Depression

Introduction: Depression

Almost everyone gets a little "depressed" at times in their lives, and a brief attack of the blues isn't necessarily anything to worry about. But if the symptoms of depression persist then it could be clinical depression, whether a severe or mild form of depression. Any persistant depressive symptoms need prompt medical investigation by a medical professional.

In some cases, the term "depression" will refer to full clinical depression. Other uses of the term may refer to the cluster of depressive disorders of which clinical depression is the most severe type. As mentioned above, the term "depression" may simply refer to depressive symptoms like sadness or down moods.

Diagnosis of depression is not always easy and an underlying cause is always possible. Depressive symptoms could be caused by an emotional upset (e.g. grief, divorce, job loss, etc), by drug abuse, or several other causes. Feeling "depressed" a few days after a major life crisis does not warrant a diagnosis of depression, and in fact taking antidepressants may be an inappropriate treatment in this case (e.g. they may avoid the healthy sequence of coping with grief or loss). However, over-diagnosis of depression and over-prescription of antidepressants in such situations is known to occur. Another possible over-diagnosis of depression is caused by the cycle of emotional symptoms that arise from premenstrual syndrome (PMS).

Depressive symptoms may also indicate some type of underlying physical medical disorder. Various related depression-like physical symptoms (e.g. fatigue, lethargy, weakness, tiredness) could be symptoms of an underlying condition such as chronic fatigue syndrome, diabetes, fibromyalgia, Parkinson's disease or several other possible underlying conditions and alternative diagnoses.

Symptoms of Depression

• Depressed mood and other emotional problems
  • Persistent sadness
  • Inappropriate crying
  • Feelings of worthlessness
  • Hopelessness

See full list of 62 symptoms of Depression

Home Diagnostic Testing

Home medical testing related to Depression:

• Mental Health: Home Testing:
  • Home Emotional Stress Tests

Medical Textbooks Online about Depression

Book excerpts: Copyright © 2008 Lippincott Williams & Wilkins. All rights reserved.

Diagnostic Tests for Depression

• Psychological assessment
• Mental status examination

Read more about tests for Depression

Wrongly Diagnosed with Depression?

• Misdiagnosis of Depression
• Failure to diagnose Depression
• Underlying causes of Depression (possibly wrongly diagnosed)
• Failure to diagnose Depression

Misdiagnosis and Depression

Rare epilepsy can cause a variety of severe emotional and depressive symptoms: The book "Preventing Misdiagnosis of Women" reports on a case of a woman with severe personality and behavioral symptoms, and a diagnosis of ...read more »

High rate of misdiagnosis of psychiatric disorders: The book "Preventing Misdiagnosis of Women" reports on studies that estimate that 41% to 83% of people who are treated for psychiatric...read more »

Physical disorders often hidden causes of depression: It is a common misdiagnosis to diagnose a psychological or psychiatric disorder, such as depression, when symptoms are...read more »

Underactive thryoid may be misdiagnosed as depression: Hypothyroidism, or underactive thyroid, is an endocrine gland disorder that is more common in...read more »

Adrenal gland disorder difficult to correctly diagnose: Addison's disease, a disorder of the adrenal glands, causes a variety of symptoms, and is often misdiagnosed in early stages. Common...read more »

Cushing's disease can be mistaken for depression: Cushing's disease (or similarly Cushing's syndrome) is a possible misdiagnosis for a person diagnosed with depression...read more »

Manic-depressive (bipolar) disorder often misdiagnosed: Bipolar disorder, also called manic-depressive disorder, is often misdiagnosed before reaching a correct diagnosis. Some of the common...read more »

Calcium disorder a hidden cause of depression-like symptoms: Another uncommon endocrine disorder that can be misdiagnosed as depression is hypocalcemia (low blood...read more »

Various mental health symptoms caused by rare epilepsy: Temporal lobe epilepsy is a less common form of epilepsy that does not have the typical physical seizures....read more »

Rare seizure-less epilepsy misdiagnosed as various conditions: A complex partial seizure disorder, such as temporal lobe epilepsy can be misdiagnosed as various...read more »

Multiple sclerosis often misdiagnosed as mental disorder: The early stages of multiple sclerosis may cause various general feelings of wellness, happiness, euphoria, or manic-type symptoms in some patients. These...read more »

Lupus is often misdiagnosed as other conditions: Systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), often simply called "lupus", is a difficult disease to diagnose and can manifest with...read more »

Rare copper disease insidious and misdiagnosed: Wilson's disease (a form of copper overload) is a rare disorder that has a slow and insidious onset that can often fail to be...read more »

Insidious cancer misdiagnosed as mental health condition: Pancreatic cancer is fortunately relatively rare, but this dangerous condition can be misdiagnosed as a mental condition...read more »

Hidden diagnosis of chronic STD: The book "A Dose of Sanity" reports on a case of a many diagnosed with depression, who was correctly diagnosed with seronegative syphilis (see syphilis). The late...read more »

Cluster of diseases with difficult diagnosis issues: There is a well-known list of medical conditions that are all somewhat difficult to diagnose, and all can present in a variety of different...read more »

Undiagnosed stroke leads to misdiagnosed aphasia: BBC News UK reported on a man who had been institutionalized and treated for mental illness because he suffered from sudden inability to speak. This was initially...read more »

Alzheimer's disease over-diagnosed: The well-known disease of Alzheimer's disease is often over-diagnosed. Patients tend to assume that any memory loss or forgetulness symptom...read more »

Dementia may be a drug interaction: A common scenario in aged care is for a patient to show mental decline to dementia. Whereas this can, of course, occur due to various medical conditions, such as a stroke or ...read more »

Tremor need not be Parkinson's disease: There is the tendency to believe that any tremor symptom, or shakiness, means Parkinson's disease. The reality is...read more »

ADHD under-diagnosed in adults: Although the over-diagnoses of ADHD in children is a well-known controversy, the reverse side related to adults. Some adults can remain undiagnosed, and indeed the...read more »

Rare diseases misdiagnosed as Parkinson's disease: A rare genetic disorder is often misdiagnosed as Parkinson's disease for men in their 50's. The disease Fragile X disorder can show only mild symptoms in...read more »

Bipolar disorder misdiagosed as various conditions by primary physicians: Bipolar disorder (manic-depressive disorder) often fails to be diagnosed correctly by primary care physicians. Many patients with bipolar seek help from...read more »

Eating disorders under-diagnosed in men: The typical patient with an eating disorder is female. The result is that men with eating disorders often fail to be diagnosed or have a delayed diagnosis. See misdiagnosis of...read more »

Depression undiagnosed in teenagers: Serious bouts of depression can be undiagnosed in teenagers. The "normal" moodiness of teenagers can cause severe medical depression to be overlooked. See misdiagnosis of depression...read more »

Undiagnosed anxiety disorders related to depression: Patients with depression (see symptoms of depression) may also have undiagnosed anxiety disorders (see symptoms of anxiety disorders...read more »

Subtle changes in hypothroidism can be missed: The early changes in hypothyroidism are subtle and can be misdiagnosed especially if only a single symptom is dominant. Hence the list of conditions from which it has...read more »

Dementia to be spotted early on: Dementia is an important diagnosis to consider in the elderly. A vigorous search for a possible cause of dementia...read more »

Read more about Misdiagnosis and Depression

Causes of Depression

• Emotional upsets
  • Divorce
  • Relationship ending
  • Major financial problems
  • Death in the family

See full list of 29 causes of Depression

More information about causes of Depression:

• Medications, drugs, or substances causing Depression (843 listings)
• Drug interactions causing Depression (524 listings)
• Underlying causes of Depression
• Depression as a complication caused by other conditions
• Depression as a symptom
• Medical news summaries relating to Causes of Depression

Treatments for Depression

• Lifestyle changes - helpful but often not adequate without other treatments.
  • Love and care of family and friends
• Psychotherapy
  • Cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT)
  • Interpersonal therapy (IPT)

See full list of 25 treatments for Depression

Videos for Depression

Patient Surveys for Depression

• Patient Profile Survey
  Take Survey  View Results
• Survey about the symptoms of your Depression
  Take Survey  View Results

Prognosis for Depression

More about prognosis of Depression

Reseach about Depression

Visit our research pages for current research about Depression treatments.

Clinical Trials for Depression

The US based website ClinicalTrials.gov lists information on both federally and privately supported clinical trials using human volunteers.

Some of the clinical trials listed on ClinicalTrials.gov for Depression include:

• A Study of the Effectiveness and Safety of Risperidone to Augment SSRI Therapy in Patients With Treatment-Resistant Depression - This study is no longer recruiting patients (Current: 23 Nov 2006) - risperidone
• The Effects of Buproprion on Residual and Cognitive Symptoms in SSRI-Treated Depression - This study is currently recruiting patients (Current: 23 Nov 2006) - buproprion
• Clinical Trials of Two Non-Drug Treatments for Chronic Depression - This study has been completed (Current: 23 Nov 2006)
• Primary Prevention of Major Depression in Later Life - This study is currently recruiting patients (Current: 23 Nov 2006)
• Effectiveness of Supplemental Calcium in Preventing Postpartum Depression - This study is no longer recruiting patients (Current: 23 Nov 2006) - Elemental calcium (as carbonate)

See full list of 811 Clinical Trials for Depression

Statistics for Depression

• Medical statistics for Depression
• Prevalence and incidence statistics for Depression
• Death and Mortality statistics for Depression
• Society statistics for Depression

Types of Depression

• Postpartum depression - depression after childbirth
• Dysthymia - a mild form of depression.
• Seasonal Affective Disorder - a seasonal sunlight-related form of depression.

Read more about Types of Depression

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User Interactive Forums

Read about other experiences, ask a question about Depression, or answer someone else's question, on our message boards:

• I can not get a diagnosis. Please help.
• Tell us your medical story.
• Share your misdiagnosis story.
• What is the best treatment for this?
• See all the forums.

Article Excerpts about Depression

Everyone gets the blues now and then. It’s part of life. But when there is little joy or pleasure after visiting with friends or after seeing a good movie, there may be a more serious problem. A depressed mood that stays around for a while, without let-up, can change the way a person thinks or feels. Doctors call this "clinical depression." (Source: excerpt from Depression: NWHIC)

Definitions of Depression:

A mental state of depressed mood characterised by feelings of sadness, despair and discouragement. (On-line Medical Dictionary) - (Source - Diseases Database)

A mental state characterized by a pessimistic sense of inadequacy and a despondent lack of activity - (Source - WordNet 2.1)