Iris depression glass External affective signs of depressed mood also include a physical hunching or stooping, or putting the head in the hands, and an appearance of being physically subdued, and flatness of speech. A depressed mood is generally situational and reactive, and associated with grief, loss, or a major social transition. Iris depression glass. A diathesis-stress model of depression (including clinical depression) is now widely accepted. "The catecholamine hypothesis of affective disorders: a review of supporting evidence". However, if depressed mood lasts at least two weeks, and is acpanied by other symptoms that interfere with daily living, it may be seen as a symptom of clinical depression, dysthymia or some other diagnosable mental illness, or alternatively as sub-syndromal depression. It may also be associated with apathy, boredom, hollowness and lack of any positive source of interest or joy. A significant disappointment, such as when a trusted professional fails to provide expected helpful assistance may trigger a discouraged response. The inability to adequately express one's feelings or to not have them be accepted as valid by others can lead to a feeling of unexplainable sadness or grief. It may also be associated with apathy, boredom, hollowness and lack of any positive source of interest or joy. Some general physiological considerations include geics (i.e. a hypothesised innate disposition to depression), neurochemistry (e.g. high levels of stress hormones such as cortisol, low dopamine activity), sleep patterns, female hormone imbalance (e.g. PMS in women), male hormone imbalance (testosterone) in men, use of medication (e.g. corticosteroids), chronic illness (e.g. diabetes or hypothyroidism), and seasonal factors (e.g. seasonal affective disorder related to hormones and sunlight). For individuals who are in genuine need, however, the fitness cost of major depression is low because the individual is not generating many fitness benefits. In the field of psychiatry, the word depression can also have this meaning of low mood but more specifically refers to a mental illness when it has reached a severity and duration to warrant a diagnosis, whether there is an obvious situational cause or not; see Clinical depression. A significant disappointment, such as when a trusted professional fails to provide expected helpful assistance may trigger a discouraged response. During this period, which can last anything from days to years, the individual must find a new way to interpret his thoughts and feelings and reassess the extent to which his appraisal of his reality is realistic. Clinical depression (also called major depressive disorder) is a state of intense sadness, melancholia or despair that has advanced to the point of being disruptive to an individual's social functioning and/or activities of daily living. |
