subject: Brief Information About The Common Types Of Depression [print this page] Various forms of depression afflict peopleVarious forms of depression afflict people. Some of the common forms of depression are - major depression, postpartum, bipolar disorder etc. The treatment methods for each will vary slightly. However there will be some things which will remain common in treatment.
1. Major Depression:
Usually when people say depression or clinical depression, they refer to major depressive disorder. In this disorder, people will usually not find interest in activities which they used to enjoy earlier. They will be in a depressed mood and suffer from fatigue, guilt and feelings of worthlessness.
Patients might even find it difficult to concentrate on their work. They might feel suicidal at times. If someone experiences such clinical depression symptoms for an extremely long period of time like more than 2 weeks or months, then it might be a case of major depressive disorder.
2. Mania:
This is also known as bipolar disorder. In this, the patient's moods will switch between highs and lows. There will be great fluctuations in the mood with periods of elevated mood and then periods of low mood. The period of elevated mood is referred to as manic episode. It can last for hours and sometimes even days or weeks. Then the patient will hit a low mood.
When the patient hits low mood, he will feel it more. This is because he has gone from extremely high spirits to low mood suddenly. In elevated mood, he was feeling super-confident and energetic. Suddenly he experiences totally opposite emotions. So this can be quite confusing and disturbing to the sufferer.
3. Postpartum Blues:
This kind of depression hits women after giving birth to a child. During pregnancy, a lot of hormonal changes take place in the body. Due to this, the mood can also get affected. Postpartum depression is also called 'baby blues'. Sometimes, this disorder may vanish away on its own after several weeks. Other times, treatment is needed.
