As per American Psychiatric Association, Depression (major depressive disorder) is a common and serious medical illness that negatively affects how you feel, the way you think and how you act.

Depression affects an estimated 1 in 15 adults (6.7%) in any given year and 1 in 6 people (16.6%) will experience depression at some time in their life. Depression can strike at any time, but on average, first appears during the late teens to mid-20s.

Women in Depression

Women are more likely than men to experience depression. Some studies show that one-third of women will experience a major depressive episode in their lifetime. Depression causes feelings of sadness and/or a loss of interest in activities once enjoyed. It can lead to a variety of emotional and physical problems and can decrease a person’s ability to function at work and at home.

Symptoms of Depression

A change in appetite (eating too much or not enough), Withdrawing from friends and activities, sleeping disturbances like sleeping too much, not sleeping well or avoiding sleep, A decline in grades at school, Obsession over their body image, Feelings of frustration, An inability to complete simple tasks, Overwhelming guilt and feelings of worthlessness, A change in normal behavior or personality changes, Reluctance to participate in social activities, Anger and other frequent emotional outbursts, Frequent stomach aches or headaches that don’t respond to treatment, Body aches that can’t be explained or treated, An inability to enjoy life and a lack of interest in the future can be counted as symptoms of depression.

Do you know handwriting can reveal depression? Yes, handwriting is brainwriting. When we write on the paper, it imprints our emotions, feelings and state of mind on the paper. We are writing with hand but it shows our thought process in our mind. How do you identify depression symptoms from handwriting? Ok, one thing to keep in mind is single trait in handwriting cannot tell about the core issue like depression. There has to be combination of various traits identified to say that there is an indication of depression such as low self-esteem, sensitive to criticism, downward slant, emotionally withdrawn, etc.

Low self-esteem is one major trait which is nothing but not feeling good about yourself. People with low self-esteem often feel unlovable, awkward, or incompetent. According to researchers Morris Rosenberg and Timothy J. Owens, who wrote Low Self-Esteem People: A Collective Portrait, people with low self-esteem tend to be hypersensitive. They have a fragile sense of self that can easily be wounded by others.

The second indication is while writing the words may fall down at the end, or sentences show downward slant. This shows that person is upset, feeling low, has become pessimistic. The overall direction of the baseline and the frequent rise and fall of words indicates depression. Caused by confusion and stress, this is further shown by strokes with variable size and shape of letters.

See the sample of handwriting that shows low self-esteem and downward slant.

sample of handwriting that shows low self-esteem and downward slant

From the sample, we can say that person does not feel good about himself which is seen in letter t. All the sentences are falling downward which again indicates that person is showing depression symptom. Handwriting is one important tool which shows success traits and red flags in the personality. What does your “t” say? Is your writing going down or up or straight? What does it mean? Can change in handwriting help a person to overcome depression? Meet the Handwriting Analyst to know more!