Depressed mood
Morten Birket-Smith, psychiatrist
A prolonged state of depressed mood and sadness is the crux of a depression. Psychiatrists use the expression "depressed mood". That simply means that your basic mood has been lowered. You are therefore sad - but more than that:
- If you are suffering from depression, you are not just sad - but very sad!
- If you are suffering from depression, you are not just sad often - but sad all the time!
- If you are suffering from depression, you are not just sad about something - but sad about nearly everything!
- If you are suffering from depression, you are not just sad about it for a while - but sad about it for a long time!
Loosing the ability to feel happiness
Your sadness goes on and on. Even though you once in a while can see that it is unrealistic to be so sad and pessimistic, everything seems unimportant or threatening. You can have the feeling that something ominous is going to happen, which you are not in control over.
Depression can furthermore cause you to loose your ability to feel happiness so that you
- loose the ability to have fun
- loose the ability to enjoy music, books and art
- loose the ability to enjoy sex
- have a pessimistic attitude and feel that everything is hopeless
- have the feeling that everything is sad and unimportant
Twenty-four-hour variation
But even though you are depressed all the time, you can feel better at certain times of the day than at other times. This is called the twenty-four-hour variation
You often see the twenty-four-hour variation in depression: You wake up early in the morning and feel really awful. This condition has been given the old fashioned name: "morning agony".
During the day things improve a little and towards the evening you are able to socialize a little with others. You can get a little done of what you need to do. You feel a little less depressed.
There are many people who have a twenty-four-hour rhythm, where they are grumpy in the morning but cheer up a little later in the day. When you suffer from depression, this twenty-four-hour rhythm continues but at a lower level, where each morning is unbearable and each evening is just tolerable.