Definition of Depression

Definition of Depression
Depression can be defined – a familiar psychological disorder as a variety of distinct affective or mood disorders, some relatively mild and some severe. One of the common is major depression, which is defined as at least one episode or feeling profoundly depressed, sad, and hopeless, and/or losing interest in and the ability to derive pleasure from all activities, for at least two weeks.

A young man suffering from major depression might, for example, feel extremely discouraged and “down in the dumps”, no longer seem to care about his job or even about sexual relations with his wife; losing weight or have difficulty sleeping; speak and move very slowly, as though lacking the energy to perform even the simplest actions; have trouble paying attention to his work or making simple decision; dwell on how guilty he feels about his many failings; and even begin to think he would be better off dead. Note that major depression would no be diagnosed if this young man were going through the normal grieving process after the death of a loved one.

This definition of major depression is intended to be applied to individuals of all ages. In other words the depression in a child is basically similar to depression in a young adult or in an elderly adult, even though it is acknowledged that children may express their depression somewhat differently than adults do.
Definition of Depression