Pause, depressed, and collapse (9)
I believe the answer is:
breakdown
'collapse' is the definition.
(breakdown is a kind of collapse)
'pause depressed' is the wordplay.
'pause' becomes 'break' (break is a kind of pause).
'depressed' becomes 'down' ('down' can be a synonym of 'depressed').
'break'+'down'='BREAKDOWN'
'and' is the link.
(Other definitions for breakdown that I've seen before include "Collapse - analysis" , "Analysis < of separation" , "Problem with car" , "As result of mental stress" , "Detailed analysis" .)