Clinical depression is a mental disorder characterized by an array of symptoms that, when severe, can affect nearly every aspect of a person’s life. Most people have experienced extreme sadness, but that feeling usually comes from or is affected by the circumstances around them and is usually short-lived. For example, the death of a loved one could cause someone to enter a short-term depressive period. For many people with clinical depression, the symptoms come on without warning and seemingly without cause. To receive a diagnosis of clinical depression, one must experience at least five symptoms for two weeks or longer. According to the National Institute of Mental Health, the most common symptoms include:
