Depression – Types and Symptoms

Clinical depression goes by many names -- depression, "the blues," biological depression, major depression. But it all refers to the same thing: feeling sad and depressed for weeks or months at a time (not just a passing blue mood), accompanied by feelings of hopelessness, lack of energy, and taking little or no pleasure in things that gave you joy in the past.

Psychiatrists estimate that one in four women and one in ten men can expect to develop depression during their lifetime; depression affects at least one in 50 children under 12 and one in 20 teenagers.

Symptoms

Generally, the symptoms of depression include:
• Feeling sad, hopeless and despairing
• A loss of interest and pleasure in normal activities
• Loss of appetite or weight
• Loss of sex drive
• Sleeping problems, such as an inability to get to sleep or early waking
Types of Depression

Psychotic Depression:

Sufferers of psychotic depression begin to hear and see imaginary things - - sounds, voices and visuals that do not exist. These are referred to as hallucinations, which are generally more common with someone suffering from schizophrenia. The hallucinations are not "positive" like they are with a manic depressive. The sufferer of psychotic depression imagines frightening and negative sounds and images.

Melancholic Depression

Is a more severe depression than non-melancholic depression and is primarily caused by biological factors. It is an uncommon type of depression, affecting only around 1-2% of the population and roughly the same number of males and females. It can occur on its own (unipolar) or as part of Bipolar Disorder.

Major Depression

An individual with major depression feels a profound and constant sense of hopelessness and despair.

Major depression is manifested by a combination of symptoms that interfere with the ability to work, study, sleep, eat and enjoy once pleasurable activities. Such a disabling episode of depression may occur only once but more commonly occurs several times in a lifetime.
Cyclothymic disorder

Cyclothymic disorder is when a person has mild and alternating mood swings of elation and depression occurring over a long time period. Because the mood swings are mild, and the elation is often enjoyable, frequently people with cyclothymic disorder do not seek medical help.

The periods of elation and depression can last for lengthy periods, such as a few months. Often, a person with cyclothymic disorder has a relative with bipolar disorder, or they may develop bipolar disorder themselves.

Psychotic depression –

A depressed mood which includes symptoms of psychosis. Psychosis involves seeing or hearing things that are not there (hallucinations), feeling everyone is against you (paranoia) and having delusions.

Non-melancholic – in this case the depression is not melancholic, or, put simply, not primarily biological. Instead, it has to do with psychological causes, and is very often linked to stressful events in a person’s life, alone, or in conjunction with the individual’s personality style.

Non-melancholic depression is the most common of the three types of depression. People with non-melancholic depression experience:
• a depressed mood for more than two weeks
• social impairment