Are there different levels of depression?

[Neil_1]

Hi all, and to all, I say "hi"

In another post our dear friend Geoff in part of one of his sentences wrote about "levels of depression".  And it was excellent, because it got me thinking.

How do we explain the different levels of depression and indeed, ARE there different levels of depression?  If there are, then the rest of my below vent isn't needed, and the only thing it will have done will be to continue to exercise my fingers as they tap away at the glorious keyboard in front of me.  So vent commencing now:

I'm diagnosed with chronic depression.  But what if someone else is diagnosed with depression with no word of 'chronic' in front of it.  Are they better off than me?  Am I chronically more worse off than them?  I would answer "no" to both questions. 

And you know for the first time, I've never even questioned that.  "Look if someone has depression, they have depression Doc". 

Or am I being blase/silly here, and there are levels of depression;  hence:  "we have someone who comes in and has these kinds of issues, so we'll label this person with "garden variety depression" and then we have someone coming in who is presenting all these kinds of things, and so instead of being just in the garden, this person is at the top of the tree, with chronic depression".

You know, now that I've actually written this out I think I have got the answer and perhaps it IS "yes".  When I've had my mental health plan done with my GP (3 of them now), there is a series of questions you have to answer and I think this is something called the K10 test;   10 questions and if you answer them and get the score of 10, you are fine and healthy, not a problem with you (although you may have an ingrown toe-nail, but that's for another website to be concerned with) and off you go on your merry way.

50 is the absolute worst and you can't get a higher score than that and I believe that would mean immediate hospitalisation.

The first time I did the test, I scored 32.  Not good, but definitely not terrible.  I was still depressed, but not acute.

A year ago I did the test and I was 42.  Much worse and nowhere near good and closing in on the not good side. 

In December I did the test and I scored 45.  Very bad and things remain to be so.  My point here is, perhaps something over 40 would be labelled as being chronic depression and anything between, oh I don't know, 25 to 40 would be depressive symptoms.

Gee, I can waffle ... but it does help you know ... if you just cannot talk to others due to this illness, it does help to be able to write things down.  And for years I've done this with creating a journal about my thoughts ... but now I've found Beyond Blue and these wonderful forum sites, I can just type away to my heart is, as they say in the classics, content.  I'm sure that most people will see that it's another post from me and will bypass it, simply cause otherwise, that'll be 15-20 mins of their life they won't get back having had to trawl through the tripe that I tend to post.  But that's ok ... cause I've read it ... just the once and it is kinda therapeutic.

Are there different levels of depression?   Ok, now I believe there are.  But only after comprehensive scientific research had been conducted, as you'll have noticed from above.  😉

Over and out,

Neil

[Guest_3712]

Hi Neil,

I don't know if you read my reply to you following my psych appointment. It didn't go great  but your reply made me laugh- not an easy feat.

Yes I was also labelled as chronically depressed, and I have chronic pain, so double whammy. I don't know I think there is definitely levels of depression just like there is levels of pain. ( always having to give a pain score out of ten)

But you know what I also get sick of labels as we are all different and don't always fit neatly into a category. Don't really know what I'm trying to say but found your ideas interesting as always.

In a  post to jo I mentioned I also journal and I find it and this therapeutic. I don't always reply to you Neil as I don't usually have much to say but I do read you when I can and find your posts, insightful, encouraging and your humour uncannily like me.

Cheers

Stressless

[Lillybell]

Hi Neil, before I answer your question just wanted to say that you should take up writing because you have a way of stringing sentences together that is very unique. I think there may be a hidden writer in there. Anyway getting back to the question, I'm still coming to terms with all the labels and just when depression becomes an illness and not just a reaction to normal events in life.

Generally all depression has a root cause as all of us that read the posts on here would know. But.. the professionals tell us we have a chemical imbalance and now have an illness. So just what is the optimal level of chemicals to have in the brain? Or what is a normal human response to life events that doesn't come under the umbrella of a chemical imbalance. And do emotional responses of the upsetting kind alter the brains chemicals anyway? Or is the optimal level that we don't react? We're all attaining Buddhist Karma? i.e total acceptance. Or in Aussie speak, 'she'll be right mate' ? Hope you're keeping up Neil, because I'm confusing myself.

 I guess what I'm trying to say is,  if life dishes us out tragedy upon tragedy, we're going to be affected by that. And that is normal. We all have a breaking point.  I guess I'm a bit concerned that  life, with all of its normal ups and downs is being medicalised as an illness. There needs to be a clearer line drawn I think to determine just when we become ill. And that's the difficulty. We're all different. Questionnaries aren't necessarily accurate. I know I'm not normal but then what is normal? And do I want to be it! Somewhere in this response is the answer to your question, I think!  

As an aside, I recently studied a philosophy unit and we were given a scenario to ponder. Can't remember the exact details now. But... the general thrust of it was, that if we had the opportunity to be hooked up to a happiness machine where all we ever experienced was happy feelings, would we want  to be hooked up. All respondents said no because they felt there would be something missing. It goes back to a very deep but simple adage. 'You can't have the rose without the thorn' In other words happiness would have no meaning without sadness. I shall now get off my soapbox!

[geoff]

dear Neil, well our got some great supporters and this includes myself.

I'm about to take Moo-Moo down to the park, it's almost 3am, yeh stupid hours, but just before I go and I will add to this later on is, why does one person only need 10mg of antidepressant compared to someone else who needs to 100mg, taking into account the strength of the AD. Back soon. Geoff.