The term “Depression” is often used to describe an emotion or, and, in technical terms, a symptom of a syndrome or psychological disorder. The sadness of depression hardly needs description, as most people have experienced it at some point in their lives. It is only the duration that separates the symptom of a disorder from a mood. Great care must be taken as when a feeling of depression is present for most of the day, and continues to be experienced for prolonged amount of time(weeks), it is considered a symptom of a depressive disorder.

While there are many causes of this disorder and not everyone is affected the same, these triggers are the most common ones:

Relationship conflict/breakdown or loss

Conflict represents both a stress and a loss of significant social support. When a spouse dies or leaves, there is an expected period of grief. While mourning and depression are experienced as very similar, they are considered different. That said, there is a risk for mourning to develop into depression. Read the rest of this entry »