Depression is not an easy thing to diagnose properly. There are a multitude of websites out there that think they have the right definition. Sites like WebMD says depression is a sadness and that depression is a “treatable medical condition.” This way of defining depression doesn’t even begin to explain what it really is. They also don’t mention that depression can be divided into three different categories. The 3 types of depression are depressive reactions, depressive disorders, and depressive diseases.
Depressive reactions occur when the mental shutdown happens. Closing yourself off and retreating to a sort of isolation is a depressive reaction.
Depressive disorders happen when there are additional circumstances. On top of the “shutdown,” certain other character traits come into the picture. There is an emotional and psychological block, causing dysfunction and other mental issues.
Depressive diseases are the far extremes of depression. This is when the shutdown gets to a level that can’t be explained in the most basic of psychological terms. The symptoms of the state, make you become very resistant to changing. The end result leads to a deep melancholic depression.
For more about the 3 types of depression visit Psychology Today HERE