Are depression and depressive disorder the same thing?

  You cannot draw an equal sign. Depression does not necessarily mean depression, but depressed people must have depressed mood. In clinical practice, we often diagnose a “depressive state”, which is not the same as depression. In the former, depression is an unpleasant state of mind that may not last long, whereas in depression, a depressed state of mind refers to a predominantly depressed mood or depressive mood experienced over a longer period of time. Patients usually say: I feel depressed or unhappy for most of the day.