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Depression, or a depressed mood, may in everyday English refer to a state of melancholia, unhappiness or sadness, or to a relatively minor downturn in mood that may last only a few hours or days. This is generally seen as quite distinct from the diagnosis of clinical depression. However, if the depressed mood lasts at least two weeks, and is accompanied by other symptoms that interfere with daily living, it may be seen as a symptom of clinical depression, dysthymia or some other diagnosable mental illness, or alternatively as sub-syndromal depression.

In the field of psychiatry, the word depression can also have this meaning of low mood but more specifically refers to a mental health condition when it has reached a severity and duration to warrant a diagnosis, whether there is an obvious situational cause or not; see Clinical depression for this meaning. A typical psychiatric description of depressed mood (in the DSM) is "... depressed, sad, hopeless, discouraged, or 'down in the dumps'." In a clinical setting, a depressed mood can be something a patient reports (a symptom), or something a clinician observes (a sign), or both.

A depressed mood is generally situational and reactive, and associated with grief, loss, or a major social transition. A change of residence, marriage, divorce, the break-up of a significant relationship, the death of a loved one, graduation, or job loss are all examples of instances that might trigger a depressed mood.

Environment

Reactions to events, often a loss, are the most obvious causes of depression . This loss may be obvious, such as the death of a loved one, or having moved from one home to another, or less obvious, such as disillusionment about one's career prospects. A significant disappointment, such as when a trusted professional fails to provide expected helpful assistance may trigger a discouraged response. Monotonous environments or boring personal or vocational routines can be depressing. A lack of control over one's environment can lead to feelings of helplessness. For example, a new mother can easily become overwhelmed with a new baby and as a result suffers from postpartum depression. Domestic disputes, financial difficulties, or a sense that the lives of others are more successful or enjoyable are common contributors to a depressed mood. The inability to adequately express one's feelings or to not have them be accepted as valid by others can lead to a feeling of unexplainable sadness or grief.

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Adaptive benefits of depression

While a depressed mood is usually seen as deleterious, it may have adaptive benefits. The loss of a loved spouse, child, friend or relation, a physical illness or loss of lifestyle, tends to lead to feelings of depression. Freud noted the similarities between mourning and depression (then called melancholia) in a now famous paper entitled, "Mourning and Melancholia". The depressed mood is adaptive in that it leads the person towards altering his thought patterns and behavior or way of living or else continues until such a time as he does so. It can be argued that depression and clinical depression is in fact the refusal of a person to heed the call to change from within his own mind[citation needed]. For example, in mourning it is essential that one must eventually let go of the departed and return to the world and other relationships.

Depression appears to have the effect of stopping a person in his or her tracks and forcing him or her to turn inwards and engage in a period of self reflection; it is a deeply introspective state. During this period, which can last anywhere from days to years, the individual must find a new way to interpret his/her thoughts and feelings and reassess the extent to which his/her appraisal of his/her reality is realistic.

Seasonal affective disorder may point to an atavistic link with behaviour in hibernation.

Some psychologists have speculated that the depressed state more accurately reflects reality than normal perceptions due to reduced self-image, a theory known as Depressive realism.