Types of depression

This is the most common form of depression. People experience several typical symptoms such as feeling down, exhausted, gloomy and lacking motivation for at least two weeks. They may also have trouble sleeping and lose their appetite. Depending on how many symptoms a person has and how bad they are, major depressive disorder can be classified as mild, moderate or severe. Sometimes there is just a single depressive episode, and then it is over. If these episodes keep coming back, doctors refer to the depression as "recurrent depressive disorder."

Persistent depressive disorder is a long-lasting form of depression in which the symptoms last for more than two years. These symptoms can then constantly be as severe as in a depressive episode. This is especially difficult for people with persistent depressive disorder because there are no phases of relief from the symptoms.

Some people have milder persistent mood disorder. They may feel unsettled, unhappy and down, but this doesn't affect their everyday lives as much as major depressive disorder does. The symptoms change from day to day and week to week. Although the symptoms are less severe than they are in major depressive disorder, it can be just as distressing because it lasts so long. If people with persistent depressive disorder also develop major depressive disorder at the same time, it is referred to as “double depression.”

Some people are particularly affected by depression in the dark autumn and winter months. It is mainly caused by the lack of light at this time of year. This kind of depression is referred to as seasonal affective disorder, or SAD for short. It usually goes away again in the spring.

Many mothers experience inexplicable mood swings and feel down after childbirth. In some women, these “baby blues” turn into what is referred to as postnatal or postpartum depression. The symptoms are much the same as those of clinical depression at any other time of life.

Postnatal depression is sometimes so severe that mothers have trouble looking after their child. They often feel misunderstand because those around them are expecting them to feel joy and happiness after the birth of their child. This can often lead to mothers feeling very guilty, about not being there for their baby too.

Some women develop symptoms of depression in the second half of their menstrual cycle that then improve when their period starts. They experience extreme mood swings ranging from irritated and impulsive to very sad and down. It is also common to feel tired and to have difficulty concentrating. There might be premenstrual symptoms as well, such as abdominal cramps or breast tenderness.

Depression is sometimes part of a condition known as bipolar disorder or manic depression. People who have bipolar disorder experience alternating phases involving extreme mood swings. In one phase they have the typical symptoms of depression. In the other phase their mood changes completely: All of a sudden they feel on top of the world, are very excitable and extremely active, as well as being self-confident to the point of becoming delusional. They overflow with ideas, but are also very irritable and scatterbrained, and often don’t sleep much. During these euphoric (“manic”) phases, many people lose touch with reality and start imagining things. They might get themselves into trouble, for instance due to impulsive, risky behavior or by getting into a lot of debt.