Where does depression collide?

A region of relatively low atmospheric pressure, often drawn on a weather chart as a set of closed isobars around a central low, and commonly associated with rising air, cloud, wind, and unsettled or wet weather. The American Meteorological Society's Glossary of Meteorology defines a depression as an area of low pressure, a low or a trough, and treats it as broadly synonymous with a cyclone in the general meaning. The referent is a state of the atmosphere over a region, described by its central pressure and its pattern of isobars, not a hollow in the ground, a slump in an economy, or a disorder of mood.[1]

Unit

A closed region of low atmospheric pressure, in hectopascals

Recovery means

The depression fills and the central pressure rises as the system weakens and dissipates

Measured by

Mapped from barometric readings as closed isobars around a central low on a synoptic chart

A severe and prolonged downturn in economic activity, marked by a deep and sustained fall in output, employment, trade, and incomes that runs longer and cuts deeper than an ordinary recession. Knoop's Recessions and Depressions treats the depression as the extreme end of the business cycle, far rarer and more damaging than the milder contractions that recur within it. The referent is the condition of an economy over time, gauged from falling national output and rising unemployment, and it is distinct from a weather low, a hollow in the land, or a clinical mood disorder.[2]

Unit

A sustained contraction in an economy's output and employment, over quarters to years

Recovery means

Ends when output turns up and begins a sustained expansion, or recovery

Measured by

Gauged by falls in real GDP, employment, and trade across the span of the downturn

As a construct in clinical psychology and psychiatry, a mood disorder defined by persistent low mood together with a loss of interest or pleasure in usual activities, lasting for a sustained period and impairing everyday functioning, alongside changes such as those in sleep, appetite, energy, and concentration. Malhi and Mann's Depression, a review in The Lancet, describes it as a common and often recurrent condition diagnosed against standardised criteria. The referent here is a state of a person's mood and functioning, assessed clinically, and it is a construct entirely separate from a low-pressure system, a landform, or a downturn in an economy.[3]

Unit

A mood disorder marked by persistent low mood and loss of interest, impairing functioning

Recovery means

Remission, when symptoms fall below the diagnostic threshold for a sustained period

Measured by

Assessed against standardised diagnostic criteria and rated on symptom severity scales