Also written: Depression, Major depressive disorder
| Source | Year | Position |
|---|---|---|
| Sierra Club | 2021 | Use with care |
| Global Center for Journalism & Trauma | 2021 | Use with care |
| National Center on Disability and Journalism | 2021 | Use with care |
“Use "disheartening" or "sad" instead of "depressing" …”
Sierra Club's word-choice list gives the colloquial-use rule in one line: reach for "disheartening" or "sad" rather than "depressing" in everyday writing, reserving clinical-mental-health vocabulary for the diagnosed condition.
“To be diagnosed with depression (now officially termed Major Depressive Disorder) specific symptoms must have been present for at least two weeks.”
GCJT cites the U.S. National Institute of Mental Health's definition of depression as a common but serious mood disorder, and treats it as a clinical diagnosis (Major Depressive Disorder) requiring specific symptoms present for at least two weeks. It advises journalists to understand its forms and avoid drawing general links between suicide and depression in a story. The framing reserves the term for the diagnosed condition rather than everyday low mood.
“Refer to someone as having depression only if the information is relevant to the story and you are confident there is a medical diagnosis. … The terms "depressed," "depressing" and "depressive" are acceptable in other contexts when the person being referenced does not have a medically diagnosed condition.”
NCDJ — the chapter's anchor — reserves "depression" for a confirmed medical diagnosis and relevant context, advising quotation marks when a diagnosis is unconfirmed. It explicitly permits the colloquial forms "depressed," "depressing," and "depressive" only when no diagnosed condition is involved ("They found the election results depressing"), and notes the proper clinical name is major depressive disorder.
“Depression” names a clinical diagnosis, and the guidance is to reserve it for that. The three sources share the same two-part rule. First, precision about the condition: NCDJ says to refer to someone “as having depression only if the information is relevant to the story and you are confident there is a medical diagnosis,” and GCJT cites the clinical definition (the U.S. National Institute of Mental Health’s “common but serious mood disorder with severe symptoms”). Second, restraint about the colloquial drift: Sierra Club advises “disheartening” or “sad” instead of “depressing” for things that are merely a letdown.
Because “depression” is a medical condition, applying it to the weather, the economy, or a bad afternoon both trivializes the diagnosis and muddies it. Mention a person’s depression only when it is relevant and verified.