IS THERE MORE THAN ONE KIND OF DEPRESSION
Yes. Here are some of the types that fall under the category of primary depression:
Major depression, also known as unipolar or clinical depression, is a disorder that is usually recurrent, with repeated depressive episodes alternating with normal periods.
Dysthymia is a type of depression in which symptoms are relatively mild but present most of the time and persistent for at least two years.
Manic-depressive (bipolar I) disorder is characterized by dark periods of moderate to severe depression alternating with manic highs, which are often severe enough to require hospitalization.
Manic-depressive (bipolar II) disorder involves periods of major depression interspersed with mildly manic – or hypomanic – episodes, which are usually pleasurable or irritable in nature.
Cyclothymia is the mildest form of manic depression, alternating periods of hypomania and dysthymia. In the depressed phases of these categories, one may see either agitation, in which the depression is accompanied by a collection of frantic symptoms such as difficulty sitting still, insomnia, and loss of appetite, or retardation, in which movements, speech, and other responses are slowed down and the patient tends to sleep and eat too much.
Psychiatrists use the term “secondary depression” when depression is secondary to a medical or other primary psychiatric disorder, such as general anxiety disorder, panic disorder, substance abuse, sleep disorder, or schizophrenia It is’ occasionally linked with a few medically prescribed drugs, some of which are associated with the onset of depression (particularly antihypertensives). Steroids, amphetamines, and Ritalin may be associated with the onset of secondary mania and hypomania.
The term “normal reactive depression” describes the grief experienced by people who are mourning a loss.
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