What Is Psychological Depression?

Psychological depression is a period of mental disturbance that is marked by feelings of sadness, loss of interest in normally pleasurable activities, insomnia, and anxiety. Many people who are depressed also experience extreme levels of fatigue, changes in sex drive, difficulty making decisions, irritability, confusion, and trouble concentrating. In many cases, a person who is suffering from this type of mental disturbance may also have feelings of worthlessness and consider suicide. Periods of crying and aches and pains that do not seem connected to a diagnosed medical problem may also develop as signs of depression.

When a person is diagnosed with depression, this means he has a condition that chiefly affects his mind, but it can also cause physical symptoms. The condition often affects a person's mind by causing him to question whether his life is worth anything, and he might feel overwhelmingly sad. As a result, he may cry a good deal or generally feel despondent and lack the will or desire to participate in activities he normally enjoys. Some people with severe psychological depression also lose their appetites or over-consume food, feel tired all of the time, or become easily frustrated and irritable. In fact, the mental effects of depression can be so great that some people lose interest in getting dressed and leaving their homes, and some even consider committing suicide.

Though many people think of psychological depression only as a mental problem, many affected individuals also experience physical symptoms when they have this condition. Fatigue is a common problem when a person is suffering from depression, but the tiredness isn't always caused by a lack of sleep — in some cases, an affected person may struggle with insomnia, but many sleep more than usual instead. Additionally, a depressed individual could suffer from aches, pains, and unexplained illnesses that are associated with psychological depression.

It is easy to confuse psychological depression with feeling sad or blue, but these mental states are dramatically different. When someone feels blue, he feels sad temporarily and starts to feel better when a troubling situation changes or when a bit of time has passed. With psychological depression, however, the problem is chronic, and a person is usually unable to pull himself out of the depression. In most cases, a person with this condition needs treatment that lasts for an extended time. Treatment plans vary, but can include antidepressant medication and mental health counseling.