Depressed mood

A depressed mood for most of the day and almost every day is the defining feature of depression. Psychiatrists use the expression "depressed mood". That simply means that your baseline mood has been lowered. You are therefore sad - but more than that:

• If you are suffering from depression, you are not just sad - but very sad!
• If you are suffering from depression, you are not just sad often - but sad all the time!
• If you are suffering from depression, you are not just sad about something - but sad about nearly everything!
• If you are suffering from depression, you are not just sad about it for a while - but sad about it for a long time!

Losing the ability to feel happiness

Your sadness seems to goes on and on. Even though you sometimes realise that it is unnatural and unrealistic to be so sad and pessimistic, you are unable to change these feelings. You may also feel that something ominous is going to happen, which you cannot control.

Depression can cause you to lose your ability to feel happiness so that you

• lose the ability to have fun
• lose the ability to enjoy music, books and art
• lose the ability to enjoy sex
• have a pessimistic attitude and feel that everything is hopeless
• have the feeling that everything is purposeless and unimportant

Twenty-four-hour variation

Some people with depression do feel better at certain times of the day than at other times. This is called the twenty-four-hour variation

Classically you wake up early in the morning and feel really down and awful. In the past this was termed "morning agony".

During the day things improve a little and towards the evening you are probably feeling a bit better and may feel able to socialize a little with others.

There are many people who have a twenty-four-hour rhythm, where they are just grumpy in the morning but cheer up a little later in the day. This is not necessarily depression.