Depression
...something or saddened when they fail a test or lose
something. When they are sad, some people say they are 'depressed', but the
clinical depressions that are seen by doctors differ from the low mood brought
on by everyday setbacks. Psychiatrists see a range of more severe mood
disturbances and so find it easier to distinguish these from the normal
variations of mood seen in the community. General practitioners (GP's) need to
be sensitive enough to distinguish emotional reactions to setbacks in life from
anxiety syndromes, somatisation and clinical depressions. The general idea is
that anxiety disorders, depressive episodes, somatisation and adjustment
reactions are all different entities, but in practice it is not always that
clear-cut. Major depression, as defined by psychiatrists, is unfortunately
relatively common.
What is depression?
The term "affect" refers to one's mood or "spirits." "Affective disorder" refers
to changes in mood that occur during an episode of illness marked by extreme
sadness (depression) or excitement (mania) or both. Depression is a disorder of
affect. Affective disorders are predominantly disturbances of mood that are
severe in nature and persistent despite the influence of external events.
Depression is characterized by severe and persistent low mood, which is often
unresponsive to the efforts of friends and family to cheer the sufferer up.
Patients who suffer with repeated episodes of depression have a Recurrent
Depressive Disorder. Depressive episodes can be classified into mild, moderate,
and severe types, with or without psychotic symptoms. To be classified as
depression, an episode must last more than two weeks. A condition where the
mood is persistently low, but does not quite fulfill all the criteria for a
depressive episode, is sometimes called "dysthymia."
Community studies have...
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