Clinical depression is described as a mood disorder with feelings of constant sadness, feeling blue or down in the dumps, and feeling worthless for an extended period of time. It is normal for us to feel this way at some point or another during our lifetimes but not for a long period of time.

Who gets clinical depression?
Anyone can have clinical depression men, women, children, teenager, people of all races, genders and social positions. It is estimated that thirty three to thirty five million men and women experience clinical depression at some point in their lifetime, however, women are more likely to have clinical depression.

What causes depression?
There is not one specific cause to clinical depression but there are some contributing factors such as genetics, chemical imbalances, environment, and psychological problems. Traumatic events can bring on different types of depression and anxiety such as a death of a loved one. Some people are unable to move on from a situation like that and therefore start to experience clinical depression.

Obsessive compulsive disorder and phobias
People suffering from obsessive compulsive disorder are also suffering from clinical depression. Obsessive compulsive disorder is when a person has to perform certain “rituals” in fear of something bad happening. The main obsessive compulsive disorders consist of washers, hoarders, checkers, and counters. Washers are obviously people that compulsively wash their hands and or their bodies. They are so afraid of germs that they will wash over and over in fear of dying from the germs. Hoarders save things to feel their emptiness, checkers check locks, clocks, and other items, and counters count everything, steps, actions, or words.

Treating clinical depression
There are a few different ways to treat clinical depression including medication, counseling, facing your fears, relaxation techniques, regular exercising, getting enough sleep and meditation.

Your doctor may recommend one or a combination of these things in order to treat your clinical depression since there are many different types of medication for depression it can be easy for your doctor to find a suitable drug for you. Sometimes counseling is needed in order to talk through your fears and your problems. This can help you face your fears or get to the bottom of your problems in order to help you deal with them more effectively.

Getting regular exercise is a great way to deal with your clinical depression because exercise generates a general feeling of well being. A benefit of regular exercise is of course better overall health and your body will look better. Some people are depressed because of the way their bodies look and obviously exercising will help.

Keep an open mind about taking prescription medication; it can greatly help your clinical depression because depression isn’t always caused by an event but by a chemical imbalance. Prescription medication can help balance the correct chemicals in the brain in order to make you feel happy at appropriate times.