Depression is a mental illness that is usually characterized by lengthy periods of sadness and melancholy, say the experts from the medical field of psychiatry.

But just because one person mopes around and hates the world around him or her, it doesn’t necessarily mean that he/she is suffering from depression, but if this kind of behavior, the feeling of emptiness, loss of self-worth and absolute lack of hope for happiness continues , then, that individual is probably, indeed, depressed. Still, there are various types of depression too.

Manic or Bipolar depression – 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 – characterized by a prolonged sadness and a feeling of emptiness by a new mother where physical stress during child birth, 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 type has been proven to be a lot less severe, but of course as with any case, it needs to be treated immediately.

Cyclothemia is characterized by only a nominal similarity with Manic or Bipolar depression wherein the sufferer of this mental disease has a problem with rapid changes in mood.

Seasonal Affective Disorder 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, because 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.

If you are seeking answers to questions related to clinical depression, the depression section of the health centre is highly recommended, as well as books on psychiatry and the Internet, which offers a great deal of useful information, although self medication is very much 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 to the professionals who can attend to and cure this disorder.

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