The Different Types of Depression Part 2 of 3

Bipolar depression used to be called manic depression. Bipolar depression is an illness where the person that has it swings between a period of clinical depression and a period of self-induced elation called mania. Sometimes the person affected can stay in the depression phase of the illness for weeks or even months, and sometimes just minutes.

The extreme changes in the person's mood can make the symptoms of depression more severe and often, almost uncontrollable.

There are two types of Bipolar Depression, Type 1 and Type 2. Type 1 is the more serious type. People that suffer from Type 1 Bipolar Depression usually end up being hospitalized in a psychiatric facility at least once during their lives due to the severity of the symptoms that they are suffering from. Someone with Type 1 Bipolar Depression that is in a depressed mood will often talk of suicide and may even attempt it.

Type 2 Bipolar Depression is less serious and can usually be managed if the person suffering from it makes an effort to get treatment and is aware of their changing moods. Even though Type 2 Bipolar Depression is less serious it still can have a dramatic impact on the lives of the people that are close to the person that has it. People that suffer from Bipolar Depression have all the usual symptoms of clinical depression but also may suffer from extreme paranoia and episodes of rage that can be dangerous.

Bipolar Depression usually is recognizable in children as young as 3 or 4. Often, adults that have Bipolar Depression will exhibit signs before they are 24; there are cases of people developing this type of depression after that age.

However older people that have never been diagnosed may still be exhibiting all the symptoms of the disorder but might not be aware that they are suffering from Bipolar Depression.

Bipolar Depression can be hard to treat because when the person is in the mania phase they will feel elated and happy and often will feel that they are not sick and don't need to continue to treat or manage their illness. So making sure that a person that has Bipolar Depression continues to manage their symptoms on a regular basis is critical to keeping that person from falling into rapid cycling.

Rapid cycling is when a person's moods switch extremely quickly, sometimes within minutes, from depression to elation and back to depression. When a person with Bipolar Depression is rapid cycling that person might become out of control and need to be hospitalized.

Seasonal Depression or Seasonal Affective Disorder

Lots of people feel blue in the winter months when there isn't as much sun, but if you have extreme depression during the winter you could have Seasonal Depression, which is also sometimes called Seasonal Affective Disorder. Seasonal Depression affects hundreds of thousands of people every year to varying degrees.

There are actually two types of Seasonal Depression, one type that occurs during the winter months and one type that occurs during the summer months. Fall seasonal depression or winter seasonal depression is far more common. Summer Seasonal Depression occurs only in very rare cases.

Seasonal Depression almost never occurs in places that are sunny and warm year round, which is one of the reasons that scientists and doctors think that Seasonal Depression is caused by a physical imbalance rather than a triggering incident like other types of depression.

Most doctors and medical professionals think that seasonal depression is the result of the brain producing less serotonin. Serotonin is a natural chemical produced by your body that makes you feel calm and happy.

It's been proven that sunlight and regular exposure to daylight makes your brain produce more serotonin. So in the winter months when there is less sunshine, and less daylight, your brain produces less serotonin.

This slow down of serotonin production can cause some people whose serotonin levels are already low to suffer from depression.

Even though most people find themselves feeling a little sad or sleeping more during the winter because of the weather people that have Seasonal Depression will usually experience extreme symptoms that can't be mistaken for normal periods of sadness that occur during the winter months. Some of the most common symptoms of Seasonal Depression are:

Excessive fatigue - Feeling like you just can't drag yourself out of bed in the morning or like you want to collapse into bed at the end of the day could be a symptom of depression.

Weight gain - It's normal to gain a pound or two during the winter months, especially around the holidays, but if you regularly put on a lot of weight in the winter and drop it in the summer the cause might be Seasonal Depression.

Craving starchy foods or carbohydrates - Starchy foods or foods high in carbs stimulate the brain to produce Serotonin. People that have Seasonal Depression will often crave these types of foods because eating them will boost their Serotonin levels.