Various Types of Depression and Its Symptoms

Major Depression

When you hear the term clinical depression, it merely means the depression is severe enough to require treatment. When a person is badly depressed during a single severe period, he or she can be said to have had an episode of clinical depression. More severe symptoms mark the period as an episode of major depression (also known as unipolar depression and major depressive disorder). Many mental health experts say the key to judging this gradation lies in the amount of change a person undergoes in his or her normal patterns along with a loss of interest and a lack of pleasure in them. An almost-daily tennis player, for instance, who began to break her court dates frequently, or a regular bridge player who lost interest in weekly games, might be edging into an episode of major depression. The more severe the depression, the more it is likely to affect its sufferer's life.

Dysthymia is another mood disorder. People who have it may feel mildly depressed on most days over a period of at least two years. They have many symptoms resembling major depression, but with less severity.

Symptoms of depression may surface with other mood disorders. They include seasonal major depression (also known as seasonal affective disorder), postpartum depression, and bipolar disorder.

Atypical Depression

We think of depression as one thing. It's not. In this in-depth article, leading depression experts tell WebMD about the many forms of depression.
Psychotic

Psychotic depression is a less common type of depression and its symptoms include an even more severely depressed mood, more severe psychomotor disturbance, and psychotic symptoms (either delusions or hallucinations), and over-valued guilt ruminations. Psychotic depression has a very low spontaneous remission rate. It responds only to physical treatments (such as antidepressant drugs).

Cyclothymic disorder

Cyclothymic disorder is when a person has mild and alternating mood swings of elation and depression occurring over a long time period. Because the mood swings are mild, and the elation is often enjoyable, frequently people with cyclothymic disorder do not seek medical help.