 Hey, Psych2goers! Welcome back to another video! Thank you so much for all the support you've given us. Psych2go's mission is to help everyone learn about psychology and mental health in a digestible way. Now back to the video. Do you find it more and more difficult to get out of bed? Has your mood been all over the place lately? While depression is a common mental health condition, it's also subtle and can sometimes be hard to identify. It's mainly characterized by a persistent feeling of sadness that can negatively impact the way you think and behave in a number of ways. So, here are nine signs of severe depression. Before we begin, we would like to mention that this video is created for educational purposes only and is not intended to substitute a professional diagnosis. If you suspect you may have severe depression or any mental health condition, we highly advise you to seek help from a qualified mental health professional. Number one, you feel overwhelming sadness, hopelessness, and grief. Do you always feel very emotional? These persistent and overwhelming feelings may be easily triggered and difficult to control and can make it harder to concentrate and focus on things you need to do. This can make you feel emotionally drained and impact your daily functioning. In some cases, you may even feel hopeless and that life is no longer worth living, which is considered a medical emergency. Number two, you find it difficult to take care of yourself. Does self-care feel like a lot of work when you're depressed? Trying to get anything done may seem to take too much time and energy, so priorities go by the wayside. Simple acts such as showering, shaving, and washing clothes can become difficult. Your eating habits may also change drastically, from not wanting to eat at all to eating too much or the other way around. These neglectful habits in turn can cause more issues that worsen your mental and physical well-being. Number three, you lose interest in your favorite activities. Have you lost interest in the hobbies you used to love? And hedonia is characterized by losing pleasure in activities you normally enjoy. This emotional numbness may be due to the lack of energy you have from depression. The negative emotions you experience can be physically and mentally taxing to the point you become emotionally drained and find no pleasure in the activities you used to enjoy. Number four, you are overwhelmed with negative thoughts. Do you feel dread that something bad will happen to you? Do you believe you lack value or that you're disliked by those around you? These thoughts may be debilitating, painful, and loud to the point where some may turn to substance abuse to lessen the pain. The negative thoughts are often linked with feelings of sadness, hopelessness, and grief which can make it very difficult to function normally in your daily life. Number five, you feel empty and alone. Do you feel like you're all alone in your feelings and that no one can understand what you're going through? Depression can be an isolating experience. These feelings can be overwhelming and affect your perception of yourself. It may even cause you to cut yourself off from others, either intentionally or not, which can worsen your feelings of loneliness. Number six, you feel drained. Are you always sleepy? Do you find yourself spending more time in bed than you used to? Depression is physically, emotionally, and mentally taxing. It can make even the smallest task hard to complete. This worn-out feeling can affect your concentration and focus and may impact your work or school life. This may also affect your social life since you may have a harder time keeping up with the energies of your family and friends. Number seven, you experience severe mood swings. Do you go from feeling happy to extreme sadness or anger with little provocation? Mood swings are common in depression and can be severe. You may end up saying or doing things you don't mean and reacting to something in a disproportionate manner. It's a cause for concern if you find yourself suddenly lashing out at your friends for no reason or feeling extremely upset over something trivial. Number eight, you experience psychotic symptoms. Do you find it difficult to distinguish what is real and what is not? Psychosis and depression is rare, but it can be a side effect of severe clinical depression. Some face hallucinations or experience false beliefs while others have reported feeling an overwhelming sense that they're being punished for something. Getting diagnosed if you're experiencing psychotic symptoms is especially important as they can be a sign of a different disorder. Number nine, you think about death. Suicide is a dark aspect of depression. People in this state may feel like there's no point in going on or that the world may be better off without them. Suicide is considered an emergency and any ideation and tendencies should be treated with high priority. If you or someone you know is having suicidal thoughts, we've included the number of resources and hotlines in the description box below. Do you relate to any of the signs mentioned here? Tell us about it in the comments below. If this video helped you, please like and share it with others who may find it helpful too. Don't forget to subscribe to Psych2Go and hit the notification bell icon for more videos. All the references used are also added in the description box below. Thank you for watching and we'll see you soon.