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Encyclopedia of Psychology and Religion pp 1–5Cite as

Depression

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What is depression? How is it seen by psychological, psychiatric, and religious authors? How is it related to religion and religious factors?

What Is Depression?

Depression is a term referring to a disabling and prevalent psychiatric illness: major depressive disorder (unipolar depression). But the term also refers to a number of other related states. Unipolar depression must be distinguished from (1) depressed mood, which is a normal emotional response to adversity, especially involving loss, which if transient is not considered a clinical problem; (2) bipolar disorder, a relatively uncommon psychiatric condition involving uncontrollable swings from elated manic phases to low, depressive phases; and (3) dysthymic disorder, a milder disorder involving the symptoms of clinical depression, but as few as two such symptoms (plus depressed mood) qualify the sufferer for the label dysthymic. There are a number of varieties of major depressive disorder and dysthymia, for example, seasonal...

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Psychology, Royal Holloway, University of London, Egham, Surrey, UK

    Kate M. Loewenthal

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  1. Kate M. Loewenthal
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Correspondence to Kate M. Loewenthal .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Rhinebeck, New York, USA

    David A. Leeming

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Loewenthal, K.M. (2017). Depression. In: Leeming, D. (eds) Encyclopedia of Psychology and Religion. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-27771-9_161-7

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-27771-9_161-7

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  • Print ISBN: 978-3-642-27771-9

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Chapter history

  1. Latest

    Depression
    Published:
    24 May 2017

    DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-27771-9_161-7

  2. Depression
    Published:
    28 March 2016

    DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-27771-9_161-6

  3. Original

    Depression
    Published:
    11 January 2016

    DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-27771-9_161-5

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