[slurgfest]

The phrase "clinical depression" distinguishes depression (in the clinical, officially-diagnosed sense) from depression (in the informal, no-more-cookies-angst sense).

If you want to know more about the technical meaning of "depression," consult DSM.

[DanBC]

But "clinical" has no meaning. It is not mentioned in DSM or in ICD.

[vacri]

There are hundreds of types of cancer - does the DSM have a general entry called 'cancer'?

'Clinical depression' is a way of specifying something more problematic than simple sadness. When your sports team loses, you get depressed.

[DanBC]

No, depression is enough to distinguish from simple sadness, or grief, or other forms of sadness which are not pathological. Depression is already defined as an illness, and not simple sadness. Prefixing nonsense words does nothing to increase understanding of the illness of depression or of the normal forms of sadness that people experience.

Medical professionals do not ever call something clinical depression. They'll use words like reactive or endogenous etc.

The solution to people mis-using the term depression to apply it to things which are not depression is to stop people mis-using that term, not to invent other terms.

> When your sports team loses, you get depressed.

No, you are sad, fed-up, gutted, sick as a parrot, annoyed, frustrated, mournful, etc. You are not depressed, because depression is an illness.

The other problem with "clinical" is that it is widely used by cranks - see for example "clinical nutritionist".

[vacri]

'Depressed mood' is regularly used in both psychology and medicine. "The patient arrived in a depressed state" does not mean that they have one of the ongoing illesses of Depression.

Medical professionals do not ever call something clinical depression.

I used to work in a neurology lab, and I heard consultant neurologists use the term. I do not agree with 'do not ever'. Unless you're counting medical specialists that take 13 years to train as somehow not being 'professionals'.

Just googling 'clinical depression' comes up with a few links of professionals (like the Mayo Clinic) using the term. The important thing to not is that just because a term might not be in the DSM does not mean that the term is not used or meaningless. Yes, I'll agree, it's not used to refer to one specific disorder, but that doesn't make it meaningless.

You are not depressed, because depression is an illness.

Depression is an illness. It is also a transient state. You're doing the same thing as those people who say "but 'kid' actually means 'baby goat'".

The other problem with "clinical" is that it is widely used by cranks

Fallacy of association: Cars are widely used by criminals, therefore we should not use cars. Would you really correct a co-worker who said 'bob is depressed because his team lost last night' with 'no he's not, because depression is an illness'?

[mitsche]

Let it go man. The distinction makes sense for a lot of people and you're just being a stickler and a contrarian at this point.