Depressed mood

Persistent depressed mood is the key feature of depression. Psychiatrists use the term "low affect", which means that your mood is lower than before you became depressed. You are unhappy - unhappy for more than just a brief period. But it's not just individual things about life that you're unhappy about. Instead you live with an almost constant and all-embracing feeling of sadness and hopelessness. Everything seems grey.

You are no longer happy. Any happiness you do feel is sporadic. Your sadness goes on and on. Even though you can sometimes see that it is unrealistic to be so sad and negative, everything seems unimportant or threatening. You may sense that something ominous and beyond your control is about to happen.

Mood swings during the day

Even if you are constantly depressed, you may feel better at some times of the day than others. One possible pattern may be: you wake up early and things are pretty awful (morning despair). However, they improve slightly during the day and by the evening you can cope with being with others a bit and manage to do some of the things that need doing. You feel slightly less depressed. Others find that this pattern is reversed.