Answer From Daniel K. Hall-Flavin, M.D. Depression ranges in seriousness from mild, temporary episodes of sadness to severe, persistent depression. Clinical depression is the more-severe form of depression, also known as major depression or major depressive disorder.
Clinical depression, or major depressive disorder, is often just called “depression.” It's the most severe type of depression. Without treatment, depression can get worse and last longer. In severe cases, it can lead to self-harm or death by suicide.
Major depressive disorder (MDD), also known as depression or clinical depression, is a serious mental health disorder that can drastically affect a person's daily life. For example, it can result in problems sleeping, eating, and working. MDD can be incredibly debilitating when left untreated.
Also, bipolar disorder features more phases than does major depressive disorder, including mania, hypomania and depression. But in terms of severity, neither disorder is worse, or better, than the other.
It not only causes a severe functional impairment but also adversely affects the interpersonal relationships, thus lowering the quality of life. Individuals with MDD are at a high risk of developing comorbid anxiety disorders and substance use disorders, which further increases their risk of suicide.
Severity Specifier
The DSM-5 does not state the number of MDD symptoms required for each severity level, so these levels were defined as follows: mild is 5 symptoms (minimum for a diagnosis), moderate is 6 to 7 symptoms, and severe is 8 to 9 symptoms.
Although psychotic depression itself cannot evolve into schizophrenia, when severe depression is untreated or undertreated, it's possible for the resulting distress and side effects to trigger an underlying psychotic disorder, such as schizoaffective disorder.
Furthermore, MDD converts into bipolar disorder in 3.9% of patients at 1 year, 1% after 2–5 years, and 0.8% after 5–10 years. The earlier the age of onset, the more likely a diagnosis of bipolar depression will be missed for many years; and increasing delays in treatment are linked to worse outcomes.
Major depressive disorder and bipolar disorder are two separate conditions — you can't be diagnosed with both at the same time.
Individuals with Borderline Personality Disorder (BPDs) become overwhelmed and incapacitated by the intensity of their emotions, whether it is joy and elation or depression, anxiety, and rage. They are unable to manage these intense emotions.
Schizophrenia and personality disorders are the most disabling mental health conditions to live with, according to Queensland Brain Institute's Professor John McGrath.
By all accounts, serious mental illnesses include “schizophrenia-spectrum disorders,” “severe bipolar disorder,” and “severe major depression” as specifically and narrowly defined in DSM. People with those disorders comprise the bulk of those with serious mental illness.
It is more acceptable to refer to this severe depression by its clinical term, which is major depressive disorder (MDD). Others may refer to it as debilitating depression or use words such as overwhelming or devastating. A person has MDD if they have the following symptoms : constant low or depressed mood.
Both disorders are characterized by shifts in affective states, but MDD tends to be more episodic and fixed while BPD is typically enduring and reactive. Several studies have shown that BPD probands have a higher prevalence of affective disorders in their relatives compared to other personality disorders.
Contemporary populations may now be more susceptible to depression because of greater inequality, low social support, intense individual competitiveness, and increased social failure (Gilbert, 2006). Onset of a major depressive episode often coincides with stressful life events (Kendler et al., 1999; Nesse, 2000).
The Impact of Major Depression on Overall Health
This difference in overall health, on average, translates to a reduction in future healthy life expectancy of 9.5 years for women and 9.7 years for men.
Some recover in a few weeks or months. But for others, depression is a long-term illness. In about 20% to 30% of people who have an episode of depression, the symptoms don't entirely go away.
Symptoms of clinical depression include low mood, loss of interest in daily activities, lack of energy, and feelings of low self-worth. Some people experience clinical depression only once in their life, while others have recurring episodes. MDD episodes can last between 6 and 18 months or longer.
Major depression is a serious mood disorder that causes a low mood, hopelessness, fatigue, and apathy, but in some cases it can also cause psychosis. Psychotic symptoms include delusions, hallucinations, and disordered thinking and speech.
The classic signs and symptoms of major depression may be relatively easy to spot, but subtle episodes of mania or hypomania may go undetected—both by the person with the condition and the doctors treating them.
For instance, some patients who meet full DSM-IV criteria for major depressive disorder (MDD) may also present with subthreshold manic symptoms, such as increased energy or the reduced need for sleep at the same time.
The types of delusions and hallucinations are often related to your depressed feelings. For example, some people may hear voices criticizing them, or telling them that they don't deserve to live. The person may develop false beliefs about their body, such as believing that they have cancer.
2 Severe depressive episode without psychotic symptoms. Definition. An episode of depression in which several of the above symptoms are marked and distressing, typically loss of self-esteem and ideas of worthlessness or guilt. Suicidal thoughts and acts are common and a number of "somatic" symptoms are usually present.