What is a Depressive Episode? Signs and Symptoms

Experiencing a Depressive episode can be incredibly challenging. It is enough to cause significant impairment in day-to-day life for many.

Many people will experience a depressive episode at least once during their life. But for some people, these episodes will be frequent.

In this article, we take a look at a depressive episode, and look at the symptoms, causes, and more.

Depressive episode explained

A depressive episode is something that happens when someone is going through a tough time mentally.

The episode will usually last for at least a week, and may go on indefinitely. Generally though, it will last between a week and 2 months.

A depressive episode would typically see an individual exhibit most of, or all of, the following symptoms:

• Low mood
• Lack of energy
• Loss of interest in activities
• Anxiety
• Tiredness
• Hopelessness
• Irritability
• Appetite changes
• Suicidal ideation
• Sleep problems

A depressive episode is a common symptom of various mental health conditions, including:

• Depression
• Anxiety
• Bipolar Disorder
• Eating Disorders
• Personality Disorders
• PTSD & Trauma
• Substance-Related Disorders

What causes a depressive episode?

The causes of depressive episodes isn’t entirely known. However, there are some risk factors involved.

Traumatic experiences are common causes. People react in different ways to trauma. One such reaction is to experience a depressive episode.

Chronic health problems, or grief can also be a cause of depressive episodes. In many cases, these episodes pass over time.

Genetics also appears to play a role, though this is more relevant for overall conditions, rather than one-off episodes.

How is a depressive episode treated?

In terms of treatment, the circumstances involved will dictate how they are treated.

For one-off cases, as these episodes usually pass in time, it normally isn’t required to seek treatment. Instead, while it will be difficult, it isn’t worth seeking treatment for something very short term.

However, if depressive episodes are common, or form part of a mental health condition, it is important to seek treatment.

Many people find that talking therapy is an effective way of treating depressive episodes. There are a wide range of types of talking therapy.

Among the most popular types of therapy for Depression are Cognitive Behavioural Therapy, Psychoanalytical Psychotherapy, and Interpersonal Therapy.

If needed, medication can be prescribed. The type of medicine used are antidepressants. These medicines can help to improve the mood of a person.

The different mood states

As discussed above, depressive episodes involve a person feeling very low. Meanwhile, on the other end of the mood scale is mania and hypomania.

These mood states are associated with elated and over-excited mood, but can lead to problems developing. You can read about the differences between mania and hypomania in our article here.

Depressive episodes are seen in various conditions. Mania and hypomania are usually seen in cases of Bipolar Disorder, conditions on the Schizophrenic Spectrum, and psychosis disorders.

Summary

Depressive episodes are very difficult to live with. While many people go through periods of sadness, depressive episodes are a step on.

But treatment is available. These episodes can be overcome, albeit with patience, hope and effort.

See Also

• Depression: Everything You Need To Know
• FAQ’s About Talking Therapy
• 5 Common Myths About Talking Therapy
• Overview of Sigmund Freud and His Theories