Unseen Faces of Depression: Your Ultimate Guide to the Many Shades of Blue

5. Seasonal Affective Disorder

illustrative of SAD, a type of depression. Photo Credit: Dreamstime

Seasonal affective disorder is a form of depression that occurs when the seasons change. Individuals with seasonal affective disorder experience depression that begins and ends around the same time each year. The majority of seasonal affective disorder patients begin to experience symptoms of depression in the autumn, and these typically continue throughout the winter. When the days begin to get longer, and the temperature gets warmer in the spring, the patients' moods tend to get better. Though this is typical, there have been cases where seasonal affective disorder can cause depression that starts in the spring or summer. Patients with seasonal affective disorder might feel moody and hopeless. They may also feel like they don't have a lot of energy. Some cases of seasonal affective disorder can be treated by using a sun lamp, which mimics bright light to help the brain wake up. Psychotherapy is also a very helpful option. Depending on the case, patients might be helped by antidepressants as well.

6. Depressive Psychosis

a small kid hallucinating. Photo Credit: HuffPostCanada

Depressive psychosis is a subtype of major depression where an individual has a component of psychosis along with their severe depression. Psychosis is a term used to describe when an individual has a break with reality in the form of hearing voices, hallucinations, delusions, and intense feelings of failure, worthlessness, or other similar emotions. Around one of every four individuals admitted into hospitals due to depression are affected by this form of the illness. Depressive psychosis differs from other types of depression because the patient loses touch with reality, where they do not in other forms of depression. The delusions and hallucinations that characterize depressive psychosis are usually in line with the themes of depression. Symptoms of psychotic depression include agitation, constipation, insomnia, physical immobility, anxiety, hypochondria, intellectual impairment, and hallucinations.

BACK
(3 of 11)
NEXT
BACK
(3 of 11)
NEXT

MORE FROM HealthPrep

    MORE FROM HealthPrep

      OpenAI Playground 2025-05-13 at 10.55.45.png

      MORE FROM HealthPrep