Clinical depression also known as unipolar depression or major depressive disorder is a psychiatric disorder, generally characterized by diffused low mood, lack or loss of interest in any kind of activity or pleasure. Depression is a mood one is feeling completely blue.
Chronic Depression
Chronic depression is really serious as it often disables the condition of the person being affected by it.
The course of depression varies widely from person to person.
It can happen once in a life-time or can have multiple recurrences that appear gradually or suddenly.
It can last for an only a period of few months or can actually be there as a life-long disorder.
Signs and Symptoms of Depression
The term depression has a variety of signs or symptoms. They are:
* Persistent anxious or sad, or gloomy mood
* Loss of weight or appetite.
* Patients get prone to insomnia, oversleeping or early-morning awakening.
* Irritability or restlessness.
* Feelings of helplessness, inappropriate guilt or worthlessness.
* Feelings of pessimism or hopelessness.
* Inabilities to think, remember, concentrate, or make decisions.
* Suicidal tendency or always thinking about death.
* Complete loss of enjoyment, pleasure or interest in usual activities.
* Having low spirits always or being sluggish.
* Headaches, chronic pain and digestive disorders.
* Major Depression
Major depression persists for the whole two weeks as it indicates the severe mood of the person affected. . The episodes of this type of depression may be recurrent or isolated. They can be further categorized as mild, severe or major. The Diagnosticians actually recognize the different subtypes of the depression that is severe or major:
Depression with melancholic features – It indicates loss of pleasure, an engrossed depressed mood, early morning waking, anorexia or psychomotor retardation.
Depression with Psychotic Features – Some people who are affected by this major depression may experience common psychotic features. They include delusions or hallucinations.
Depression with atypical features – It is characterized by the reactivity of mood swings, weight gain or increased appetite, excessive sleep, or leaden paralysis etc.
It is quite possible for a person to be affected by these subtypes of depression. As the person loss pleasure in the usual activities or all of a sudden tends to over-eating and gains weight. So all would one need is to try to make himself feel light and remove the level of depression by best medicine and laughter.
