Clinical depression is often one of the worst types of depression and can be harder to treat. Clinical Depression is the worst type of depression to have.
Mood-stabilizing non-neuroleptic drugs are sometimes used with antidepressants to treat people with unipolar depression that do not improve with various antidepressants or as alternative to or instead of antidepressants for people with bipolar disorder.
People with unipolar depression are increasingly prescribed atypical antipsychotics in addition to and in addition to or instead of antidepressants for people with bipolar disorder.
Without proper treatment, depression symptoms can last for weeks, months or years. In addition to the emotional problems caused by depression, people can also have physical symptoms such as chronic pain or digestive problems.
Diagnosed as Clinical Depression
To be diagnosed as depression, these symptoms must cause a person to have a clinically significant or social, professional, or other important life problem.
For a formal diagnosis of clinical depression, these symptoms must last at least two weeks, and must reflect the changes in the previous functional level observed before the symptoms appear, and must be at work, social occasions, or other activities.
Symptoms must last for at least two weeks and reflect changes in the functional level of your previous diagnosis of depression.
In addition, medical conditions (such as thyroid problems, brain tumors, or vitamin deficiencies) can mimic the symptoms of depression, so it is important to rule out common medical causes.
In addition to physical conditions that can cause symptoms of depression or increase the likelihood that someone becomes depressed, there are many other mental health conditions that can be diagnosed in people with depression.
People with mental disorders that cause hallucinations or delusions may also have some form of depression.
Often times a person is labeled as clinically depressed when all medications alone have failed to overcome the persons sadness on their own.
When someone experiences persistent and intense sadness for a long time, they may suffer from mood disorders, such as major depression (MDD).
The diagnosis of major depression (clinical depression) means that you feel sad, depressed, or worthless most of the time for at least two weeks, and have other symptoms, such as sleep disorders, loss of interest in activities, or changes in appetite.
The severity of depression varies from relatively mild and persistent depression to severe long-term depression.
Other Causes of Depression
Depression caused by a physical illness is diagnosed as a mood disorder associated with a general illness.
When depression is caused by medication, non-medical use of a psychoactive substance, or exposure to a toxin, it is diagnosed as a specific mood disorder (previously referred to in the DSM-IV-TR as substance-induced mood disorder).
To diagnose clinical depression, many doctors use the Depressive Disorder Essential Symptoms Criteria (DSM-5) published by the American Psychiatric Association.
Common symptoms include mood swings, irritability or anger, depression, mild sadness, anxiety, or stress; and severe anxiety or tension.
Symptoms go beyond “childhood sadness,” which causes mild sadness, anxiety, or stress; but people with dysthymia have secondary episodes of major depression (sometimes called double depression).
Although depression is currently classified as a separate disorder, there is an ongoing debate about why people diagnosed with major depression often experience hypomanic symptoms, indicative of a continuum of affective disorders.
In addition, according to DSM-5, a guideline used to diagnose mental health conditions, you may also have other signs and symptoms of major depression. Although sadness is a symptom of clinical depression, there must be many other signs and symptoms for someone to be officially diagnosed with clinical depression.
Conclusion About Clinical Depression
While there is a clear distinction between depression and sadness, it is possible that in addition to sadness a major depressive disorder such as bereavement, financial ruin or serious illness can result in a major depressive disorder because sadness is the main symptom of depression and it can be difficult to distinguish the difference between the two.
In its mildest form, you may simply feel constant depression in your spirit, while severe depression may make you feel ill that life is no longer worth living, but when you are depressed you are always sad for weeks or months or days, and some people think that depression is commonplace and not a health condition.
Depression is generally labeled as clinical depression when common forms of medication therapy alone are not working.
Clinical depression is hard to treat with just medications alone. There has to be a combined therapy with the proper medication regimen.
