Depression TypesMajor, Mild, Clinical Depression—and What Causes Them

What are the common types of depression

Depression is a mood disorder that affects your ability to function normally in daily life and can come in many different shapes and forms. Defining the cause and severity—whether it’s mild, moderate, or major (clinical) depression—can be complicated, but getting an accurate diagnosis may help you better manage your depression and get the most effective treatment.

Some types of depression may be caused by life events, stressful experiences such as bereavement, trauma, divorce, or financial worries. Other types can be caused by seasonal changes, menstruation, or pregnancy and childbirth.

Your personality type can also play a role in depression, as can genetics, certain medications, and alcohol and drug abuse.

Common types of depression include:

• Mild depression.
• Moderate depression.
• Dysthymia or persistent depressive disorder (PDD).
• Clinical depression or major depressive disorder.
• Treatment-resistant depression.
• Seasonal depression.
• Premenstrual dysphoric disorder (PMDD).
• Postpartum depression.

Why understanding the type of depression is important

Knowing the type of depression you have can help you best manage your symptoms and get the most effective treatment. For example, studies have shown that mild depression can be just as effectively treated by exercise as antidepressants—but without the risk of any unpleasant side effects.

Major or clinical depression, on the other hand, may also require more extensive intervention, whether it’s therapy, medication, or an alternative treatment.

Similarly, understanding the cause of your depression can also help determine the best ways to boost your mood and improve how you feel.

• If you are feeling depressed because of a dead-end job, for example, the best treatment might be to find a more satisfying career rather than simply taking medication.
• If you’re new to an area and feeling lonely and sad, finding new friends will probably give you more of a mood boost than going to therapy.

In these cases of “situational” depression, the depression may be remedied by changing your circumstances.

Additionally, recognizing your personal risk factors and triggers for depression can help you prevent your symptoms from returning.

Mild and moderate depression

These are the most common types of depression. More than simply feeling sad or blue, the symptoms of mild depression can interfere with your daily life, robbing you of joy and motivation.

These symptoms of depression become amplified in moderate depression and can lead to a decline in confidence and self-esteem.

Persistent depressive disorder (dysthymia)

Dysthymia, otherwise known as persistent depressive disorder (PDD), is a type of recurrent mild or “low-grade” depression. More days than not, you feel mildly or moderately depressed, although you may have brief periods of normal mood.

• The symptoms of dysthymia are not as strong as the symptoms of major depression, but they last a long time (at least two years).
• Some people also experience major depressive episodes on top of dysthymia, a condition known as “double depression.”
• If you suffer from dysthymia, you may feel like you’ve always been depressed. Or you may think that your continuous low mood is “just the way you are.”

What is high-functioning depression?

“High-functioning depression” is a term that you may have heard on social media or in the news, but it is not a recognized medical term or clinical diagnosis. Rather, it is used to describe how some people are able to function in their daily activities despite their ongoing depression.

In many cases, it is confused with persistent depressive disorder, where you have a continuous low mood but may still be able to hide it from other people and carry on with daily activities such as going to work or school.

Regardless of labels, the important thing to remember about depression is that the symptoms affect people differently. Even someone who outwardly seems “fine” may be suffering inwardly and in need of help.

Clinical depression (major depressive disorder)

Clinical depression or major depression, otherwise known as major depressive disorder (MDD), is much less common than mild or moderate depression. It is characterized by severe, relentless symptoms.

• Left untreated, major depressive disorder typically lasts for about six months.
• Some people experience just a single depressive episode in their lifetime, but major depression can also be a recurring disorder.

Atypical depression

Atypical depression is a common subtype of clinical depression or major depressive disorder, with a specific symptom pattern. It responds better to some therapies and medications than others, so identifying it can be helpful in ensuring you receive the most effective treatment.

• People with atypical depression experience a temporary mood lift in response to positive events, such as after receiving good news or while out with friends.
• Other symptoms include weight gain, increased appetite, sleeping excessively, a heavy feeling in the arms and legs, and sensitivity to rejection.

Psychotic depression

Sometimes, major or clinical depression can be accompanied by symptoms of psychosis, such as hallucinations, delusions, or stupor.

Major depression with psychotic features can be extremely frightening. During a depressive episode, you may believe things that aren’t based in reality, feel paranoid, angry, and irrational, or see, hear, or feel things that aren’t actually there. These can be especially distressing if they involve thoughts of hurting yourself or others.

With psychotic depression, your psychomotor skills may also be impaired, slowing your movement and thoughts. Or you could even experience a state of stupor, where you’re unable to move, talk, or respond to your surroundings.

Experiencing psychotic features during a depressive episode can increase the likelihood of a bipolar disorder diagnosis (sometimes called manic depression), so it’s important to speak to your doctor right away.

Treatment-resistant depression

Treatments for depression can involve therapy, medication, lifestyle changes, and other options—but they can all take time to work. It may take a while to find the right therapist, for example, settle on an antidepressant that works for you, or for a new exercise routine to start delivering improvements. Or it may take trying a different combination of treatments to help ease your depression.

While there’s no exact definition of treatment-resistant depression, medical professionals often use the label when the first several treatments are unsuccessful. If you feel depression treatment isn’t working for you:

Ensure you have the correct diagnosis. Having the wrong diagnosis can make finding the right treatment even more difficult. If you’re being treated for depression but actually have bipolar disorder, for example, taking antidepressants could make your symptoms even worse.

