Acute Depression is Not Cute But it May be the Best Kind of Depression to Have

Acute depression refers to a clinical depression that lasts for longer than two weeks and where the onset is recent.  Usually, an acute depression is a ‘reactive depression’ because often it is reaction to some event or live circumstance or loss.  The loss can be tangible and obvious to anyone, or it can intangible.  In my experience, acute depression is most often brought on by either a traumatic event or a serious loss to the man or woman.  For example, a job promotion could bring on an acute depression if the person sees the promotion as confirmation that she will be trapped in a job she hates.  Friends and family are often mystified by an acute depression when it is due such intangible losses and have little patience for a person going through the stages of bereavement for something invisible like the loss of dream.