Depression: Types and Symptoms

How many times have you heard someone say “I feel depressed”? Indeed, the term ‘depressed’ is used so lightly in today’s society that a lot of people underestimate this disorder’s severity. People use the term ‘depressed’ in the same context that they use ‘sad’ or ‘lonely’.

This should not be the case. Depression is a serious illness that severely affects the lives of those afflicted with it and those who live with them. Depression isn’t what you feel when your favorite sports team loses the championships. It’s something that’s much worse.

Symptoms of Depression

Clinical depression presents itself differently across the lifespan. Quite contrary to what people believe, everyone is at risk of depression, even infants and little children. But the manifestations vary widely. A depressed child, for instance, may act irritable and rebellious as opposed to a depressed elderly person who would act melancholic. There are, however, symptoms that are common among most cases like social withdrawal and difficulty concentrating. Depressed people also have trouble remembering details and making decisions. They often delegate this task to other people, especially if they also have poor self-esteem and a low sense of self-worth.

Depressed persons also tend to get fatigued rather easily. Their energy level decreases and they usually seem markedly sluggish in their movements. They also seem to lose interest in the things they used to find interesting or pleasurable (e.g. their hobbies). Sometimes, this disinterest in pleasurable things can extend to personal relationships, which is why depressed people often withdraw from social interaction and often experience decreased libido.

People who have depression also have sleeping difficulties. They often experience hypersomnia or insomnia, and sometimes even both. They may express difficulty in falling asleep and difficulty waking up the next day. There are also times when depressed people wake up one to two hours before their usual waking hour; they also find themselves waking during the middle of the night.

Eating habits also change for people who experience depression. Some depressed people also present with either a marked increase or decrease in appetite. They may experience either Anorexia or Polyphagia. They either lose interest in eating or overeat to try to cope with their feelings.

People who are depressed may also report various health complaints like aches and pains that remain despite medical treatment. People are more likely to seek medical help for these somatic reasons rather than for their mood disorder. This is particularly common among the elderly.

Those who are depressed also often experience feelings of inadequacy, hopelessness, guilt, and profound sadness. Children and adolescents would often exhibit ‘acting out’ behavior. Adults usually exhibit anhedonia, or a loss of interest in work and social life. And the elderly usually do ‘rumination’, that is, they obsess about a certain problem to the point that their other thought processes are affected.

Lastly, depressed patients often have recurrent morbid thoughts about death, particularly about suicide. It is said that one out of ten people who have suicidal thoughts actually do act on these thoughts. All threats of suicide should be taken seriously, as all depressed patients are at risk for committing suicide.

There’s a tricky aspect of suicide, though, that everyone should be aware of. People who are intent on committing suicide often experience a remission of their feelings of despair right before they perform the deed. Some people actually take this as a sign that the person is recovering. It is anything but. Watch out for a sudden change of mood as it may be a precursor to an actual suicide attempt. Other symptoms that accompany this include excessive affection and a tendency to give away their belongings.

Types of Depression

Clinical depression takes on several forms. It varies among individuals on the aspects of duration, severity, and course.

Major Depression

People who suffer from major depression often act as if they have the weight of the world on their shoulders. It is near impossible to cheer up anyone who suffers from major depression, as they have lost all interest in things that are pleasurable. They present with the typical symptoms of depression which are loss of interest in pleasurable things, sleep disturbances, eating disturbances, fatigue, poor concentration, and thoughts of death. However, people who suffer from this type of depression can still live normally for some periods of time as a major depressive episode typically lasts at least two weeks. Episodes can be isolated or they can be recurrent.

Atypical Depression

Atypical depression, quite ironically, is actually the most common type of depression. Forty percent of the people who experience depression suffer from the atypical type. People who have this type of depression can still feel pleasure and can still have interest in things, but they mostly have all the other symptoms, especially fatigue and somatic complaints. Also, people who have atypical depression usually over-eat and over-sleep. A lot of them also seem to have an intense craving for carbohydrates. This type of depression usually starts during adolescence.

Dysthymia

Dysthymia is typically called ‘chronic depression’. This disorder lasts for an extended period of time but the severity is far lower than that of the other types. Usually, this type of depression begins during childhood and persists throughout life. Medication may simply shorten the duration or lessen the intensity. People who have dysthymia have the typical symptoms of depression but the intensity is less severe. Their moods are usually low and they may be rather irritable. This is also sometimes called ‘double depression’, as a particularly low mood can trigger an episode of major depression. People who have dysthymia are at higher risk for MDD (i.e. major depression disorder) than others.

Seasonal Depression

People who have seasonal depression only suffer from their symptoms at a particular period every year. For example, a person may feel depressed from mid-August until mid-September and be relatively okay for the rest of the year. It is diagnosed as seasonal depression if the person has two episodes for two consecutive years.

Catatonic Depression

Catatonic depression is usually seen in people who have bipolar disorder. The catatonic stage usually follows the manic stage. This is marked by a severe decrease in physical activity and a marked disinterest in anything pleasurable. People who are in this state generally ignore physical stimuli.

Psychotic Depression

An episode of depression is categorized as ‘psychotic depression’ when it is accompanied by psychotic symptoms such as hallucinations, illusions, paranoia, etc.

Post-partum Depression

Post-partum depression is experienced by new mothers, typically right after giving birth. This is usually marked by intense sadness; a woman may cry every night of her postpartum depression period and be disinterested in her baby. Some women even feel something like ‘hate’ for their baby and may even attempt to kill the child and herself.