Depression is a condition that affects the psychological and emotional well being of a person, in a manner that affects thoughts, moods and physical well being as well. if a were person were to tell you they were depressed, your natural reaction, or at least mine would be to tell that person to ‘get over it’ or to ‘snap out of it’. But tell a doctor that a person you know thinks he or she is depressed and the doctor will ask you to tell them to get immediate help. Depression is not something that should be joked about or taken lightly. Depression is a medical disorder born out of biological and chemical imbalance. One of the main reasons for depression is stress; how you deal with stress and handle it will help you get over your depression.

Clinical Depression – What is it?
Clinical depression is a medical condition that needs to be taken seriously. It isn’t some depressed state of mind that is going to go away in a few days; it is something that is persistent and serious. Clinical depression can affect your daily life; it affects your eating habits, sleep, communication and interaction with other people and your behavior patterns. Clinical depression is not something that can be dealt with easily; in most cases it will need medication and therapy. It can last for weeks, months or even years for some people. People with clinical depression have to be handled very delicately as they can also be suicidal.

Clinical Depression – Signs and Symptoms
Here are the symptoms of clinical depression but for these to be diagnosed for, these symptoms should be shown for 2 weeks:

• Lack of interest – people who are clinically depressed with not be interested or show pleasure in any activities, even the ones they used to previously enjoy.
• Mood – the mood of someone who has clinical depression or may have clinical depression will be sad, filled with crying spells, helpless and even hopeless.
• Trouble with sleep – those who are depressed will show signs of troubled sleep. In some cases the person may sleep excessively and in some cases may not sleep at all.
• Trouble concentrating and thinking – those who cannot concentrate or show signs of memory loss and difficulty in making decisions, could be clinically depressed.
• Fluctuating weight – if a person is showing major fluctuation in weight, like severe weight loss or weight gain could be clinically depressed. This has something to do with loss of appetite or the need to eat excessively.
• Agitated – if you notice signs of anxiety, agitation, irritability and restlessness, in all probability that means the person is depressed.
• Lack of self-esteem – those who are depressed will feel worthless and useless, they will also have some amount of misplaced guilt.
• Slow movement – a person showing disinterest and fatigue is one who is depressed. The person will feel tired in the morning and at night, and will move around in a state of disinterest.
• Suicidal tendencies – those who have thought of suicide, or death are definitely showing signs of depression.

No one knows the cause of depression, it could be something that is hereditary or it can be stress related. It can also be a side effect of medication or could be caused because of a prolonged sickness. Whatever the cause, depression whether clinical or not has to be taken seriously