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What is a melancholic and neurotic mood?
What is a melancholic person?
What is melancholic depression?
May 22, 2024 · (muːd ) countable noun [oft adjective NOUN, oft in NOUN] Your mood is the way you are feeling at a particular time. If you are in a good mood, you feel cheerful. If you are in a bad mood, you feel angry and impatient. [...]
- American
MELANCHOLIC MOOD meaning | Definition, pronunciation,...
- Melancholia
→ a former name for depression.... Click for English...
- Melancholiac
MELANCHOLIAC definition: affected with melancholia |...
- Melancholies
5 meanings: → See melancholy 1. a constitutional tendency to...
- Melancholious
Suffering from, or inclined to, melancholy.... Click for...
- American
Nov 3, 2022 · Depression with melancholic features is defined by a complete loss of pleasure and reactivity. We look at how melancholic depression compares to other types. Psych Central
Oct 11, 2021 · Depression. The Darkest Mood: Major Depression With Melancholic Features. Part 4: Identifying and understanding major depression subtypes. Posted October 11, 2021 | Reviewed by Jessica...
- Overview
- What is melancholic depression?
- Melancholy vs. depression
- The history of melancholia
- Melancholic depression symptoms
- Diagnosis
- Treatment
- Suicide prevention
- Summary
Most research sources list melancholia as a form of major depressive disorder, but there is still some controversy over this particular diagnosis.
The scientific community does not agree on whether melancholic depression is a distinct type or subtype of depression or a severe symptom of this condition.
Melancholic depression is a mental health condition, although there is debate around whether it is a distinct form of depression or a symptom of severe depression.
According to the American Psychological Association (APA), melancholia is an old word for depression.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), 30.2% of adults in the United States experience symptoms of depression. It is a mood disorder that causes persistent low moods and can affect a person’s ability to carry out everyday activities such as working, eating, and sleeping. Many different types of depression can develop for various reasons, such as life events, seasonal changes, or a person’s menstrual cycle.
Researchers believe melancholic depression affects 25–30% of people with depression. Additionally, research from 2015 suggests that melancholia may have links to unique brain changes not observable in people with other forms of depression. For example, the above research discusses a reduced connection between the insula — part of the cerebral cortex in the brain — and the frontoparietal cortex.
A 2017 summary of the structure and function of the insula states that it plays a part in sensory processing, empathy, decision making, mood regulation, and mediating the exchange of information to other brain regions.
The frontoparietal cortex coordinates behavior and helps with cognitive control.
Research has also found that when people with melancholic depression watch emotionally charged films, they have reduced connectivity in regions of the brain associated with nonreactive mood. This was in contrast to participants with nonmelancholic depression, who showed increased connectivity.
The above 2012 article writes that healthcare professionals historically treated depression with rest, talk therapy, amphetamines, meprobamate, and benzodiazepines. Doctors commonly use antidepressants to treat the condition. However, they often recommend treating melancholia with somatic therapy, electroconvulsive therapy (ECT), and tricyclic antidepressants.
Melancholia is a historical term for depression. For over 2,000 years, experts considered melancholia a type of movement disorder. This is because it may affect psychomotor skills and cause slowed or agitated movements.
Historically, melancholia describes a group of symptoms, including:
•sadness
•anger
•fear
•obsessions
Presently, mental health care professionals consider melancholic depression a symptom of severe clinical depression. As a result, the symptoms a person may experience align with those relating to clinical depression.
The symptoms of clinical depression include:
•a loss of pleasure or interest in activities a person usually enjoys
•feeling hopeless, worthless, guilty, or sad
•trouble thinking, finding concentrating or making decisions hard
•thoughts of suicide or death
A mental health care professional diagnoses depression by asking detailed questions about someone’s symptoms, medical history, family medical history, and history of substance use and misuse.
A doctor should also perform a complete physical examination, which includes a neurological and mental status exam.
