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Glite Dictionary
unipolar depression

unipolar depression

5.8
A long illness of deep sadness and low energy without periods of very high mood
  • noun
  • /ˈjunɪˌpoʊlər dɪˈprɛʃən/
  • Specialized
translation icon : depresión unipolar
  • The most frequent confirmed or suspected mental disorder was unipolar depression (16 clients).

Examples

  • Many people suffer from unipolar depression, which can severely affect their daily lives.

  • Therapy can be highly effective for individuals struggling with unipolar depression.

  • In the year 2020, unipolar depression will be the second cause of the ten leading causes of DALYs, and among females, it will be the first cause of disability in both developed and developing countries.

    Academic text (2003)

  • Writers had a higher risk of anxiety and bipolar disorders, schizophrenia, unipolar depression, and substance abuse, the Swedish researchers at the Karolinska Institute found.

    Blog text (13)

  • Doctors often prescribe medication to help treat unipolar depression in their patients.

Synonyms

unipolarity
vsunipolar depression
  • Specialized
9.9

Only having periods of depression and not times of high energy

is the specific diagnostic disorder label used for that condition

Antonyms

bipolar disorder
  • Specialized
24 3.9

A condition that causes very high and very low mood periods

Surface Forms

unipolar depression singular
unipolar depressions plural

Morphology

unipolar + depression

The meaning is directly compositional: 'unipolar' (single pole/one phase) combined with 'depression' (a depressive disorder) yields a depression that involves only depressive episodes rather than alternating mood poles. Although it is a clinical term, the sense is predictable from the constituents and mirrors similar constructions in many languages, so a learner who knows both words can infer the overall meaning.

Etymology

The term unipolar depression comes from the image of one mood 'pole'. Imagine a seesaw stuck on the low side and never going up: uni- means one and polar means 'pole', so the phrase refers to 'depressive episodes' without the 'highs' of bipolar disorder.