Forms Of Depression

When talking about emotional status, the term depression
has taken on an almost generic meaning. Among the general
public, depression, it seems, can refer to sadness, grief,
disappointment, loss, and probably other unique states of
being as well. But the reality is depression is not some
hodgepodge of emotional outlooks: depression is a specific
mental health diagnosis that has a unique and specific
symptomology.

There are actually various types of depression, something
most people -- even those who have some understanding of
depression -- would probably be surprised at. The most
common depression type is dysthymia. Dysthymia is
characterized by long-term, chronic depressive symptoms,
though dysthymia symptoms never reach the point of becoming
disabling. And while it isn't disabling, dysthymia
absolutely does interfere with quality of life, and keeps
those suffering with it from achieving high levels of
happiness and satisfaction.

A second depression type is major depression. Unlike
dysthymia, major depression does reach disabling levels.
Where chronic depressive symptoms may go on for long
periods at unpleasant levels, symptoms in a major
depression are so significant that normal functioning
becomes seriously affected. Major depression typically
occurs episodically, not chronically, perhaps due to the
fact that major depression often demands treatment
intervention and can't be overlooked as dysthymia, for
example, can. A person may have only one episode of major
depression during his or her lifetime, but is more likely
to have several.

A third common depression type is bipolar disorder. Bipolar
disorder is characterized by periods of debilitating major
depression, but also by manic states. During a manic state,
a person with bipolar disorder may appear exceptionally
energetic, talkative, and possibly even euphoric.
Inappropriate behavior and poor judgment are common to the
bipolar disorder manic state. This swing, sometimes
occurring very rapidly, between debilitating depression and
mania is a classic indication of bipolar disorder.

Dysthymia, major depression, and bipolar disorder all call
for treatment intervention. The treatment approach to
dysthymia can involve psychological counseling, psychiatric
medication, or a combination of both. Treatment for an
episode of major depression almost always involves some
form of psychiatric medication, and this is especially true
if a major depression episode leads to hospitalization. The
baseline treatment for bipolar disorder is treatment with
medication, accompanied frequently, if not always, by
psychological counseling. Lithium has a common history in
the treatment of bipolar disorder. A case of bipolar
disorder that goes untreated will often lead to the
afflicted individual having more and more difficulty
functioning normally in society, with an eventual possible
outcome of considerable medical and / or legal difficulty.

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Zinn Jeremiah is an online author. Read more of Zinn's work
at http://www.hubonline.biz/website-content.htm . Find help
for depression at
http://www.hubonline.biz/get-better-now.htm .