Here s a guide to the many different types of depression. Most people s moods swing up and down over time with an occasional big peak or dip for a major happy or sad event. A person with recurrent major depressive episodes has much more than the occasional down periods most people experience along with ups over a lifetime. These big dips tend to get lower each time they recur. Melancholia Major depressions can come with melancholic or atypical features.
Melancholia is described in the literature of ancient Greece.
A depression that feels distinctly different from grief, not just longer or more severe. Depression that s worse in the morning. Slowness and sluggishness or fidgetiness and feeling speeded up. Significant weight loss or loss of appetite. Excessive or inappropriate guilt.