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Different Types Of Depression

If you’re diagnosed with depression, you might also be told that it is ‘less severe’ or ‘more severe’. This describes how your symptoms are affecting you, and what treatment you’re likely to be offered. You may find that the severity of your depression changes over time.

Sometimes you might hear depression being called ‘major depressive disorder’. There are some other types of depression too:

• Persistent depressive disorder (PDD). PDD is continuous depression that lasts for 2 years or more. You may also hear it called dysthymia or chronic depression.
• Seasonal affective disorder (SAD). SAD is depression that occurs at a particular time of year, or during a particular season. See minds page on SAD for more information.
• Antenatal depression. This is depression that occurs while you are pregnant. It is sometimes called prenatal depression.
• Postnatal depression (PND). This is depression that occurs in the first year after having a baby. This can include affecting dads and partners. See minds pages on postnatal depression and perinatal mental health for more information.
• Premenstrual dysphoric disorder (PMDD). This is a hormone-related disorder that affects your body but also how you feel. This can involve experiencing depression. So your doctor may describe this as a mental health problem.

See mind’s page on diagnosis to learn more about how different mental health problems are diagnosed.

Information taken from mind.org.uk