Plural of depressive; people who suffer from depression, or substances that cause depression.
From depressive (one who is depressed, or something that depresses) + '-s' (plural). Depressive became a noun in medical contexts to describe affected individuals.
Calling someone a 'depressive' is actually outdated psychology—modern doctors say 'people with depression' instead, because the diagnosis shouldn't define the entire person.
Psychiatric terminology historically over-pathologized women, who were diagnosed with 'depression' and 'hysteria' at higher rates due to diagnostic bias rather than actual prevalence. Medical institutions disproportionately medicalized women's emotional responses to systemic inequality.
Use 'people experiencing depression' or 'individuals with depression' rather than noun-ified labels that reduce personhood to diagnosis.
["people with depression","individuals experiencing depression"]
Women clinicians like Helen Mayberg pioneered neurobiological depression research, moving beyond gender-biased psychological frameworks toward objective neuroscience.
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