Depression: Striving to be Blissful

Major depressive disorder, also known as major depression, unipolar depression, clinical depression, or simply depression, is a psychiatric disorder typified by a insidious low mood, loss of concern in a person's usual activities and lessened ability to experience bliss. The diagnosis is made if a person has suffered one or more major depressive episodes. The beginning is regularly in early- to mid-adulthood. Diagnosis is based on the patient's self-reported practices and observed behavior; there is no laboratory test for major depression. The course varies extensively: it can be a once-in-a-lifetime event or have manifold recurrences; it can appear either steadily or unexpectedly; and can either last for a few months or be a life-long disorder.

Although the term "depression" is generally used by laypeople to describe a impermanent depressed mood, when a person may feel sad or "down", major depression is a severe and frequently disabling condition that can appreciably affect a person's work, family and school life, sleeping and eating habits, general health and ability to take pleasure in life. Depression is a chief risk factor for suicide; in addition, people with depression endure from higher mortality from other causes. Clinical depression may be secluded or be a secondary result of a primary condition such as bipolar disorder or chronic pain. When specific treatment is indicated, it usually consists of psychotherapy and antidepressants.