PsychQuinn

Feeling low or down can be a normal part of life. After major life-changes, the loss of a job or loved one for example, many people go through a period of experiencing depression symptoms. Often times people can self medicate their symptoms through diet, sleep, exercise etc. However, if you are experiencing many symptoms, your depression lasts for more than 2 weeks, and is debilitating (keeping you from your normal daily activities) you might want see a practitioner who can help you create a treatment plan for your depression. The is no 'normal' amount of time to feel depressed, but if your symptoms are not getting better, it might be time to talk to a practitioner.

This is a type of therapy that combines cognitive therapy and behavioral therapy. Patients who work with a psychologist using cognitive behavioral therapy will focus on letting go of unhelpful/engrained patters of behaviors and thoughts. Myriad methods for doing so will vary depending on the practitioner and the patient. Cognitive Behavioral Therapy has been studied for years and is generally regarded as an effective means of treating depression (working best often when used in conjunction with other therapies as well).

Major Depressive Disorder is a mental health disorder clinically diagnosed by certain health practitioners including psychiatrists and some MDs. Diagnosis comes mostly from assessing whether the patient has had many of the symptoms associated with depression for more than 2 weeks. The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders-IV (DSM-IV) lists 9 symptoms commonly associated with depression, and if a person exhibits 5 of these for at least a 2-week period, they are said to have major depression (or clinical depression). FoundHealth has an article on this: Depression Diagnosis.

Minor depression is technically categorized as having only 2 of the 9 symptoms outlined in the DSM-IV.