijgfs.2017.07.001Sheng J, Liu S, Wang Y, Cui R, Zhang X.The link between depression and chronic pain: neural mechanisms in the brain.Neural Plasticity. 2017;2017:1-10. doi:10.1155/2017/9724371American Psychiatric Association.Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fifth Edition. American Psychiatric Association; 2013. doi:10.1176/appi.books.9780890425596Mueller J, Ahern AL, Jones RA, et al.The relationship of within-individual and between-individual variation in mental health with bodyweight: An exploratory longitudinal study. Ballarotto G, ed.PLoS ONE. 2024;19(1):e0295117. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0295117Additional ReadingDanquah, Meri Nana-Ama.Willow Weep for Me: A Black Woman’s Journey Through Depression. Norton; 1998.Jamison, Kay R.An Unquiet Mind: A Memoir of Moods and Madness. Vintage Books; 1996.Ramprasad, Gayathri.Shadows in the Sun: Healing From Depression and Finding the Light Within. Hazelden; 2014.Solomon, Andrew.The Noonday Demon: An Atlas of Depression. Scribner; 2001.Styron, William.Darkness Visible: A Memoir of Madness. Vintage Books; 2009.
Verywell Health uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.
Serretti A.Anhedonia and depressive disorders.Clin Psychopharmacol Neurosci. 2023;21(3):401-409. doi:10.9758/cpn.23.1086De Fruyt J, Sabbe B, Demyttenaere K.Anhedonia in depressive disorder: a narrative review.Psychopathology. 2020;53(5-6):274-281. doi:10.1159/000508773Boumparis N, Karyotaki E, Kleiboer A, Hofmann SG, Cuijpers P.The effect of psychotherapeutic interventions on positive and negative affect in depression: A systematic review and meta-analysis.Journal of Affective Disorders. 2016;202:153-162. doi:10.1016/j.jad.2016.05.019Dunn BD, German RE, Khazanov G, Xu C, Hollon SD, DeRubeis RJ.Changes in positive and negative affect during pharmacological treatment and cognitive therapy for major depressive disorder: a secondary analysis of two randomized controlled trials.Clinical Psychological Science. 2020;8(1):36-51. doi:10.1177/2167702619863427Cooper JA, Arulpragasam AR, Treadway MT.Anhedonia in depression: biological mechanisms and computational models.Current Opinion in Behavioral Sciences. 2018;22:128-135. doi:10.1016/j.cobeha.2018.01.024Keller AS, Leikauf JE, Holt-Gosselin B, Staveland BR, Williams LM.Paying attention to attention in depression.Transl Psychiatry. 2019;9(1):279. doi:Marchetti I, Alloy LB, Koster EHW.Breaking the vise of hopelessness: targeting its components, antecedents, and context.J Cogn Ther. 2023;16(3):285-319. doI:10.1007/s41811-023-00165-1Sowislo JF, Orth U.Does low self-esteem predict depression and anxiety? A meta-analysis of longitudinal studies.Psychological Bulletin. 2013;139(1):213-240. doi:10.1037/a0028931Plante DT.The evolving nexus of sleep and depression.AJP. 2021;178(10):896-902. doi:10.1176/appi.ajp.2021.21080821Higson-Sweeney N, Cooper K, Dunn BD, Loades ME.“I’m always going to be tired”: a qualitative exploration of adolescents’ experiences of fatigue in depression.Eur Child Adolesc Psychiatry. Published online June 10, 2023. doi:10.1007/s00787-023-02243-3Simmons WK, Burrows K, Avery JA, et al.Depression-related increases and decreases in appetite: dissociable patterns of aberrant activity in reward and interoceptive neurocircuitry.AJP. 2016;173(4):418-428. doi:10.1176/appi.ajp.2015.15020162Hur K, Choi JS, Zheng M, Shen J, Wrobel B.Association of alterations in smell and taste with depression in older adults.Laryngoscope Investig Oto. 2018;3(2):94-99. doi:10.1002/lio2.142Spence C.Comfort food: A review.International Journal of Gastronomy and Food Science. 2017;9:105-109. doi:10.1016/j.ijgfs.2017.07.001Sheng J, Liu S, Wang Y, Cui R, Zhang X.The link between depression and chronic pain: neural mechanisms in the brain.Neural Plasticity. 2017;2017:1-10. doi:10.1155/2017/9724371American Psychiatric Association.Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fifth Edition. American Psychiatric Association; 2013. doi:10.1176/appi.books.9780890425596Mueller J, Ahern AL, Jones RA, et al.The relationship of within-individual and between-individual variation in mental health with bodyweight: An exploratory longitudinal study. Ballarotto G, ed.PLoS ONE. 2024;19(1):e0295117. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0295117
