7 Most Common Types Of Depression

There are 7 most common types of depression according to psychiatry, and based on the reference from the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders DSM V. This classification, of course, should be understood as flexible and updatable. In many cases, researchers only collect a set of outstanding features, but they can not cover them all.

One of the main difficulties of psychiatry has to do with  diagnoses. These have a high degree of subjectivity , because they depend on the interpretation that the psychiatrist makes of the symptoms of a person. This obstacle is increased if one takes into account that there are several types of depression according to psychiatry.

​Having said the above, in this field a diagnosis must always be taken as provisional, which may be subject to subsequent adjustments . It is with the observation and monitoring of each case that a definitive diagnosis can be established. It is convenient, in any way, to know what are the types of depression according to psychiatry.

1. Major depressive disorder
It is the typical form of depression. Depression as a disorder in strict sense. It is also the form of this disease that concentrates the greatest number of symptoms. Its main characteristic is that the person shows extreme apathy towards the world and life.
In the most severe cases, this type of depression leads to what is called "depressive stupor . " In that case, inactivity almost completely seizes the person to the point where he can stop eating. In some cases major depressive disorder is accompanied by delusions.

2. Dysthymia, one of the types of depression according to psychiatry
Dysthymia is also known as a persistent depressive disorder. It is similar to major depressive disorder, but the symptoms are less severe . However, apathy, despair and the feeling of melancholy persist.

All these symptoms are chronic: they are maintained for long periods of time  without improvement. Sometimes they stabilize, but it is also possible that they become more acute and lead to a deeper depression.

3. Anxious-depressive disorder
This is another type of depression according to psychiatry that is present in a significant number of patients. Its main characteristic is that it mixes episodes of depression with episodes of anxiety .
In general, the symptoms are moderate . Neither depression leads to states of extreme passivity and resignation or anxiety produces severe crises. However, it remains in time and sometimes the person thinks that this is simply their "way of being".

4. Atypical depression
It is also called depression with atypical features. The main difference with major depression is that in atypical depression the state of mind can improve in the occurrence of events that the person values ​​as positive .

​Likewise, in this type of depression it is usual to have more appetite and more hours of sleep than usual . Those who suffer from it often say that they experience heaviness in their arms and legs and that they feel rejected by others.

5. Seasonal affective disorder
As the name implies, the main characteristic of seasonal affective disorder is that it is activated and deactivated with the passing of the seasons . Typically, it begins in the late fall or early winter and disappears during the spring and summer months.

7. Cyclothymia
The most characteristic of cyclothymia is the instability in the state of mind . It is similar to bipolar disorder and anxiety-depressive disorder, with two fundamental differences. The first, that the symptoms are milder. The second, that there are also stages of "normality".

​​Changes in cyclothymia often go unnoticed . The person becomes a little sadder or a little more manic, without this becoming very marked. All this can happen in a very short time, a week or less.
As can be seen, the types of depression according to psychiatry have common characteristics, but also differences . Hence the difficulty that often involves an evaluation and a diagnosis.