What are the early signs of depression?

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I am aware that depression is common in people with an ASD, and I am also aware that there is significant occurrence in males aged 16-25. I just want to be on the watch for the signs so I don't fall victim to depression.

Some things are a change in your eating habits-isolating yourself and not finding joy in doing things you used to. Irritability and crying can also be signs-not all of these things but if the persist it can be a sign-these are how I react-you may react differently

Loss of interest in things you would usually care about, agitation, crying, negative thinking, a sense of futility.

I would say the early signs of depression (not clinical but situational) are stressors - events that can trigger depression. These include loss of a loved one, loss of a job, loss of a pet, loss of your domicile, etc. The thing about depression is sometimes it just suddenly happens. Everyone acts differently to different situations. Some people cry alligator tears when others die, some don't. Some stay in their house and stop going out altogether, some don't. You never know.

I think generally you lose interest in things you once enjoyed. You may sleep a lot more or eat a lot less, although depressed people may also eat a lot more or sleep less. You get physical symptoms too, aches and pains for no apparent reason or digestive problems, and your immunity to infections is lowered. People think mental and physical illness are completely separate, but they're not. That's why you need to talk with your doctor, or so I've heard.

Looking back, I wish I had known to be a bit more cautious in the area of what some folks might call "having great expectations". We can do what we can do and be what we can be and remain satisfied overall as long as we truly know ourselves and keep things in perspective.

Sometimes seeing other people around you succeed without really trying much, can make you feel like a ''loser'' and then feel depressed, especially if whatever you've tried to accomplish it's always been a case of ''one step forward, two steps back'' type of thing. It's even worse when bad things happen to you that are beyond your control, and then you find your parents worry about you and you don't want them to be ashamed of you, you want to be like everyone else and succeed in life and be happy.

Also having extroverts around you can trigger off depression.

Not sure if I'm saying the right thing here but I'm just stating small things that can trigger off depression. Then all the negative emotions swirl in with it; jealousy, isolation, anxiety, fear. If you experience these emotions quite frequently, then it could be some signs of depression. I've already got depression, it's f*****g horrible.

Being depressed is very similar to extreme tiredness the main difference is that
you feel wiped out for no logical reason and often without warning.
You have no motivation, your mind is in fog and your cranky for no reason.

It tends to decrease motivation, make it hard to see anything positive about yourself or life in general.

That's me.

Thanks for the responses so far. I feel if I know the early signs, things can be done to prevent it. I'm not depressed yet, but I can see it's possibly on the horizon.