Most people mistake two different concepts associated with a negative mood. We tend to think that it is the same feeling depressed than being depressed. It is not the same thing. The former is a natural emotion we all go through. Nobody can say a depressed mood has never knocked his or her doors because even if we deal differently with sadness, it is part of our human experience. However, clinical depression is a pathologic state of mind characterized by negative feelings but deeply rooted in the chemistry of the human mind.
Clinical depression is very different from feeling depressed or down because it involves not only a temporary thought or emotion, but also continuous signs and symptoms both in the train of thought, the levels of energy, and the body itself. Thus, clinical depression goes beyond the boundaries of a simple emotion, and it is when this negative emotion becomes pathologic and unbearable. So, read this article if you suspect you or someone you love has a clinical condition of depression and do not hesitate to see a professional if everything seems to point out to that direction.
The most important signs and symptoms of clinical depression are as follows:
1. Pessimistic thoughts and sad emotions
Even if clinical depression is not the same as sadness, it is often an important part of the diagnosis. We should give importance to sad emotions as a part of experiencing depression, but make clear they are not always completely clear, or they are but patients do not know where does this feeling come from. Sadness is included in the criteria to diagnose depression, but there are many others, and even though it is common, diagnosing depression might be independent of this symptom.
However, patients who do feel sad experience this emotion for a very prolonged period. It is not necessarily related to a given thought, loss, or situation they are living with their families or friends. In most cases, they can’t make out a clear reason why they are feeling like this, and most of them think they are just being pessimistic and delay their diagnosis. However, this level of sadness in depressed patients reach the point of affecting their lives and that of their loved ones.
Depressed patients are usually very susceptible to see and blame themselves for their own mistakes. They usually have a pessimistic sight of the world and live in constant frustration by the way everything turns out to be and how their lives tend to go. They are often unsatisfied and disappointed and feel worthless of a good life, good experience or good friends.