Serretti A.Anhedonia and depressive disorders.Clin Psychopharmacol Neurosci. 2023;21(3):401-409. doi:10.9758/cpn.23.1086
De Fruyt J, Sabbe B, Demyttenaere K.Anhedonia in depressive disorder: a narrative review.Psychopathology. 2020;53(5-6):274-281. doi:10.1159/000508773
Boumparis N, Karyotaki E, Kleiboer A, Hofmann SG, Cuijpers P.The effect of psychotherapeutic interventions on positive and negative affect in depression: A systematic review and meta-analysis.Journal of Affective Disorders. 2016;202:153-162. doi:10.1016/j.jad.2016.05.019
Dunn BD, German RE, Khazanov G, Xu C, Hollon SD, DeRubeis RJ.Changes in positive and negative affect during pharmacological treatment and cognitive therapy for major depressive disorder: a secondary analysis of two randomized controlled trials.Clinical Psychological Science. 2020;8(1):36-51. doi:10.1177/2167702619863427
Cooper JA, Arulpragasam AR, Treadway MT.Anhedonia in depression: biological mechanisms and computational models.Current Opinion in Behavioral Sciences. 2018;22:128-135. doi:10.1016/j.cobeha.2018.01.024
Keller AS, Leikauf JE, Holt-Gosselin B, Staveland BR, Williams LM.Paying attention to attention in depression.Transl Psychiatry. 2019;9(1):279. doi:
Marchetti I, Alloy LB, Koster EHW.Breaking the vise of hopelessness: targeting its components, antecedents, and context.J Cogn Ther. 2023;16(3):285-319. doI:10.1007/s41811-023-00165-1
Sowislo JF, Orth U.Does low self-esteem predict depression and anxiety? A meta-analysis of longitudinal studies.Psychological Bulletin. 2013;139(1):213-240. doi:10.1037/a0028931
Plante DT.The evolving nexus of sleep and depression.AJP. 2021;178(10):896-902. doi:10.1176/appi.ajp.2021.21080821
Higson-Sweeney N, Cooper K, Dunn BD, Loades ME.“I’m always going to be tired”: a qualitative exploration of adolescents’ experiences of fatigue in depression.Eur Child Adolesc Psychiatry. Published online June 10, 2023. doi:10.1007/s00787-023-02243-3
Simmons WK, Burrows K, Avery JA, et al.Depression-related increases and decreases in appetite: dissociable patterns of aberrant activity in reward and interoceptive neurocircuitry.AJP. 2016;173(4):418-428. doi:10.1176/appi.ajp.2015.15020162
Hur K, Choi JS, Zheng M, Shen J, Wrobel B.Association of alterations in smell and taste with depression in older adults.Laryngoscope Investig Oto. 2018;3(2):94-99. doi:10.1002/lio2.142
Spence C.Comfort food: A review.International Journal of Gastronomy and Food Science. 2017;9:105-109. doi:10.1016/j.ijgfs.2017.07.001
Sheng J, Liu S, Wang Y, Cui R, Zhang X.The link between depression and chronic pain: neural mechanisms in the brain.Neural Plasticity. 2017;2017:1-10. doi:10.1155/2017/9724371
American Psychiatric Association.Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fifth Edition. American Psychiatric Association; 2013. doi:10.1176/appi.books.9780890425596
Mueller J, Ahern AL, Jones RA, et al.The relationship of within-individual and between-individual variation in mental health with bodyweight: An exploratory longitudinal study. Ballarotto G, ed.PLoS ONE. 2024;19(1):e0295117. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0295117
Danquah, Meri Nana-Ama.Willow Weep for Me: A Black Woman’s Journey Through Depression. Norton; 1998.Jamison, Kay R.An Unquiet Mind: A Memoir of Moods and Madness. Vintage Books; 1996.Ramprasad, Gayathri.Shadows in the Sun: Healing From Depression and Finding the Light Within. Hazelden; 2014.Solomon, Andrew.The Noonday Demon: An Atlas of Depression. Scribner; 2001.Styron, William.Darkness Visible: A Memoir of Madness. Vintage Books; 2009.
Danquah, Meri Nana-Ama.Willow Weep for Me: A Black Woman’s Journey Through Depression. Norton; 1998.
Jamison, Kay R.An Unquiet Mind: A Memoir of Moods and Madness. Vintage Books; 1996.
Ramprasad, Gayathri.Shadows in the Sun: Healing From Depression and Finding the Light Within. Hazelden; 2014.
Solomon, Andrew.The Noonday Demon: An Atlas of Depression. Scribner; 2001.
Styron, William.Darkness Visible: A Memoir of Madness. Vintage Books; 2009.
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