As humans, we feel many emotions: happiness, sadness, irritation, anger, loneliness, etc. But if your unhappiness and despair go overboard, it can be dangerous. As anger leads to anxiety, sadness leads to depression. Depression can be extremely dangerous because it can lead to suicidal thoughts and self-harming behavior. 

Depression is defined as a state of mind where you feel unhappy, out of sorts, and negative all the time. Symptoms include a constant feeling of sadness, gloom, and despair, and loss of interest in activities that you once enjoyed and can also lead to physical problems like memory loss, loss of appetite, and physical pain. It affects your everyday life by making you feel lost, and hopeless, and making you avoid the work you need to do, making you feel like life is not worth living.  

However, treatment is possible with medication and psychotherapy.  

Types of Depression 

The most common types of depression are:  

1. Major depression/ Major Depressive Disorder:  

• This is the type of depression where your symptoms of melancholy, anxious distress, and agitation last for more than 2 weeks or longer. Other symptoms you may include: 
• Loss of interest in people, places, and things you liked 
• Weight gain or loss 
• Having difficulty falling asleep or feeling sleepy during the day 
• Feeling agitated, restless, or sluggish and slow physically or mentally 
• Tiredness and a lack of energy 
• Feeling insignificant or guilty 
• Having difficulty concentrating or making decisions 
• Suicidal thoughts 
•  Treatment can be done by talk therapy or medication.  

2. Persistent depressive disorder:  

• This condition is also called dysthymia /low-grade persistent depression.  
• This is a type of depressive disorder where the symptoms last longer than 2 years or more.  
• Treatment can be done by psychotherapy, medication, or a combination of these two based on your diagnosis.  

3. Bipolar depression:  

• This is also called Manic depression.  
• In this depression, you can have mood swing episodes from a range of high to low. In the high phase, the patient is hyperactive and in the low range, symptoms of major depression occur.  
• Whether you have a high or low range, the doctor might suggest a mood stabilizer, apart from other medications.  
• Psychotherapy also helps.  

4. Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD):   

• This depression is like major depression, but it only happens during the winter. As the days are shorter, the body doesn’t get enough sunlight.  
• It goes away in the spring and summer seasons. 
• Antidepressants and light therapy can help.  

5. Psychotic depression:  

• It is a combination of major depression with symptoms of psychosis. 
• Symptoms like Hallucinations (seeing or hearing things), delusions (false beliefs and perceptions), and paranoia (the belief that someone is out there to get you or harm you) are present along with the symptoms of major depression. 
• Treatment can be done by antidepressants or antipsychotic drugs and psychotherapy.  

6. Peripartum (Postpartum) Depression:  

• Women can have major depression for months and weeks before and after the birth of the baby. This is called Peripartum depression.  
• What’s interesting is that 1 out of 10 men also have this depression in the peripartum period (of their partners). 
• Antidepressant drugs can help, and so can talking to a therapist. 

7. Premenstrual Dysphoric Disorder (PMDD):  

• Women can have this depression during the start of their period. 
• They can experience mood swings, irritability, anxiety, trouble concentrating, and changes in appetite and bowel movements.  
• Antidepressants, as well as oral contraceptives, can help treat PMDD. 

8. Atypical depression:   

• This type of depression is different from persistent feelings of sadness of major depression and has atypical symptoms (which means your mood can change if a positive event happens). 
• Antidepressants like SSRI (selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor) or MAOI (monoamine oxidase inhibitor) are usually recommended as a first-line treatment for atypical depression.  

9. Treatment-resistant depression:  

• The chances that you have treatment-resistant depression are extremely high if you have tried a treatment and it doesn’t work. There can be many reasons behind it like you might have an associated health condition that makes it difficult to treat your depression symptoms.  
• The doctor might suggest unconventional treatment options like Electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) which can be helpful sometimes in these conditions. 

Am I depressed or just sad? 

Sadness is an emotion you feel when you are disappointed, grieving, in pain, or unhappy. Like all other emotions, this emotion also fades away with time. But depression doesn’t. It stays with you until it gets treated.  

Depression is a disease. But the good news is that it is curable. With proper medication and treatment, you can lead a normal life once again.  

Do you no longer like to talk with family or friends and like to be alone? Have you lost interest in your favorite things? Are you having suicidal thoughts? Want someone to talk to about the struggles and problems of your life?  Call us on +1-347-384-5690 to get a consultation. If you need help learning coping methods, register your information and make direct contact with our doctors and psychiatrists to learn those methods, log on to www.doralhw.org. Doral Health and Wellness has the best Doctors and Psychiatrists who specialize in Behavioral Health, make accurate diagnoses, and craft tailored treatment programs. Visit us at 1797 Pitkin Avenue, Brooklyn, NY 11212.