Faced with a hectic daily life and the ups and downs of life, no one is immune to depression. But there is a big difference between a little temporary depression and chronic depression. How do you distinguish between depression and the blues and how do you recognise chronic depression? Here are some answers.
What is chronic depression?
Chronic depression is a psychiatric disorder, which can affect all age groups. It is characterised by the fact that the symptoms of depression (mood swings, melancholy, lack of motivation, etc.) are felt to be normal. The individual accepts the situation and lives with it, even though it is detrimental to him or her. The causes of this condition are not yet well known, but many studies have pointed to multiple factors such as a traumatic event, lifestyle, biology or heredity. However, bad lifestyle habits such as smoking, alcoholism or other forms of addiction favour the onset of the disease.
Signs of depression
Depression, which is a temporary state of sadness, is most often confused with depression. In addition to the feeling of sadness, and unlike the latter, being depressed has its own characteristics. It is a simple case of the blues, manifested by a state of melancholy, a drop in motivation, fatigue and sometimes even dark thoughts. However, as long as it is not very frequent and does not last too long, as is the case with chronic depression, there is nothing to fear, as it is a normal state. It is related to temporary discouragement, despair and temporary sadness, which are normal feelings. Depression can be triggered by various situations such as monotony, stress or weariness, such as the baby blues that some women experience after giving birth.
The symptoms of chronic depression
The symptoms of chronic depression are numerous, but the illness is most often associated with a dysfunction of the brain leading to a deep sadness that lasts for more than two weeks and changes the life habits of the person concerned. It extends over time and has other long-lasting symptoms such as demotivation and anhedonia, which is the lack of willingness to perform certain everyday tasks that used to be a passion. It can also be fatigue that intensifies over time despite rest and sleep. In addition, there is insomnia, loss of appetite, which leads to various problems such as weight loss, irritability and even aggression, and lack of concentration, which has an impact on active life, i.e. work. In the most severe cases, chronic depression can lead to suicide.
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