Definition of Clinical Depression

Clinical depression, also known as major depression and unipolar depression, is a serious mental disorder that affects 121 million people worldwide in a given year, according to the World Health Organization. Those who are affected by clinical depression experience a significantly altered mood that affects all aspects of their life.

The Clinical Depression Experience

• Clinical depression is a psychological disorder that affects men and women, children, adolescents and the elderly. Individuals who suffer from depression experience distress and disability that is not an aspect of a person's normal life experience.
  People who are clinically depressed lose interest in their daily activities, hobbies and relationships, which may result in withdrawal from their usual life. Those who are depressed often feel hopeless and worthless, and may struggle with unwarranted guilty feelings and self-criticism. It can be difficult for the depressed individual to think or concentrate, and they are often consumed with thoughts of death, which may result in suicide.

Symptoms and Diagnoses

• When diagnosing clinical depression, a clinical assessment is performed by a medical doctor, a clinical social worker, a psychiatrist, a psychologist or a state mental examiner where the health care professional looks for signs of clinical depression in the individual. The patient will also undergo a physical examination where the health care professional will determine if other health problems, such as thyroid issues, may be resulting in a depressed state.
  The first signs a health care professional will look for is if the individual has experienced a low mood for at least two weeks and has lost interest in his usual daily life. They will also look for three or more of the following symptoms:
  A significant increase or decrease in appetite and weight gain or weight loss
  Psychomotor agitation or retardation
  Feelings of hopelessness
  Insomnia or hypersomnia
  Loss of energy or fatigue
  Feelings of worthlessness
  Self-reproach
  Excessive or inappropriate guilt
  Complaints or evidence of an inability to focus or concentrate
  Recurrent thoughts of death

Causes

• No absolute universally accepted cause of depression has been identified, though there are several theories, of which two are the most popular: the biopsychosocial model and the diathesis-stress model.
  The biopsychosocial model states that the causes of clinical depression is based on biological, psychological and social causes, while the diathesis-stress model states that people with clinical depression have a pre-existing vulnerability, either genetic or schematic, that has been triggered by a stressful life event. In general, however, experts cite psychological, biological and environmental factors as all being possible causes of clinical depression, and that brain chemistry and genetics appear to be components.

Types

• According to the National Institutes of Health, there are three main types of depression: major depression, dysthemia and bipolar disorder (also known as manic depression).
  Major depression is characterized by the symptoms discussed above, particularly with the individual losing interest or pleasure in participating in activities they find enjoyable. A person with major depression may experience a clinical depressive episode once in their life, or several times in their life.
  Dysthemia is less severe than major depression but is characterized by the individual being in a chronic low-mood mental health state. People with dysthemia may also experience one or more major depressive episodes in their life.
  Those with bipolar disorder experience cycling periods of extreme highs and extreme lows. When the individual is in a depressive state, they exhibit symptoms of major depression; when the individual is in the manic state, they will have significant amounts of energy and will exhibit poor judgment and clarity of thought, often resulting in poor choices ranging from professional to personal aspects of their life.

Treatment

• Because of the different types of clinical depression, and because it affects individuals differently, there is no one-size-fits- all treatment for clinical depression. The most common treatment for adults is anti-depressants and therapy. Exercise is often also encouraged. Rarely, in severe cases, electroconvulsive therapy may be used. Adolescents and children are treated with therapy and are also encouraged to exercise. Some individuals under the age of 24 do not respond well to anti-depressants--in this case, health care professionals will encourage exercise and counseling or therapy.