“Depressed mood” and “loss of interest or pleasure in nearly all activities” are core features of a major depressive episode, though a strong case can be made to pay increasing attention to symptoms of fatigue, sleep disturbance, anxiety, and neurocognitive and sexual dysfunction in the diagnosis and evaluation of ...
The DSM-5 outlines the following criterion to make a diagnosis of depression. The individual must be experiencing five or more symptoms during the same 2-week period and at least one of the symptoms should be either (1) depressed mood or (2) loss of interest or pleasure.
Diminished ability to think or concentrate; indecisiveness. Recurrent thoughts of death, recurrent suicidal ideation without a specific plan, or a suicide attempt or specific plan for committing suicide.
Physical symptoms are common in depression, and, in fact, vague aches and pain are often the presenting symptoms of depression. These symptoms include chronic joint pain, limb pain, back pain, gastrointestinal problems, tiredness, sleep disturbances, psychomotor activity changes, and appetite changes.
If you have been experiencing some of the following signs and symptoms most of the day, nearly every day, for at least two weeks, you may be suffering from depression: Persistent sad, anxious, or “empty” mood. Feelings of hopelessness, or pessimism. Feelings of irritability, frustration, or restlessness.
Depression has a range of different symptoms, and it can affect everybody differently. The symptoms include feeling very tearful, feeling hopelessness and sadness, and losing interest in things you enjoyed before. It's also common for people with depression to have symptoms of anxiety.
Major Depressive Disorder, or MDD, is what is meant when most people refer to “clinical depression.” This mood disorder is characterized by a lot of different symptoms, including a depressed mood, lack of interest in hobbies and other activities, fatigue, changes in eating and sleeping habits, problems concentrating, ...
Major depressive disorder
Episodes of major depression were more common among: women (9.6 percent, compared to 6 percent in men) people between the ages of 18 and 25 (15.2 percent) people who describe themselves as being of two or more races or ethnicities (13.7 percent)
The attributional reformulation of the learned helplessness model (Abramson et al., 1978) and Beck's cognitive theory (Beck et al., 1979) are the two most widely-accepted cognitive theories among contemporary cognitive models of depression (Vázquez et al., 2000).
Research suggests that depression doesn't spring from simply having too much or too little of certain brain chemicals. Rather, there are many possible causes of depression, including faulty mood regulation by the brain, genetic vulnerability, and stressful life events.
Clinical depression has been linked to other mental illnesses, such as anxiety disorders, panic disorder, social phobia, and generalized anxiety disorder. Together, these conditions affect millions of Americans. Fortunately, these disorders are treatable, and those affected can lead normal, productive lives.
The Beck Depression Inventory (BDI) is widely used to screen for depression and to measure behavioral manifestations and severity of depression. The BDI can be used for ages 13 to 80.
The Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9) -- a 9-item self-administered diagnostic screening and severity tool based on current diagnostic criteria for major depression. Beck Depression Inventory (BDI), -- a 21-question multiple-choice self-report that measures the severity of depression symptoms and feelings.
Suicidal Thoughts: An Emergency
For people who are severely depressed, suicide is a real threat. Each year, about 46,000 people in the U.S. take their own lives, although the true number may be higher.
There's no single cause of depression. It can occur for a variety of reasons and it has many different triggers. For some people, an upsetting or stressful life event, such as bereavement, divorce, illness, redundancy and job or money worries, can be the cause. Different causes can often combine to trigger depression.
Depression causes the hippocampus to raise its cortisol levels, impeding the development of neurons in your brain. The shrinkage of brain circuits is closely connected to the reduction of the affected part's function. While other cerebral areas shrink due to high levels of cortisol, the amygdala enlarges.
People with clinical depression often have increased levels of monoamine oxidase A (MAO-A), an enzyme that breaks down key neurotransmitters, resulting in very low levels of serotonin, dopamine and norepinephrine.
Types of major depression include melancholia, psychotic and antenatal or postnatal. You may be diagnosed with mild, moderate or severe depression. Your mental health professional may diagnose you with depression if these symptoms: happen most days.