Depression: Notes From Opq

Major depressive disorder is an episode lasting at least two weeks in which mood stays low or interest and pleasure are lost, along with changes to sleep, appetite, energy, concentration and self-worth.

Also called: Depression, Clinical depression, Major depression, Unipolar depression.

ICD-10 F32, F33 · ICD-11 6A70

Personal reflections, not clinical guidance, and not a substitute for any of it. Just what I keep thinking about while building this.

September 2026

Nobody feels schizophrenic

Opq thinks there's a crazy misconception about clinical depression. I'll explain it using another mental health condition as an example.

A lot of people say "I'm feeling depressed today". Nobody says they feel schizophrenic.

Why? Because clinical depression, the disorder, gets confused with feeling low. That kind of low has causes you can clearly map out. Depression keeps lingering, often with no specific cause.

The time I got amitriptyline

Fun fact. A doctor once thought Opq had MDD, and I even got amitriptyline out of it. I stopped the drug after the fifth dose, btw. Let me walk you through that, and why I think he made that decision.

"No single symptom makes the diagnosis." But the major symptom I showed was episodes of extremely low physical and mental energy. Episodes that would cripple me and badly hurt my work rate. I went to the hospital, because it was obviously already affecting me a lot.

I'm no doctor, and I can't diagnose myself. But I think he got it wrong. My demeanour played a big part in the conclusion he came to. I was extremely chill.

Don't copy me on the stopping part. If you think your diagnosis is wrong, tell the doctor who made it. Don't just quit the drug.

Ask yourself

One more thing. If you think you have depression, ask yourself these.

How long have I been feeling this way? What's the main, default feeling I have toward myself? Can I directly pinpoint the reason I feel this way? Guesses, or not being sure, don't count as a direct reason.

But a clear reason doesn't rule depression out. A loss or a bad year can set it off too. If it's lasted more than two weeks, talk to a doctor.