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Clinical depression

Clinical depression is more than feeling unhappy or fed up for a few days.

Most people go through periods of feeling down. When you have clinical depression you feel sad for weeks or months, not just a few days.

Clinical depression can be a serious condition. It is not a sign of weakness. It is not something you can “snap out of” by “pulling yourself together”.

With the right treatment and support, most people with clinical depression can make a full recovery.

How to tell if you have clinical depression

Clinical depression affects people in different ways.

The symptoms of clinical depression can be complex and vary from person-to-person.

Generally, if you have clinical depression:

  • you feel sad, hopeless and lose interest in things you used to enjoy
  • you experience these symptoms for at least 2 weeks
  • the symptoms are serious enough to interfere with work, social life or family

There are many other symptoms of clinical depression and you’re unlikely to have them all.

Psychological symptoms

The psychological symptoms of clinical depression include:

  • continuous low mood or sadness
  • feeling hopeless and helpless
  • having low self-esteem
  • feeling tearful
  • feeling worthless or guilt-ridden
  • feeling irritable and intolerant of others
  • having no motivation or interest in things
  • finding it difficult to make decisions
  • not getting any enjoyment out of life
  • irritable mood
  • feeling anxious or worried
  • having suicidal thoughts or thoughts of harming yourself

Physical symptoms

The physical symptoms of clinical depression include:

  • moving or speaking slower than usual
  • changes in appetite or weight (usually decreased, but sometimes increased)
  • constipation
  • unexplained aches and pains
  • lack of energy
  • low sex drive (loss of libido)
  • changes to your menstrual cycle
  • disturbed sleep – difficulty falling asleep, waking up early or sleeping more than usual

Social symptoms

The social symptoms of clinical depression include:

  • not doing well at work
  • avoiding contact with friends and taking part in fewer social activities
  • neglecting your hobbies and interests
  • having difficulties in your home and family life

Severities of clinical depression

Clinical depression can often come on gradually. So it can be difficult to notice when something is wrong. You might try to cope with the symptoms without realising you’re unwell. It can sometimes take a friend or family member to suggest something is wrong.

The severity of clinical depression depends on how much impact it has on your daily life:

  • mild clinical depression – has some impact
  • moderate clinical depression – has a significant impact
  • severe clinical depression – almost impossible to get through daily life

You can have clinical depression and other mental health disorders. For example, anxiety, psychosis or other difficulties.

Grief and depression

It can be difficult to know the difference between grief and clinical depression. Both are similar, but there are differences.

Grief is a natural response to a loss. Clinical depression is an illness.

When you are grieving, you find feelings of sadness and loss come and go. But you are still able to enjoy things and look forward to the future.

If you have clinical depression, you always feel sad. You don’t enjoy anything and find it difficult to be positive about the future.

Other types of depression

There are different types of depression. Some conditions may also include depression as a symptom.

Postnatal depression

Some women develop depression after they have a baby. This is postnatal depression. It’s treated in a similar way to other types of depression. This includes talking therapies and antidepressant medicines.

Bipolar Disorder

Bipolar disorder is also called ‘manic depression’. In bipolar disorder there are spells of both depression and high mood (mania). If you have bipolar, you will move between depression and mania.

The depression symptoms are like clinical depression. Mania can include harmful behaviour, such as:

  • gambling
  • going on spending sprees
  • having unsafe sex

Seasonal Affective Disorder

Seasonal affective disorder (SAD) is also called ‘winter depression’. SAD is a type of depression that happens in winter.

(Reference: https://www2.hse.ie/conditions/mental-health/clinical-depression/clinical-depression-symptoms.html)

  • According to the DSM-5, Depression is said to be present when 5 or more symptoms are existent during a 2 week period and represents a change from previous functioning or state of being, where at least one symptom is either 1) depressed mood or 2) loss of interest or pleasure.
  • Having a depressed mood most of the day, nearly everyday indicated by feelings of sadness, emptiness or hopelessness or observations made by others whereby the individual appears tearful or in an irritable mood.
  • A noticeable diminished interest in most activities most of the day nearly every day.
  • Significant weight loss when not dieting or weight gain, decrease in appetitite most days.
  • Insomnia or hypersomnia most days.
  • Experiencing fatigue or loss of energy most days.
  • Psychomotor agitation or retardation that is observable by others, most days.
  • Diminished ability to think or concentrate or indecisiveness most days.
  • Having recurrent thoughts of death, suicidal ideation without a specific plan or a suicide attempt or a specific plan for committing suicide.
  • The symptoms cause significant distress or impairment in social and other areas of functioning.
  • These symptoms cannot be attributed to the physiological effects of a substance or another medical condition.
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