This question is difficult even for specialists. After all, short-term depression and not accompanied by serious symptoms do not always require medical treatment.
In most cases, in people with a normal psyche, sadness, inadequate reactions, loss of appetite, confusion, fear of unexpected, every day, and other problems are a natural reaction to the events that caused them (death or serious illness of a loved one, family conflicts, work troubles, problems with employment, etc.).
Meanwhile, with the friendly attitude of others, their psychological and moral support, the acuteness of the reaction to the events that caused it is dulled, the person gradually comes to his senses, realizes that “life goes on” and you need to find the strength in yourself to continue to participate in it with dignity…
It is a different matter when a state of depression becomes long-term and persistent, its manifestations are aggravated — up to the clinical picture of major depression. A diabetic patient, his family members, medical personnel, in addition to the usual “diabetic” observation, should be attentive to the appearance of signs of incipient or already developed depression.
Such signs are problems sleeping, an increasing feeling of melancholy and loss of interest in daily activities, impaired attention and coordination of movements, weakening of physical and mental activity, depressing thoughts about the future …
Unfortunately, timely diagnosis and adequate treatment of developing depression. In some cases, this happens because negative psycho-emotional complaints of people with diabetes are perceived and evaluated by many doctors not as a mental issue, but as a “normal” psychological reaction to their disease.
In addition, it should be borne in mind that in the picture of diabetes and depression, a number of symptoms and complaints of both psychogenic and somatogenic nature are often similar (sleep and appetite disorders, bad mood, weight loss or gain, asthenia, emotional lability, memory problems, etc. .).
Both diseases are characterized by the so-called asthenic syndrome (increased fatigue, emotional lability, weakness, lethargy). This syndrome occurs in about half of all diabetic patients and those with depression without diabetes. In both cases, complaints of pain in the legs also coincide.