Clinical depression is a serious and common disorder of mood that is pervasive, intense and attacks the mind and body at the same time. Current theories indicate clinical depression may be associated with an imbalance of chemicals in the brain that carry communications between nerve cells that control mood and other bodily systems. Feeling downhearted and sad is often a normal reaction to a life situation. All of us feel this way sometimes, but in a few days, perhaps after talking to a good friend, we start to feel ourselves again. Clinical depression is very different.
Clinical depression is an illness, and it requires specific treatment.
Unlike the blues, clinical depression persists and doesn t go away no matter how hard the individual wants it to. Clinical depression is not a weakness. It is an illness and can last for months or years if left untreated. The most serious and tragic consequence of clinical depression is suicide. Manic-depression, also known as bipolar disorder, is a type of mental illness that involves a disorder of affect or mood.