The discovery of antidepressants was literally a happy accident. In 1952, scientists were trying to treat tuberculosis with a drug called isoniazid, and their patients became inexplicably euphoric. By the end of the 1950s, almost half a million psychiatric patients were being treated with isoniazid, the world’s first prescription antidepressant. …
Often an associated symptom of major depressive disorder, diurnal mood variation occurs when a depressed individual notes a marked difference in mood over the course of a day. In a majority of cases, low mood is experienced in the early hours but it gradually improves throughout the day, hence its…
What if you were depressed for so long that you forgot what happiness felt like? What if your low mood started to feel permanent, like part of your personality? This is the reality for many people with dysthymia, or persistent depressive disorder (PDD), a chronic depressive state that lasts two…
As with any other mental health condition, comprehending what causes depression is crucial to managing and treating depressive symptoms. This starts with understanding that depressive disorders have no singular cause but a set of factors that are all involved in the development of depressive symptoms. With this in mind, the…
Known more commonly and collectively as depression, depressive disorders are a set of closely related mental health conditions that affect a person’s mood, energy, nervous system, sleep cycles, biochemistry, and even brain waves. There’s little in an individual’s daily life that depressive disorders won’t affect—but other than a shared capacity…
Depression and anxiety might be the Ross and Rachel of the mental health field. You try to think of them as separate entities, two platonic Friends with a romantic history, but then they’re back together again. And even in the episodes when they’re not together, you still feel the tension. …
All types of depression are characterized by deep sadness and a loss of interest in once-loved activities. Those who are depressed might wake up after a long night’s sleep and still feel miserably tired. They might forget to do simple things like brush their teeth or eat a meal (or…
Most lists of depression symptoms don’t quite capture the emotional weight of severe depression. Clinical facts about depression often fail to paint a full picture of how it feels to experience this mood disorder. What does depression feel like? Why is it so difficult to cope with? And what can…
If you’re expecting tips on what medium-priced champagne to buy in order to sweep your lover off their feet this Saturday night, you’re in the wrong place. Sorry. It’s not going to be that kind of a date night. You probably won’t end up in a Jacuzzi, or on a…
Major depression disorder (MDD) is a mental health condition that impacts emotional well-being and can cause severe functional consequences in daily life. MDD is also called clinical depression, major depression, and unipolar depression (to distinguish it from bipolar depression caused by bipolar disorder). In Ancient Greece, depression was called melancholia,…
Having a baby is life-changing and often brings heightened emotions. While feelings of joy, excitement, and even stress are normal, persistent sadness, guilt, or despair may be a sign of postpartum depression (PPD). PPD is a common disorder that affects many parents, and it’s important to get help and support….
It’s normal to contemplate the state of the world and life itself; for some, though, these questions stir up intense emotions like distress and despair that last for months or sometimes years. While existential depression is not a formal diagnosis, it is sometimes used to describe these cases of depression…
