So what exactly is Clinical Depression?
The word depression gets thrown around wildly in many a casual conversation. Nevermind that the origin of the depression might just be a teeny-tiny stress that may be transitory. So when clinical depression gets discussed, most people assume that it is just a more severe extension of your normal everyday 'depression'. Though this notion makes logical sense, clinical depression is sometimes aeons different from what we might experience in our daily lives.
What Clinical Depression, also known as Major Depressive Disorder (MDD) in mental health jargon, probably shares with its 'normal' counterpart is a depressed mood and maybe a decreased interest in activities. However, the more important concomitants of MDD are the ones that truly impair daily functioning. The range of these symptoms according to the (unevenly flawed) 'bible' for mental health professionals, the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders-IV, text revision (DSM IV TR) published by the American Psychiatric Association, is quite wide. But I shall halt my criticism for the DSM IV TR for MDD. The gamut of diagnostic symptoms such as marked disturbances in sleep, appetite, changes in weight, cognitive symptoms of disturbances in attention, concentration, decision-making, and memory, emotional symptoms of feelings of worthlessness or inappropriate guilt, disturbances in psychomotor activity, and recurrent ideas about ending one's life are quite often seen in most patients. So the DSM IV TR does pull off a decent job of describing clinical depression.
I have merely (and intentionally) skimmed through the exact nature or pattern of manifestation of the symptoms, as clinical depression cannot be diagnosed reading blogs off the net. It requires a thorough clinical history and examination of the concerned patient. What you could do is pay close attention whether the person you are concerned about has a lot of difficulty getting through life lately due to a dirty combination of these varied symptoms. And take him/her to a mental health professional for appropriate intervention.
What Clinical Depression, also known as Major Depressive Disorder (MDD) in mental health jargon, probably shares with its 'normal' counterpart is a depressed mood and maybe a decreased interest in activities. However, the more important concomitants of MDD are the ones that truly impair daily functioning. The range of these symptoms according to the (unevenly flawed) 'bible' for mental health professionals, the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders-IV, text revision (DSM IV TR) published by the American Psychiatric Association, is quite wide. But I shall halt my criticism for the DSM IV TR for MDD. The gamut of diagnostic symptoms such as marked disturbances in sleep, appetite, changes in weight, cognitive symptoms of disturbances in attention, concentration, decision-making, and memory, emotional symptoms of feelings of worthlessness or inappropriate guilt, disturbances in psychomotor activity, and recurrent ideas about ending one's life are quite often seen in most patients. So the DSM IV TR does pull off a decent job of describing clinical depression.
I have merely (and intentionally) skimmed through the exact nature or pattern of manifestation of the symptoms, as clinical depression cannot be diagnosed reading blogs off the net. It requires a thorough clinical history and examination of the concerned patient. What you could do is pay close attention whether the person you are concerned about has a lot of difficulty getting through life lately due to a dirty combination of these varied symptoms. And take him/her to a mental health professional for appropriate intervention.
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