What is Depression

We use the word depression very frequently and sometimes even a bit loosely. Any person who passes through some rough times in their lives may used the sentence “I’m in depression” and it is safe to say that this is a widely accepted expression. But what is depression in clinical terms? How is it different from feeling depressed for a few days due to an unwanted or negative event? We may feel depressed for a short period of time due to wide variety of reasons ranging from problems with our loved ones or family members, a quarrel at work with our boss or colleagues or a temporary financial problem. But none of these are signs of depression in the clinical manner.

What is Depression: Clinical or Major Depression

What is depression

Although there are a few common types of depression, the most frequently seen type of depression is major depression (also called clinical depression or major depressive disorder). By definition, major depression is completely different from any mild depressive feelings caused by a series of negative events we might have during any part of our lives. Being sad or feeling a little depressed about something like losing a loved one, being in debt, having problems with your family, etc. is not a symptom of depression.

Clinically speaking, major depression can be diagnosed when a person starts to feel extremely negative effects of depression that hampers their daily lives for a longer period. The loss of appetite and sleep (or over sleeping day after day), chronic fatigue, losing interest for anything that used to be important or enjoyable before (including the family and even sexual life of the individual), a sense of deep hopelessness and guilt are the real signs of clinical depression and can have a life altering and even a life threatening effect on affected individuals.

What is Depression: Lack of Proper Treatment

The difficulty of distinguishing clinical depression from short term depressive feelings that are completely natural is perhaps the biggest reason why most people who should receive depression treatment never see a doctor about their condition. As easily as we could confuse normal sad or depressive feelings for symptoms of depression, we can also underestimate the real and apparent signs of clinical depression, believing they are normal feelings caused by our daily lives. In most depression cases, it is actually up to the patient or their family members or friends to notice and recognize the signs.

Another factor that contributes to the lack of proper treatment in most depression patients is the reluctance to express any psychological problems and to seek medical help for such problems. In our subconscious most of us are believing that having psychological problems means losing our minds and hence do not want to let others know of such problems until it is too late.

It is therefore crucial to understand what is depression, and to be able to tell the signs of a real clinical depression case from a temporary and perfectly normal sadness caused by a recent loss or a major change in our lives.