Clinical Depression? What's That?

by Colin Jones

Depression is a mental illness that is often characterized by lengthy periods of extreme sadness and melancholy, say the experts from the field of psychiatry. But just because a person is moping around and generally hating the world around him or her, it doesn't mean that he/she is suffering from depression.

However, if this kind of behavior, the feeling of emptiness, loss of self-worth and absolutely no hope for happiness just goes on and on, then, that individual is probably depressed. Still, there are various types of depression too.

Manic or Bipolar Depression - is characterized by sudden and extreme changes in mood where one minute he or she is in an elevated state of euphoria while the next minute (day or week) he or she is feeling as if he or she is in a personal hell. Postpartum Depression is characterized by a prolonged sadness and a lengthy feeling of emptiness by a new mother where physical stress during child birth or / and an uncertain sense of responsibility towards the new born baby can be just some of the possible reasons why some new mothers go through this.

Dysthimia - is characterized by a slight similarity with depression, although this time, it's been proven to be a lot less severe, but of course with any case of illness, should be seen to immediately.

Cyclothemia - is characterized by a nominal similarity with Manic or Bipolar depression wherein the individual suffering from this mental illness suffers from severe mood swings.

Seasonal Affective Disorder - (SAD's) is characterized by being depressed only during specific seasons (i.e. Winter, Spring, Summer or Fall). However, studies prove that more people actually fall ill during the Winter and Autumn seasons. Or they could suffer from severe mood swings, wherein a person's mood may shift from happy to sad to angry in quite a short period of time.

'Clinical depression' or as some might call it, 'major depression', is the actual medical term for depression. Actually, clinical depression is more of a disorder than an illness, since it refers only to those who are suffering from symptoms that cause depression.

However, in spite of being an actual disorder, clinical depression can be treated. Doctors are usually highly optimistic that patients suffering from clinical depression will soon be well on their way to good mental health as long as they are treated as soon as they have been diagnosed.

 Patients who have sought treatment for clinical depression have proven to be quite successful in their quest, given that 80 percent of those treated have found relief from their disorder.

For those who may be seeking answers to questions related to clinical depression, the depression section of the health center is highly recommended, as well as books on psychiatry and the Internet - which can offer a lot of helpful information, although self medication is highly frowned upon.

Clinical depression may not pose as much of a threat as the other types of mental illness, but it is best to leave it in the hands of professionals who can safely attend to and cure this disorder.