Semantics of Depression

Semantics of Depression
One of the difficulties in conceptualization depression is essentially semantic, namely, that the term has been variously applied to designate a particularly type of feeling or symptom; a symptom-complex (or syndrome); and a well defined disease entity.

Not infrequently, normal people say they are depressed when they observed any lowering of their mood below their baseline level.

A person experiencing a transient sadness or loneliness may state that he or she is depressed.

Whether this normal mood is synonymous with, or even related to, the feeling experienced in the abnormal condition of depression is open to question.

In any event, when a person complains of feeling inordinately dejected, hopeless, or unhappy, the term depressed is often used to label this subjective state.

The term depression is often used to designate a complex pattern of deviation in feelings, cognition and behavior that is not represented as a discrete psychiatric disorder.

The cluster of signs and symptoms is sometimes conceptualized as a psychopathological dimension ranging in intensity from mild to severe.

The syndrome of depression may at times appear as a concomitant of definite psychiatric disorder such as schizophrenic reaction; in such a case, the diagnosis would be “schizophrenic reaction with depression.”

At times, the syndrome may be secondary to, or a manifestation of, organic disease of the brain such as general paresis or cerebral artereosclerosis.

Finally, the term depression has been used to designate a discrete nosological entity.

The term has generally been qualified by some adjective to indicate a particularly type or form, as for example: reaction depression, agitated depression, or psychotic depression reaction.

When conceptualized as a specific clinical identity, depression is assumed to have certain consistent attributes in addition to the characteristics signs and symptoms; these attributes include a specifiable type of onset, course, duration and outcome.

The depressive disorders include major depressive disorder and dysthymic disorder.

Major depressive disorder is defined by one or more major depression episodes.

Such episodes include 2 weeks of depressed mood or loss of interest, along with a minimum of four additional depression symptoms.

Dysthymic disorder is defined in part by at least 2 years of low-level depressed mood, where the person is depressed for more days than not.
Semantics of Depression