To rule out underlying causes of depression, a doctor may order blood or other tests to assess a person’s levels of:
•vitamin D
•toxins
•thyroid stimulating hormone
People with melancholic symptoms respond better to antidepressant medications and ECT than placebos.
Additionally, individuals may typically respond better to tricyclic antidepressants and monoamine oxidase inhibitors than antidepressant medications such as serotonin-norepinephrine reuptake inhibitors (SNRIs) and selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs).
They also noted that SNRIs were more effective than SSRIs.
Learn about the differences between SSRIs and SNRIs.
Since the DSM-5 views melancholia as a symptom of severe clinical depression, other treatments for depression may also help.
Common treatments for this condition include:
Suicide prevention
If you know someone at immediate risk of self-harm, suicide, or hurting another person: •Ask the tough question: “Are you considering suicide?” •Listen to the person without judgment. •Call 911 or the local emergency number, or text TALK to 741741 to communicate with a trained crisis counselor. •Stay with the person until professional help arrives. •Try to remove any weapons, medications, or other potentially harmful objects. If you or someone you know is having thoughts of suicide, a prevention hotline can help. The National Suicide Prevention Lifeline is available 24 hours per day at 800-273-8255. During a crisis, people who are hard of hearing can use their preferred relay service or dial 711 then 800-273-8255. Click here for more links and local resources. Was this helpful? According to the CDC, suicide is the twelfth leading cause of death in the United States. The National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) recommends a person tries the following if they or someone they know is at risk of suicide: •limiting access to lethal weapons, such as guns, or medications, such as prescription or over-the-counter pills and poisons •learning ways to cope with depression symptoms •building and engaging a strong social support network and people to talk with •receiving supportive follow-up or scheduled calls with suicide prevention networks or organizations •cognitive behavioral therapy, dialectical behavior therapy, or both •treating substance misuse problems •some antipsychotic medications, in particular, clozapine •store the number for the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline (1-800-273-TALK (8255)) into a phone and call when necessary •text the Crisis Text Line (text HELLO to 741741) when feeling overwhelmed by suicidal thoughts Warning signs of suicide include: •talking about wanting to harm or kill themselves •talking about the desire to die or be dead •talking about feeling hopeless, empty, trapped, being a burden to others, or not having a reason to live •becoming withdrawn socially •getting legal or other affairs in order, such as making a will •engaging in behavior that can result in bodily harm or death •saying goodbye to family or friends. •giving away prized or valuable possessions for no clear reason, such as downsizing or moving •misusing substances •experiencing intense mood swings •obtaining lethal weapons or stockpiling medications •showing rage or talking about getting revenge If someone attempts suicide or is in a severe state of emotional or mental distress, a person should call emergency services and wait until first responders arrive. Alternatively, they can try to take them to the nearest hospital.
Mental health authorities and the DSM-5 list melancholic depression as a feature or symptom of major depressive disorder. However, some research advocates for the reclassification of melancholic depression as a distinct type of depression.
If a person is experiencing melancholy as part of depression, they should speak with a doctor or other mental health care professional. There are medications, therapy, and other types of treatment that are effective for depression.
- Jennifer Huizen
Mar 30, 2024 · Melancholic depression is a severe form of major depressive disorder that can be characterized by a total loss of pleasure or the ability to enjoy almost all activities. Find out how to identify melancholia, as well as how to treat this form of depression.
Aug 9, 2023 · Melancholic Depression (also known as Major Depressive Disorder with melancholic features in the DSM-5, and previously as “endogenous depression”) is a subtype of depression characterized by a severe loss of pleasure and prominent physical symptoms. Classic melancholic depression features include insomnia, weight loss, and psychomotor changes.
expressing feelings of sadness: a melancholic expression. melancholic songs. Synonyms. melancholy. sad (NOT HAPPY) SMART Vocabulary: related words and phrases. Feeling sad and unhappy. a long face idiom. abjection. angsty. be cut up idiom. be down in the mouth idiom. be in a funk idiom. displeased. dissatisfied. distraught. distressed. dog. lonely.
