List of Mental Illnesses

Depression

Clinical depression goes by many names, such as “the blues,” biological or clinical depression, and a major depressive episode. But all of these names refer to the same thing: feeling sad and depressed for weeks or months on end — not just a passing blue mood of a day or two. This feeling is most often accompanied by a sense of hopelessness, a lack of energy (or feeling “weighed down”), and taking little or no pleasure in things that once gave a person joy in the past.

Symptoms of Depression

Clinical depression is different from normal sadness — like when you lose a loved one, experience a relationship breakup, or get laid off from work — as it usually consumes a person in their day-to-day living. It doesn’t stop after just a day or two — it will continue for weeks on end, interfering with the person’s work or school, their relationships with others, and their ability to just enjoy life and have fun. Some people feel as if a huge hole of emptiness has opened inside when experiencing the hopelessness associated with this condition. In any given year, 7 percent of Americans will be diagnosed with this condition; women are 2 to 3 times more likely to be diagnosed than men (American Psychiatric Association).

The symptoms of depression include the majority of the following signs, experienced nearly every day over the course of two or more weeks:

a persistent feeling of loneliness or sadness
lack of energy
feelings of hopelessness
difficulties with sleeping (too much or too little)
difficulties with eating (too much or too little)
difficulties with concentration or attention
total loss of interest in enjoyable activities or socializing
feelings of guilt and worthlessness
and/or thoughts of death or suicide