|  | Conditions Treatments | Depression

Facts About Clinical Depression

Life events can affect people's general mood. People can claim that they have become "depressed" from having a bad day or hearing some troubling news. Those events can seem depressing, but most can get back to performing normal daily functions relatively quickly. Being diagnosed with clinical depression can take these bad moments and extend the negative feelings for days, weeks, months, or even years.

  1. Physical Symptoms

    • Clinical depression is physically characterized by an overall lack of energy. No symptoms are directly related to substances or substance abuse, although substances can contribute to the symptoms. Patients can seem to sleep for days or stay confined to the bed. There can be inexplicable pains, general irritability and easy fatigue.

    Psychological Symptoms

    • Diagnosed patients also suffer from irrational thoughts of guilt, worthlessness and self-doubt. Patients have little interest in doing the ordinary things that made them happy, nor do they want to perform daily functions like go to work or school. Suicidal thoughts and unexplained fixations of death are also observed in patients. It is important to note that 10 to 15 percent of patients diagnosed with depression actually commit suicide. As mentioned earlier, periods of clinical depression, if left untreated, can last for years at a time.

    Causes

    • Causes of clinical depression can vary from person to person. These periods can be triggered by a negative life event, such as a death in the family. Sometimes trauma, such as sexual or child abuse, can send someone into a depressive episode. For others, dealing with substance abuse, especially for those in recovery, can contribute to clinical depression.

    Differential Diagnosis

    • Without benefit of a professional diagnosis, symptoms of clinical depression can also resemble other disorders. A fixation on specific traumatic events or suicide can resemble an obsessive disorder. For those who want attention given to depression for external reasons, malingerers may attempt to mimic the symptoms. Anxiety or stress disorders can also cause periods of low energy or extended periods of sleep.

    Treatment

    • Treatment could include prescriptions of anti-depressant medications, such as Xanax. These medications focus on improving neurotransmitter functions. Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitors (SSRIs) help regulate a patients' level of serotonin, which help modulate moods. Psychotherapy is also often prescribed in order to help patients cope with their depression. Some therapies focus on having patients address the root causes of their clinical depression, while other treatment plans may focus on changing behaviors and thought patterns to help eliminate negative thoughts.

Depression - Related Articles