Make healthy lifestyle changes. Staying socially active, managing stress and anxiety, exercising regularly, and getting enough sleep can have a profound effect on your mood. Even when you’re also in therapy and taking antidepressants, self-help steps can make these treatments more effective.

Try to avoid alcohol and recreational drugs. Substance abuse can simultaneously make depression symptoms worse and make it harder to treat. Even other prescription medications may adversely interact with antidepressants.

Consider alternative treatments. If you have treatment-resistant depression, your doctor may recommend therapies such as transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) or electroconvulsive therapy (ECT).

Other types of depression

Seasonal affective disorder (SAD). For some people, the reduced daylight hours of winter lead to a form of depression known as seasonal affective disorder (SAD). SAD can make you feel like a completely different person to who you are in the summer: hopeless, sad, tense, or stressed, with no interest in friends or activities you normally love. SAD usually begins in fall or winter when the days become shorter and remains until the brighter days of spring.

Premenstrual dysphoric disorder (PMDD). Premenstrual dysphoric disorder (PMDD) is a severe and often disabling form of premenstrual syndrome (PMS) caused by hormonal fluctuations. In addition to physical symptoms such as bloating, cramps, headaches, and body pain, PDD can also cause depression symptoms.

Postpartum depression. Following childbirth, hormonal fluctuations combined with exhaustion and sleep deprivation can leave you feeling fragile, tearful, and emotionally overwhelmed. These symptoms usually go away after a few weeks. However, in some cases, symptoms persist, resulting in severe, lasting depression known as postpartum depression.

In some rare cases, postpartum depression may also include postpartum psychosis, characterized by delusions, hallucinations, and extreme anxiety and confusion.

What type of depression do I have?

Take this depression quiz to find out:

What’s causing your depression?

While some illnesses have a specific medical cause, making treatment straightforward, depression is far more complicated. Despite what you may have seen in TV ads, read in newspaper articles, or maybe even heard from a doctor, depression is not just the result of a chemical imbalance in the brain, having too much or too little of any brain chemical.

Rather, depression is often caused by a combination of factors—biological, psychological, and social—that can vary wildly from one person to another. For example, if you’re going through a divorce, have been diagnosed with a serious medical condition, or recently lost your job, the stress could prompt you to start drinking more, which in turn could cause you to withdraw from family and friends. Those factors combined could then trigger depression.

Other causes of depression include:

Medications, such as barbiturates, corticosteroids, benzodiazepines, opioid painkillers, hormonal birth control, and specific blood pressure medicine can trigger symptoms in some people—as can hypothyroidism (an underactive thyroid gland).

Biological factors, including inflammation, hormonal changes, immune system suppression, abnormal activity in certain parts of the brain, nutritional deficiencies, and shrinking brain cells.

Recent stressful life experiences. Major life changes, such as bereavement, divorce, unemployment, trauma, or financial problems can often bring overwhelming levels of stress and trigger depression.

Marital or relationship problems. While a network of strong and supportive relationships can be crucial to good mental health, troubled, unhappy, or abusive relationships can have the opposite effect and contribute to depression.

Anxiety. Depression and anxiety disorders often go hand-in-hand. Since more than 40 percent of people with major depression also suffer from anxiety, it’s important to seek treatment for both conditions.

Chronic illness or pain. Unmanaged pain or being diagnosed with a serious illness, such as cancer, heart disease, or diabetes, can trigger feelings of hopelessness and helplessness.

Alcohol or drug abuse. Substance abuse can often co-occur with depression. Many people use alcohol or drugs as a means of self-medicating their moods or cope with stress or difficult emotions.

Not sure of the cause of your depression?

Whether you’re able to isolate the causes or not, the most important thing is to recognize that you have a problem, reach out for support, and pursue the coping strategies that can help you to feel better.

Risk factors for depression

The following risk factors can make you more vulnerable to developing depression:

Loneliness and isolation. There’s a strong relationship between loneliness and depression. Not only can lack of social support heighten your risk, but having depression can cause you to withdraw from others, exacerbating feelings of isolation. Having close friends or family to talk to can help you maintain perspective on your issues and avoid having to deal with problems alone.

Family history of depression. Since it can run in families, it’s likely some people have a genetic susceptibility to depression. However, there is no “depression” gene. And just because a close relative experiences depression, it doesn’t mean you will, too. Lifestyle, relationships, and coping skills matter just as much as genetics.

Personality. Whether your personality traits are inherited from your parents or the result of life experiences, they can impact your risk of depression. For example, you may be at a greater risk if you tend to worry excessively, have a negative outlook on life, are highly self-critical, or suffer from low self-esteem.

Early childhood trauma or abuse. Early life stresses such as childhood trauma, abuse, or bullying can make you more susceptible to a number of future health conditions, including depression.

History of mental health problems. If you’ve previously struggled with anxiety, an eating disorder, or post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), for example, your risk of depression increases.

Substance abuse. If you are already at risk of depression, abusing alcohol or drugs may push you over the edge. There is also evidence that those who abuse opioid painkillers are at greater risk for depression.

Age and gender. In your senior years, your risk of developing depression increases, perhaps because of risk factors such as social isolation or chronic illness. Similarly, women are about twice as likely as men to develop depression. While the reasons are unclear, it may be because of hormonal changes.

Next step: Get help for your depression

When you experience depression, it can feel like there’s no light at the end of the tunnel. But whatever type of depression you’re experiencing, there are treatment options available. Read: Depression Treatment.

Last updated or reviewed on June 3, 2024