Types of Depression - Understanding Different Forms

Understanding Depression: Types, Causes & When to Seek Help

Depression is one of the most common forms of mental health conditions. In India, about 56 million people are suffering from depression. The various types of depression affect health and interfere with a person's day-to-day activities, as the individual is constantly feeling sad. It adversely affects a person's ability to think, sleep, eat, and act.

Introduction

Depression is seen as a mood disorder where an individual is unable to focus and experiences a loss of interest in day-to-day activities. Depression is different from normal sadness because the cathartic feeling persists for weeks with other signs of depression. In this blog, we will discuss the types of depression and other related information.

What are the Types of Depression?

There are many types of depressive disorder, starting from major depressive disorder, which is the most severe and is recognised clinically as well. Let us know about the types of it in more detail:

1. Clinical Depression: Also, major depressive disorder, which means the feeling of sadness, low self-worth, or feeling worthless for most days during the week. This, along with symptoms such as sleep problems, loss of interest in daily activities or change in appetite. This type is serious, is left untreated, and is also the most common one.
2. Persistent Depressive Disorder: PDD is a form of depression that is mild or moderate depression that lasts for at least two consecutive years. The symptoms of PDD are not as severe as those of major depressive disorder.
3. Disruptive Mood Dysregulation Disorder: DMDD is a childhood depressive disorder wherein the child exhibits chronic, intense irritability and regular anger outbursts. The symptoms of DMDD are visible by the age of 10.
4. Premenstrual Dysphoric Disorder: A person experiencing PMDD also shows symptoms of PMS as well as mood symptoms. This combination causes the person to experience extreme irritability, anxiety, or depression. The symptoms eventually improve soon after menstruation begins.
5. Depressive Disorder due to Another Medical Condition: When a person is undergoing medical treatment, the changes in the body might cause depression. In such a situation, treating the underlying cause improves the mental state.
    

What are the Different Types of Clinical Depression?

Since it is the most common form of depressive disorder, there are some subtypes of the clinical disorder as well:

• Seasonal Affective Disorder (Seasonal Depression): In this type of major depressive disorder, a person feels highly depressed during the winter and fall. However, as the seasons change to spring and summer, the depressive states also pass away.
• Prenatal Depression: This form of depression occurs during pregnancy, causing the mother to feel sad and anxious for months. However, it is to be treated as the initial signs of depression start to appear.
• Postpartum Depression: This form ofdepression occurs within four weeks of delivering a baby. It is a mood disorder that leaves the individual feeling low energy and constant sadness. It affects the mother's ability to take care of the baby.   
• Atypical Depression: The symptoms of this depression are similar to typical depression. According to researchers, the major difference between the two is improvement in mood when a positive event takes place.
   

What are the Symptoms of Depression?

An average person might experience depression at least once in their lifetime. However, there are many times when a depressive episode might occur. During such episodes, one might experience the following:

• Disruptive sleep, which can be either insomnia or oversleeping.
• Frequent feelings of sadness, tearfulness, emptiness or hopelessness.
• Losing interest in daily activities and other pleasures, such as hobbies, sports, etc.
• Having anger issues, irrationality, frustration, and petty issues.
• Feeling a lack of energy due to even small tasks taking a lot of effort.
• Either experiencing a loss of appetite or an increase in food cravings, which adds to weight gain.
• Slow thinking, speech or movements.
• They also experience trouble in making small decisions, concentrating, and remembering things.
• Having recurrent thoughts of death or attempting suicide.
• Experiencing pain without any underlying cause, such as back pain or headaches.
   

What Causes Depression?

Some studies are still being done to identify the exact reason that causes clinical depression. However, based on the findings, several factors contribute to the development of different types of depression. Let us discuss each factor hereunder:

• Genetics: Having a first-degree relative, i.e., a biological sibling or a sibling who has a history of depressive disorder, increases the chances of you having depression by three times. However, this does not mean that if you have no history of the same, you are not susceptible to experiencing the same.  
• Child Development: When a child has had ACE (adverse childhood experiences), such as abuse or trauma. There is a high chance of developing clinical depression later in life.
• Brain Chemistry: Having an imbalance of neurotransmitters such as serotonin, norepinephrine, and dopamine. These are responsible for affecting many bodily functions such as mood, sleep, appetite, and movement. Researchers think that this is the primary reason behind the development of depression.
• Stressful Events in Life: Certain situations are known to trigger depression, such as the death of a loved one, trauma, divorce, isolation, and lack of support. If someone is susceptible to developing depression, then such a situation might act as a catalyst.
   

How to Determine a Diagnosis for Depression?

You must visit a healthcare professional when symptoms start becoming prominent. They will help you in diagnosing the different types of depression and their severity.

• Lab Tests: Doctors prefer considering blood test reports to determine the thyroid levels and assess if they are functioning properly.
• Physical Exam: During the physical examination, you can expect the doctor to take a record of your health. In many situations, depression can be a symptom of some other underlying health issue.
• Psychiatric Evaluation: During this evaluation, the mental healthcare professional might ask various questions relating to symptoms, thoughts, feelings, and behaviour patterns. You may receive a questionnaire that you have to fill out. Take time to fill it out and elaborate on the mentioned points to help your doctor.
   

What is the Treatment of Depression?

The good news is that because it is a common mental health condition, it is one of the most relatable issues as well. The success rate of treating depressive disorder is as high as 80% to 90%. Here is a list of some treatments:

• Psychotherapy: Also, talk therapy is the simplest form of treatment, where you talk to a mental health professional. It becomes the responsibility of your therapist to identify the problems and help you deal with various emotions, thoughts, and behavioural patterns.  
• Medication: Through medication such as antidepressants, doctors attempt to influence the brain chemistry that is causing depression. However, this medication is different for different types of depression.
• Complementary Medicine: These can either be medicines or therapies. You can take these medicines along with your prescription. They increase the effectiveness of prescription medication manifold. For mild or ongoing depression, therapies like acupuncture, massage, hypnosis, and biofeedback are helpful.  
   

Final Words

There are a million people who suffer from depressive disorder across the globe. Researchers have conducted many studies, because of which we have a lot of information about its causes and treatments.

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