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Article: Depressive Disorders
- Article from:
- Gale Encyclopedia of Children's Health: Infancy throughAdolescence
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CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 2006 Thomson Gale. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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Depressive disorders
Definition
Depression and depressive disorders (unipolar depression) are mental illnesses characterized by a profound and persistent feeling of sadness or despair and/or a loss of interest in things that once were pleasurable. Disturbance in
sleep
, appetite, and mental processes are common symptoms of depression.
Description
Everyone experiences feelings of unhappiness and sadness occasionally. However, when these depressed feelings start to dominate everyday life and cause physical and mental deterioration, they become what are known as depressive disorders.
There are two main categories of depressive disorders: major depressive disorder and dysthymic ...