Difference Between Depression and Manic Depression

Depression vs Manic Depression

Manic depression and depression are often confused with each other because they have a long list of very common symptoms. Nevertheless, the two are completely different clinical conditions whose identification, treatment and prognosis must all have a clear distinction.
According to a recent statistical find covering the U.S. populace, there are about 14.8 million adult individuals suffering from major depression while only 5.7 million have manic depression. This is the data collated by the American National Institute of Mental Health that shows more depression sufferers compared to manic depression patients.
Manic depression is featured by an unstable mood. Thus, mood swings and abrupt changes in mood are to be expected in someone having manic depression. This is the reason why this condition is popularly known nowadays as bipolar disorder. It is termed bipolar because there seems to be two states of moods present in one single person. At one end, the person may feel overly depressed (major depression) or slightly depressed (hypo depression). On the other end, the individual may experience a period of extreme euphoria (hyper mania) as characterized by extreme surges of physical energy or simply mild excitation (hypo mania). Mania is one of the reasons why manic depressive patients easily become fatigued.
The presence of a manic state is the one that separates manic depression (bipolar disorder) from clinical depression because those who are under depression aren’t expected to show a state of mania. Thus, people who are manic depressive can have one or two forms of depression whereas those who are experiencing clinical depression don’t necessarily experience manic depression.
On the other hand, clinical depression, major depression or depression per se is characterized by constant feelings of extreme sadness that can already hinder a person’s day to day functioning. In order for it to be diagnosed as the clinical type of depression, depressive symptoms must last for several days. The person suffering from depression generally shows one type of mood (sadness) that’s why it is also regarded as a unipolar disorder.
With regard to treatment, manic depression is managed by using anti-seizure drugs. Popular examples are Depakote and Lamictal. These are mood regulators that prevent frequent mood swings. Conversely, depression is managed by antidepressant medications that cover a broad range of sub classes like SSRIs (selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors), MAOIs (monoamine oxidase inhibitors) and TCAs (tricyclic antidepressants).

1. Manic depression is a bipolar disorder while depression is unipolar.
2. Manic depression has a state of mania unlike clinical depression.
3. Manic depression is treated with anti-seizure drugs while depression is managed by antidepressant medications.
4. More persons suffer from depression compared to manic depression.