Types of depression.

Depression can come in many forms, each affecting both adults and young people including kids. These include…

1. Major Depression (Major Depressive Order):
This type of depression interferes with a person’s daily lifestyle. It is characterized by guilt, sad moods, feels like doing nothing, a feeling of hopelessness and helplessness. A person will stop doing things that they very well enjoyed doing, like gardening, playing the guitar, and even reading story-books. Typically, this type shuts down regular daily functions of people such as eating, sleeping, working, running and studying. This is also known as clinical depression.

2. Minor Depression:
Usually this lasts for two weeks or longer, and has some symptoms as Major depression. There are different types of disorders under Minor Depression:

Psychotic depression:
This is a bit of major depression and psychosis. Psychosis a mental condition in which when a person loses contact with reality, and sees, hears upsetting things and feels things that no one else does (hallucinations and delusions).

Postpartum depression:
Some people call it baby-blues even though it is a more serious condition. It happens to new moms more often, when hormonal, physical and mental changes occur with the reality of their new baby, new life and new responsibility.

Seasonal affective disorder (SAD):
This is a seasonal type (during winter), when people feel overwhelmed with lack of sunshine, heat and outdoor activities. SAD gets better with the spring and summer and can be easily treated with medication and therapy.

3. Dysthymia
Dysthymia is a less sever type of Major Depression. Typically, it does not completely shut down a person’s functional self, but involves long lasting on-and-off symptoms of depression. The feeling and moods associated with depression is usually chronic here, but left untreated, a person gets worse and goes on to have Major Depression.

4. Bipolar disorder
Bipolar disorder is also another type of mood disorder. It usually manifests in extreme episodes. At one time, a person feels very low in energy, quiet, sad, hopeless and helpless. At another time they display high-energy behavior and moods (irritability, uncontrollable behavior and explosive temper). This extremely hyperactive behaviour is known as Mania. Younger people tend to have this kind of mood disorder. This high-energy episode is usually called manic or hypomanic episode, and it lasts for at least a week. Some people are hospitalized and taken care of, as they tend to cause harm to themselves or to others. Such harmful behavior may include gambling, having unsafe sex, and other things without applying common sense.

Bipolar disorder affects approximately 2.3 million American adults, or about 1.2 percent of the U.S. population age 18 and older in a given year. The average age at onset for a first manic episode is the early 20s