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In the field of psychiatry the word depression can also have this meaning but more specifically refers to a mental illness when it has reached a severity and duration to warrant a diagnosis. The Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders ( DSM) states that a depressed mood is often reported as being: "... depressed, sad, hopeless, discouraged, or 'down in the dumps'."
In a clinical setting, a depressed mood can be something a patient reports (a symptom), or something a clinician observes (a sign), or both.
Depression can be the result of many factors, individually and acting in concert.
Reactions to events, often a loss in some form, are perhaps the most obvious causes. This loss may be obvious, such as the death of a loved one, or less obvious, such as disillusionment about one's career prospects. Monotonous environments can be depressing. The mere fact of painting a workplace can stimulate productivity. A lack of control of one's environment can lead to feeling of helplessness. Domestic disputes and financial difficulties are common causes of a depressed mood.
Sometimes the depressed mood may relate more to internal processes or even be triggered by them. Pessimistic views of life or a lack of self-esteem in themselves can lead to depression. Illnesses and changes in cognition that occur in psychoses and dementias, to name but two, can lead to depression.
These are varied but generally include hereditary, neurotransmitter, hormonal, illness and seasonal factors which are more fully discussed in the clinical depression article.
While a depressed mood is usually seen as deleterious, it may have adaptive benefits. Of interest is the fact that physical illness tend to lead to depressive behaviour and some diseases such as influenzaInfluenza (or as it is commonly known, the flu is a contagious disease caused by an RNA virus of the orthomyxoviridae family. The name comes from the old medical belief in unfavourable astrological influences as the cause of the disease. Recent developmen are often accompanied by a degree of depression that seems out of proportion to the physical illness. A depressed mood is adaptive in illness in that it leads to the person resting and in generally elicits care. Seasonal affective disorderSeasonal affective disorder or SAD is a form of mood disorder or depression directly affected by the seasons. Sufferers of SAD find that their emotional state is quite normal during the summer months, but as the days grow shorter, colder and greyer during may point to an atavisticDuring the interval between the acceptance of Darwinian evolution and the rise of modern understanding of genetics, atavism was used to account for the reappearance in an individual of a trait after several generations of absence. Such an individual was s link with behaviour in hibernationHibernation is a state of regulated hypothermia, lasting several days or weeks that allows animals to conserve energy during the winter. During hibernation animals slow their metabolism to very low levels, with body temperature and breathing rates lowered.
A depressed mood is usually a core feature of some mental disorders such as:
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