Are you having a bad day? Or is it a series of bad days? How long before it is depression? What should you do? In this article, we will explore different types of depression and how they manifest, and what it means for you if you are experiencing one of these.
Depression manifest differently for different people, but it is important to remember that there isn't just “depression”. Researchers have identified a variety of types of depression for which there are different treatments. But remember, if you are experiencing any sort of emotional difficulty you should talk to a doctor or therapist-they're here to help, even when you think no one can.
Situational Depression
You know it is more than a bad day. This mood has lasted for days or weeks, or has been a nagging difficulty enjoying things you once did. Maybe you are sleeping more or maybe you are sleeping less. The thing is, you just feel crummy all the damn time but you don't know why.
Ask yourself, has something in your life changed? Did you hope to get a raise but didn't or have a fight with a loved one? Or perhaps there was a death and the sadness keeps lingering longer than you think it should. There are innumerable possible triggers for situational depression. Some people say that our very society is set up to isolate us and cause emotional problems. It may be some consolation that hundreds of thousands of people feel the way you do. The good news is that a good therapist can help you figure out what is at the root of your feelings. Cognitive therapy can help you change the way you think, since depression is a self-perpetuating cycle. Exercise will certainly help. Sometimes a few weeks or months on an anti-depressant will kick you right out of it, but if you don't address the underlying problem it might pop back up in the future.
Dysthymic Depression
You feel bad. Maybe not terrible, not all the time. But happiness is difficult to sustain and you find yourself tired, irritable, and sad most of the time. This has lasted for a long time. Years, probably. Maybe all your life? All you know is you are finally realizing that the way you feel is interfering with what you want to do. You may have rationalized for a while that it is just your personality but now you aren't so sure.
This type of depression can have either a biological cause or a very subtle developmental one. Either way, it puts you at risk for a major depressive episode. It is also a type quite resistant to treatment. Adjustments to your lifestyle may help. Exercise will give you more energy; meditation can help your emotional stability. Therapy will be useful for understanding yourself and creating coping tools. Medication is an iffy bet at best, because of the different types of anti-depressants, different doses. Working with a competent psychiatrist or medical doctor may take a while but can really be worth it.
Major Depression
This normally comes in the form of episodes but can be quite long term in some cases. Life is okay (probably not great, though) and then WHAM you can't drag yourself out of bed. You feel terrible. Crying when there is nothing to make you cry, eating too much or not at all, sleeping too much or not at all; there are numerous signs of the misery. You might feel like there is a wall between you and the rest of the world and you just can't see through it. But you also feel like no one can reach through to you. Hopeless, helpless, angry and sad. If you are thinking about suicide, remember that you are not alone. It may help you to remember that life isn't really like this, your brain is out of whack.
Certainly, when you are experiencing major depression or a major depressive episode your life doesn't feel like anything but a constant torment. You should seek help immediately. There just isn't any good reason to wait. It might get better… or there might be lower to go before it gets better. The sooner you seek help the better your recovery time will be. But it is difficult to get help because you might feel bad for feeling bad! Shamed for being sad when you thing there is nothing to be objectively sad about? Well, don't. In most cases medication is the only adequate treatment, which indicates that it likely has a physiological basis. You can't control the chemicals in your brain so don't be embarrassed on top of depressed! It might be hard to get help. Heck, its hard to get out of bed, but its is better than to continue to feel like this.
Cyclical and Bipolar
If you experience low lows but also high highs, you might be bipolar. Manic depression has a unique presentation because the depressive phase might get confused with a major depressive episode, but there is no mistaking a manic episode. With a manic episode comes extreme energy, creativity, possibly irrational spending or dangerous sexual practices. Either one of the extremes can last hours, weeks, or months depending on how it manifests in you. Many people respond well to medication and enjoy having a balanced life. But some people would rather put up with the depression to have that window of mania-but remember that can be dangerous.
An interesting and little discussed form of cyclical depression couples dysthymia with major depressive episodes but is a distinct illness from either. It presents similarly to bipolar disorder, but instead of a manic peak, you only reach the high of “not depressed” and the lows bottom out at suicidal ideation. It is not dysthymic disorder plus major episode because it cycles through in a timed pattern similar to bipolar (that is individual dependent). This form typically should involve therapy to manage the depression and track possible triggers but medication is very helpful for preventing the low-swing.
Conclusion
These common types of depression are distinct problems and illnesses. By recognizing the differences, sufferers and treatment professionals alike have a better chance of helping the individual and finding solutions that make life better. While most forms of depression will respond to medication, it is important to remember that they might not be the best long-term solution. On the other hand, when something can help, and life is unbearable, nothing-especially not pride or propaganda-should stop you from getting what you need to live better.
If you see yourself or someone you care about in any of these symptoms, a therapist is usually the best place to start. They can help you explore what you are feeling without judgment and figure out what to do next without immediately jumping to medication as a quick fix. Depression, whether it is situational or long term, or as though you are gazing into the abyss, is not something you have to deal with on your own.
