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Depression Help (Home) > More on Depression > Clinical Depression Suffering with Clinical DepressionIs there someone who you're close to who you're concerned may suffer from clinical depression? If so you must understand the condition better so that you can see if that's the problem they are dealing with. The definition of clinical depression is feeling extremely sad, downhearted, and miserable to such a degree that it interferes with the person's ability to function normally in their day-to-day life. Its somewhat different than feeling low all the time, which can be depression, but since it doesn't interfere with daily activities to the point of making it impossible to perform them its called depression or being depressed. Sometimes this feeling makes a person show a lack of ambition or seem to be down for no obvious reason. Still it's different than being diagnosed with clinical depression. Clinical depression affects sixteen percent of all Americans. More females are affected than males; at least twice as many. These figures are skewed to women at an early age, but as people grow they actually even out with the figures coming closer when people reach their fifties. At this point clinical depression is the leading cause in America of disability. By 2020 it is expected to be the same worldwide. This very serious problem cannot be diagnosed with a blood or urine test. No x-ray or MRI can confirm or deny the existence of clinical depression. It can only be diagnosed based on symptoms that a person suffers from. The expectation is that if a person is suffering from clinical depression they must experience one of two specific symptoms. They are either suffering from a severe down mood or from an inability to experience pleasure. The latter is called Anaerobia. If a person has one of them and at least five of the following symptoms they are considered to be suffering from clinical depression. These next line symptoms include a person getting no pleasure from their daily activities. They're always feeling empty. Some people will show a significant weight loss or gain due to a major change in appetite. They frequently must deal with unending tiredness, always feeling a lack of energy. Some have to deal with a sleep pattern disruption that can be due to requiring too much sleep or an inability to sleep enough. There can be difficulty concentrating which is often accompanied by memory problems. Many of these people have to deal with a feeling of being alone, that no one cares. This may lead to thoughts of death, though not always related to suicide or planning to end one's life, are also typical. Many also suffer from a feeling of great sadness, or an inability to feel anything. These can be accompanied by the lesser symptoms of a feeling of worthlessness, neglect of personal care, crying, and sensitivity to sound, irritability or physical illness. If someone you know has more than five of the above they're struggling every day. The best thing you can do is encourage them to seek help from their health care provider.
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