Situational Depression VS Clinical Depression

What's the difference in the two?I want to believe that my depression is situational,even though it has lasted at least 2 years now.I keep thinking once my situation changes I will feel better.

But what if my situation doesn't change?Or am I jus fooling myself by calling it "situational"?

Confused - there is no post?

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Originally Posted by Betty_Banana What's the difference in the two?I want to believe that my depression is situational,even though it has lasted at least 2 years now.I keep thinking once my situation changes I will feel better. But what if my situation doesn't change?Or am I jus fooling myself by calling it "situational"?

I think situational is more like an initial cause in some cases- you have a death in the family but once it persists beyond some set amount of time it could be clinical. I believe also that they overlap/

There is a great deal of difference between Situational Depression and Clinical Depression, where one is most usually the result of negative and often traumatic life events, the other results from chemical/hormonal imbalance and/or faulty electrical impulses needing to be corrected with medication. Even doctors often fail to differentiate in their diagnosis'.....'I believe you are Depressed'..or...'You are suffering from Depression'...both very different animals.

Out of Interest, I have included a link below that strives to differentiate the two.
https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=...7-mL5uPKjYz4YP

For me, the difference is whether it seems temporary or more longer lasting.

I have clinical depression and need medication to feel better. When the meds aren't working, I feel terrible no matter what my situation is. It has made therapy difficult for me. I feel like therapists understand and know how to treat situational depression better. That has been my experience anyway.

Have you tried therapy or medication? Has one or the other made a difference for you?

Whatever the case, I'm sorry you feel so bad.

I'm so sorry you're hurting so much, Betty_Banana! I agree with what all the other wise, wonderful posters have already wisely said better than I ever could! I completely agree with what all the others have already wisely said better than I ever could about Situational Depression being mostly related to previous events in your life that have caused your Depression and about Clinical Depression being mostly a result of chemical or hormonal imbalance and/or genetics! I ALSO completely agree with what sarahsweets and all the others have already wisely said better than I ever could about the two kinds of Depression overlapping! Sometimes we may be more "inclined" to Depression but it DOES take some sort of event to trigger the Depression! I'd say it can be a mix of those two kinds of Depression as well! Perhaps that IS your case? Just some thoughts I've wanted to share with you! Feel free to COMPLETELY disagree with them if you want to! If you still have any doubts I'd suggest to talk to your Pdoc about ALL of this and see how it goes from there! Hopefully he/she will be able to answer ALL of your question and help you! He/she's there to answer to ALL of your questions and to help you after all! I hope you'll beable to find the answers that you're seeking out and most importantly I CERTAINLY, VERY MUCH HOPE that you WILL feel better soon! I'm sure of that! Just keep fighting, stay strong and keep doing your best, ok? That's all we can do after all and it's ALWAYS more than enough!!!!! Please keep us updated as much as you possibly CAN and please let us know how things are going for you, ok? You know we DO care about here! REMEMBER THAT YOU'RE LOVED! I PROMISE YOU THAT! PLEASE REMEMBER ALL OF THAT BECAUSE IT IS TRUE!!!!! Sending many hugs to you, Betty_Banana!

Don’t worry so much about which. It is. If situational depression is unresolved, (that is, the patient cant bounce back from or change the situation)or very severe it is more likely to be called clinical depression. The same techniques of self care help for both and are absolutely necessary . Meds are not the magic bullet and will not help enough if you dont take care of yourself, try to resolve the situation or its impact on you. Of course the more moderate techniques are usually tried before medication, depending on the severity of the symptoms.
There is definitely overlap and having dealt with this for over 40 years and having it run in my family, I extremely object to non professional people saying you can easily differentiate between the two. I am getting very frustrated with people with no credentials thinking that some random article justifies broad generalizations.
The main point here is that you can help yourself by consulting professionals and taking steps listed in the article to take care of yourself.
I have a Masters in Library Science, so I do have a background in evaluating and applying the information in such articles.

Thanks everyone.

I think I definitely need to seek help with this.

Sending you Betty_Banana. The term "depression" alone has so many meanings and layers. I've been depressed all my life...even before I knew how to say it...but I also just recently realized how deeply depressed I've been after going through a ton of medical tests, surgeries, psych diagnoses, stopping work, etc. It's kind of like a layer on top of the forever layer. And I didn't really realize it until I was sitting with my new psych yesterday.

Getting help sounds like a brave and kind action.

Wishing a parting of the clouds for you very soon!


FearLess47

After reading the link that was posted in this thread I really think it's situational depression rather than clinical depression.Mainly because it said I am hoping that once things settle down and this 'situation' remedies itself I will start feeling better.