Comprehending depression
Everyone experiences times of intense grief and sadness. Depending on the situation, these emotions typically subside in a few days or weeks. However, depression may be indicated if you experience extreme sorrow that interferes with your functioning and lasts longer than two weeks.
Typical signs of depression include:
profoundly depressing emotions
gloomy feelings
sentiments of hopelessness or unworthiness
Changes in appetite
Changes in sleep
insufficient energy, difficulties concentrating completing your everyday tasks
loss of interest in once-enjoyed activities, withdrawal from friends, and excessive contemplation of death or self-harm
Each person experiences depression in a unique way, and you may only experience some of these symptoms. Other symptoms that are not on this list may potentially be present in you.
Remember that occasionally experiencing some of these symptoms without experiencing depression is also acceptable.
Depression may be the cause of your symptoms if they begin to interfere with your daily activities.
Depression comes in a variety of forms. These varieties have some important distinctions, even though they also have some similar symptoms.
Here are some types of depression and their effects on individuals.
Unusual depression
Depression that momentarily disappears in reaction to happy occasions is known as atypical depression. It may be referred to by your physician as an atypical major depressive illness.
Atypical depression is neither uncommon nor rare, despite its name. And it doesn’t imply that it’s either less or more severe than other forms of depression.
You may not always “seem” depressed to others (or to yourself), which makes atypical depression especially difficult. It can also occur with chronic depression or during a major depressive episode.
Additional signs of atypical depression may consist of:
weight gain and an increase in appetite
Eating disorders
negative perception of one’s body
Heavy arms or legs that continue for an hour or longer each day, feeling rejected and sensitive to criticism, sleeping a lot more than normal, insomnia, and other aches and problems
Depression that occurs seasonally
Depression associated with specific seasons is known as seasonal depression or seasonal affective disorder. This is known to medical professionals as seasonal major depressive disorder.
The majority of those who experience seasonal depression do so in the winter.
As the days grow shorter in the fall, symptoms usually start to appear and last all winter. Among the symptoms are:
Weight gain, increased need for sleep, social disengagement, and persistent depressive, hopeless, or unworthy feelings
Suicidal thoughts and worsening symptoms of seasonal depression—which may be related to changes in your body’s rhythms as a result of more natural light—usually go away once spring arrives.
Psychosis due to depression
Psychotic episodes can occur in certain people who suffer from serious depression. Delusions and hallucinations may be a part of this.
This condition is known by medical professionals as major depressive disorder with psychotic characteristics. Nonetheless, some healthcare professionals continue to call this condition psychotic depression or depressive psychosis.
Physical signs of depression with psychosis can also include delayed mobility or difficulty sitting still.
Depression in certain situations
In many aspects, situational depression, also known as adjustment disorder with a low mood, resembles severe depression.
However, certain circumstances or occurrences, such the following, might cause situational depression:
a loved one passing away, developing a major disease, or experiencing another life-threatening situation, going through a divorce, or having custody disputes with children
being in situations where there is mental or physical abuse, being unemployed or experiencing severe financial difficulties, or having several legal issues
Naturally, it’s common to experience sadness, anxiety, or even social disengagement during such occasions. Situational depression, on the other hand, occurs when these emotions become out of proportion to the triggering event and start to interfere with day-to-day functioning.
Symptoms of situational depression often appear three months after the initial incident and include:
Often crying
Sadness and despair
Changes in anxiety and appetite
Sleep issues, aches, and pains
weariness and a lack of energy
incapacity to focus and social disengagement