Other types of depression
Some forms of depression have special symptoms or are only seen in special situations and groups. These forms don't always lead you to think of depression, and they are often reminiscent of other diseases. In the worst case, it could mean that the depression doesn't get treated. In these cases it is therefore important for psychiatrists to be able to make the diagnosis and begin the appropriate treatment.
Listed below are a number of these special forms of depression.
Melancholy
Melancholy is a depression in which the physical symptoms are particularly prominent.
With melancholy you suffer from a pronounced sleep disturbance and typically wake up early in the morning. Your energy and feelings are clearly affected and you are feeling awful. Your sexual drive is reduced as well as your appetite. This often results in a significant weight loss
Atypical depression
In some cases the symptoms of a depression can be different from the usual symptoms. We call it an atypical depression if, for example
- instead of losing your appetite you become a compulsive eater and start gaining weight
- instead of having difficulties sleeping you sleep a lot more than you normally do
- you have a reversed daily rhythm, where you mood is best early in the day and then deteriorates towards the evening
- you become more irritable and perhaps even aggressive instead of sad and stagnant (applies particularly to men)
Agitated depression
With an agitated depression you are depressed but not passive or without energy, which you commonly are when depressed. The following are some of the symptoms:
- You are anxious, restless and cannot keep yourself calm.
- You complain about your intolerable condition but you find it hard to articulate your problems.
- You find it hard to articulate what it is you need.
- In severe cases, you walk restlessly about. You are wringing your hands, sighing and repeating the same complaints again and again.
Masked depression
A depression doesn't always manifest itself by a depressed mood. The depression can be hidden or masked behind other symptoms such as
- tiredness
- headache
- muscle pain
- stomach pain and indigestion
You can even suffer from depression when you don't feel depressed. This is called "depressio mentis sine depressione". This means "depression without feeling depressed". In this case, it is the tiredness and the lack of energy that are affecting you the most.
Double depression
If you are suffering from a protracted mild to moderate depression, your condition might worsen during the course of the disease. A worsening of the depression can feel as though you are getting a new depression on top of the one you are already suffering from. We call these cases double depression.
Male depression
Many believe that there is a specific male depression, which in particular hits middle aged men. Here the symptoms can particularly be a feeling of emptiness and being burned out, stress, irritability, frustration, aggression (possibly even violent behaviour), restlessness and alcohol abuse.
Dysthymia
This condition is not an actual depression but a general prolonged (often life long) condition of being sad. With dysthymia your "basic mood" is at a lower level compared with most other people's mood and everything can seem hard and often joyless.