Chronic depression vs major depression, hopelessness care plan - .

Whether you're a college student in the middle of a major slump, a new mom who can't pinpoint why she's feeling so glum, or a retiree grieving over the loss of a loved one, that question isn't an easy one to answer. If you're experiencing major depression, you may feel and see symptoms of extreme sadness, hopelessness, lack of energy, irritability, trouble concentrating, changes in sleep or eating habits, feelings of guilt, physical pain, and thoughts of death or suicide — and for an official diagnosis, your symptoms must last for more than two weeks. About 2 percent of the American population has a form of depression that's less severe than major depression, but is still very real — dysthymia. Dysthymia is a type of depression that causes a low mood over a long period of time — perhaps for a year or more, explained Halaris.
This depression usually responds better to talk therapy than to medications, though some studies suggest that combining medication with talk therapy may lead to the greatest improvement.
Postpartum depression is characterized by feelings of extreme sadness, fatigue, loneliness, hopelessness, suicidal thoughts, fears about hurting the baby, and feelings of disconnect from the child.
This depression usually starts in early winter and lifts in the spring, and it can be treated with light therapy or artificial light treatment. Psychosis — a mental state characterized by false beliefs, known as delusions, or false sights or sounds, known as hallucinations — doesn't typically get associated with depression. If your periods of extreme lows are followed by periods of extreme highs, you could have bipolar disorder (sometimes called manic depressive disorder because symptoms can alternate between mania and depression).

Premenstrual dysphoric disorder, or PMDD, is a type of depression that affects women during the second half of their menstrual cycles. Also called adjustment disorder, situational depression is triggered by a stressful or life-changing event, such as job loss, the death of a loved one, trauma — even a bad breakup.
Situational depression is about three times more common than major depression, and medications are rarely needed — that's because it tends to clear up over time once the event has ended.
In some instances, a person might only experience one episode of major depression, but the condition tends to recur throughout a person's life. In fact, it may be one of the most common types of depression — and some doctors even believe it is underdiagnosed. Unlike major depression, a common sign of atypical depression is a sense of heaviness in the arms and legs — like a form of paralysis. But according to the National Alliance on Mental Illness, about 20 percent of people with depression have episodes so severe that they see or hear things that are not really there.
Treatment may include a combination of depression drugs as well as talk and nutrition therapies.
However, that doesn't mean it should be ignored: Symptoms of situational depression may include excessive sadness, worry, or nervousness, and if they don't go away, they may become warning signs of major depression.

And there's good news: An estimated 80 to 90 percent of people with major depression respond well to treatment.
This form of depression typically occurs in winter climates, likely due to the lessening of natural sunlight.
However, a study published in the Archives of General Psychiatry (now known as JAMA Psychiatry) found that oversleeping and overeating are the two most important symptoms for diagnosing atypical depression.
The word depression is actually just an umbrella term for a number of different forms, from major depression to atypical depression to dysthymia.
Another review, however, found the combination of medications was more effective than either drug alone in treating psychotic depression.

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