| Symptoms
Major Depressive Disorder
A person who suffers from a
major depressive disorder must have either have a depressed
mood or a loss of interest or pleasure in daily activities
consistently for at least a 2 week period. This mood must
represent a change from the person's normal mood; social,
occupational, educational or other important functioning must
also be negatively impaired by the change in mood. A depressed
mood caused by substances (such as drugs, alcohol, medications)
is not considered a major depressive disorder, nor is one
that is caused by a general medical condition. Major depressive
disorder cannot be diagnosed if a person has a history of
manic, hypomanic, or mixed episodes (e.g., a bipolar disorder)
or if the depressed mood is better accounted for by schizoaffective
disorder and is not superimposed on schizophrenia, a delusional
or psychotic disorder.
Major depressive disorder is
characterized by the presence of at least one major depressive
episode, which is not a disorder in itself, but is a part
of another disorder, most often major depressive disorder
or bipolar disorder. A major depressive episode includes the
following symptoms:
depressed mood
most of the day, nearly every day, as indicated by either
subjective report (e.g., feels sad or empty) or observation
made by others (e.g., appears tearful). (In children and adolescents,
this may be characterized as an irritable mood.)
markedly diminished interest
or pleasure in all, or almost all, activities most of the
day, nearly every day
significant weight loss when
not dieting or weight gain (e.g., a change of more than 5%
of body weight in a month), or decrease or increase in appetite
nearly every day.
insomnia or hypersomnia nearly
every day
psychomotor agitation or retardation
nearly every day
fatigue or loss of energy
nearly every day
feelings of worthlessness or
excessive or inappropriate guilt nearly every day
diminished ability to think
or concentrate, or indecisiveness, nearly every day
recurrent thoughts of death
(not just fear of dying), recurrent
suicidal ideation without a
specific plan, or a suicide attempt or a specific plan for
committing suicide
The symptoms are not better accounted for by bereavement,
i.e., after the loss of a loved one, the symptoms persist
for longer than 2 months or are characterized by marked functional
impairment, morbid preoccupation with worthlessness, suicidal
ideation, psychotic symptoms, or psychomotor retardation.
References:
American Psychiatric Association. (1994). Diagnostic and statistical
manual of mental disorders, fourth edition. Washington, DC:
American Psychiatric Association.
|
