What is the definition of being clinically ill this days?

[Shero]

I think its really hard even for psychiatrist to understand, if the person ist clinically depressed or has a mental illness in contrary to just being unhappy for a short period in life, which seems normal. There is always a time were your sad in order to differentiate when you are happy, kind of like ying and yang. When is it a extreme? If not only you but the surroundings suffer from it? I always ask myself this question and i have a hard time to understand. Mental illness startet to get alot of media attention so it can really be overdiagnosed in a child who is still in development, or a person who naturally can sometimes be in a period of a melancholic state. Are we in a time were having negative emotions/thoughts could lead to overmedication? I really would like to hear your opinion.

greetings

 

[Flume]

The general consensus is that if you have suicidal thoughts you are depressed from what I've seen.

 

[SlackJim]

The general consensus is that if you have suicidal thoughts you are depressed from what I've seen.

most of the time but not always, some people CBT impulsively, say if they gamble all their savings away in vegas

I think the main difference is if it has been ongoing for a long amount of time (more than around 3 months), I think the vast majority of depression is situational, even if the situations that led to it are long in the past. I am not entirely convinced that any depression cannot be treated, that recovery is impossible. However, I think there are many cases where recovery is highly unlikely given a person's living environment, relationships etc

 

[ThingWithFeathers]

You are basically asking the difference between situational depression and clinical depression. The former is the less intense form, resolves sooner with time, gets better when the person talks about it, has a definite cause and usually doesn't need medication. This is common with adjustment disorder that can happen with major life change. The latter is somewhat resistant to treatment in the beginning, is pervasive, requires regular counselling and medication and may involve suicidal thoughts. This is a major depressive disorder. There are other types of depression as well. Eg. Post-partum depression and seasonal depression as a symptom of seasonal affective disorder.

The key differentiators are time, causality, reasonability and sensitivity of the person before and during the illness. Expected norms of the society also has an importance in diagnosis.
Time - There is no consensus that after a certain cut-off time the illness becomes clinical depression. Other factors and comorbidities need to be taken into account.
Causality and reasonability - a person may feel depressed if they lose their phone and the pictures it had. So the cause is there, but if the person is continuously sad for several months because of it or is engaging in self-harm activities or having prolonged and frequent crying spells then that is unreasonable.
Sensitivity - A person who is sensitive by nature or because of upbringing may react to situations differently or more intensely. A psychiatrist will have to keep that into account.
Norms of the society - In certain cultures, certain types of events are more drastic and have severe repercussions. For example, in countries where women do not enjoy much freedom... death of a husband can be a life-altering crisis. The woman may not remarry, may be blamed for the husband's untimely death and may be treated with unfriendliness. Contrast this with western culture where remarrying is very common.

So you see that this is a subjective diagnosis and the experience of the professional matters.

 

[Shero]

You are basically asking the difference between situational depression versus clinical depression. The former is the less intense form, resolves sooner with time, gets better when the person talks about it, has a definite cause and usually doesn't need medication. This is common with adjustment disorder that can happen with major life change. The latter is somewhat resistant to treatment in the beginning, is pervasive, requires regular counselling and medication and may involve suicidal thoughts. This is a major depressive disorder. There are other types of depression as well. Eg. Post-partum depression and seasonal depression as a result of seasons affective disorder.

So the key differentiators are time, causality, reasonability and sensitivity of the person before and during the illness. Expected norms of the society also has an importance in diagnosis.
Time - There is no consensus that after a certain cut-off time the illness becomes clinical depression. Other factors and comorbidities need to be taken into account.
Causality and reasonability - a person may feel depressed if they lose their phone and the pictures it had. So the cause is there, but if the person is continuously sad for several months because of it or is engaging in self-harm activities or having prolonged and frequent crying spells then that is unreasonable.
Sensitivity - A person who is sensitive by nature or because of upbringing may react to situations differently or more intensely. A psychiatrist will have to keep that into account.
Norms of the society - In certain cultures, certain types of events are more drastic and have sever repercussions. For example, in countries where women do not enjoy much freedom... death of a husband can be a life-altering crisis. The woman may not remarry, may be blamed for the husband's untimely death and may be treated with unfriendliness. Contrast this with western culture where remarrying is very common.

So you see that this is a subjective diagnosis and the experience of the professional matters.

Thank you for elaborate and thoughtful answer. I live in an echo-chamber and prefer hearing an introspective thought of a person, than a research paper on the internet!

"So you see that this is a subjective diagnosis and the experience of the professional matters."

Thats a personal issue of mine. Being skeptical, its hard to trust a professional, that needs to some extent act on empirical basis to come to a diagnostical conclusion.

EDIT: i messed some of my posting up, needed to edit it a couple of times, sorry about that.

 

[ThingWithFeathers]

You are welcome, @Debro . Most mental illnesses incorporate this echo-chamber. Be it depression, paranoia, anxiety, OCD, anger... the mind doesn't want to listen or entertain a thought or viewpoint or an idea that conflicts with its obstinate thought process. Subconsciously, mind is very egoistic, even if it is detrimental to its own well-being or harmful to the body that nourishes it.

Skepticism may be a component of the hardened illness of the mind. The job of a psychotherapist is to soften this thought process, to help the patient confront its rigidity. Hence, sometimes the patient doesn't like the therapist because they see therapy as challenging and the professional as argumentative.

Almost everything related to mind and behavior, in contrast to brain and action, is subjective. Hence, we have forums like this where people come and discuss these things. For people with other ailments, from a patient's perspective, there is nothing to debate or discuss anything if the person has a heart condition, or a respiratory problem or a urinary tract infection. These illnesses of the body can be quantified from myriad of lab tests. But mind's malady can only be subjected to the doctor's judgment.