Major Depression - This is the most common and
serious forms of depression. A person who suffers from this
type of depression feels like they are carrying the weight of the
world on their shoulders. The sufferer is withdrawn or shows a
complete lack of interest from regular day to day activities and
feels that they will always remain in this hopeless state. It is
worth mentioning that you do not need to feel suicidal to have a major
depression. You also do not need to have a history of
hospitalizations either. However, both of these factors are present
in some people with major depression.
Atypical Depression - This type of depression
is slightly different from major depression. A person who
suffers forms atypical depression is sometimes able to experience
happiness and moments of elation. They often believe that outside
events control their mood. Episodes of atypical depression can last
for months or a sufferer may live with it forever.
Dysthymia - Ever see
someone walk around seeming depressed or simply sad (blues)? They
have been this way all there lives. This is what dysthymia is, a
condition that people are not even aware of, but just live daily
with. People who suffer from dysthymia go through life feeling
unimportant and are simply dissatisfied with life. Simply put,
they just don't enjoy their lives. Dysthimia is considered to be a low to moderate level of depression that persists for at least
two years, and often longer. While the symptoms are not as severe as
a major depression, they are more enduring and resistant to
treatment. Some people with dysthymia develop a major depression at
some time during the course of their depression.
Psychotic Depression -
Roughly 25% of people
who are admitted to the hospital for depression suffer from what's
called psychotic depression. Psychotic depression is characterized
by not only depressive symptoms, but also includes features of
psychosis, like hallucinations (seeing or hearing things that
aren't really there) or delusions (irrational thoughts and
fears). Often psychotically depressed people become paranoid or come
to believe that their thoughts are not their own (thought insertion)
or that others can ‘hear’ their thoughts (thought broadcasting).
Furthermore, the hallucinations are not "positive" like they are
with a manic depressive. The sufferer of psychotic depression
imagines frightening and negative sounds and images.
Manic Depression: Manic
depression can be defined as an emotional disorder characterized by
changing mood shifts from depression to mania which can sometimes be
quite rapid. People with this illness swing from
feeling overly happy and joyful (or irritable) to feeling very sad
and hopeless (or happy). In between these mood swings, a person's
moods may be normal.
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