ELI5: depression

high confidence

March 27, 2026

// explanation

// eli5Depression is like when your happiness battery gets stuck on empty and won't charge up, even when fun things happen. It's not just being sad for a day—it's feeling really sad, tired, and not wanting to play or do things you normally love for a long time. It makes it hard to do regular stuff like eating, sleeping, or going to school [1][2][4].

// sources

[1]Depression (major depressive disorder) - Symptoms and causes

Depression is a mood disorder that causes a persistent feeling of sadness and loss of interest and can interfere with your daily functioning.

[2]Depressive disorder (depression) - World Health Organization (WHO)

Aug 29, 2025 ... Depressive disorder (also known as depression) is a common mental disorder. It involves a depressed mood or loss of pleasure or interest in activities for long ...

[3]Depression (mood) - Wikipedia

Depression is a mental state of low mood and aversion to activity. [3] It affects about 3.5% of the global population, or about 280 million people worldwide.

[4]What Is Depression? - Psychiatry.org

Depression (major depressive disorder) is a common and serious mental disorder that negatively affects how you feel, think, act, and perceive the world.

[5]Overview - Depression in adults - NHS

Depression is more than simply feeling unhappy or fed up for a few days. Most people go through periods of feeling down, but when you're depressed you feel ...

[6]Psychologist explains depression symptomsvideo

Video by Dr. Scott Eilers

[7]What is depression? - Helen M. Farrellvideo

Video by TED-Ed

[8]Why Depressed People Are Very Logicalvideo

Video by HealthyGamerGG

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