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| |    Different Types of Depression by Robert Needlman, M.D., F.A.A.P. reviewed by Laura Jana, M.D., F.A.A.P. In diagnosing depression, most doctors refer to a book called the DSM-IV. (The full name, which no one uses, is The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, fourth edition.) The DSM-IV gives the official criteria for mental disorders according to the American Psychiatric Association. For laypersons, the terminology can be confusing. The purpose of this article is to help clear up the confusion. It's important that you don't try to use this article as a guide for a do-it-yourself diagnosis. For one thing, a short article can't contain all the relevant information. Also, diagnosing depression takes more than just knowing the criteria. You have to know how to interpret them and how to rule out other psychiatric and medical conditions. The goal of this article is to help you communicate more effectively with your doctors, not to replace them. Major depressive episode The main features of a major depressive episode are that it lasts at least two weeks (usually much longer) and includes depressed mood or a marked loss of interest or pleasure in all activities. The mood is sad or tearful or empty, or it may be very irritable (more common in children and adolescents). During almost every day of the episode, these moods last most of the day. Other symptoms include significant weight loss or gain, or appetite change; sleeping much more or less than usual; agitation (an excess of nervous energy) or its opposite, difficulty moving at a normal rate; low energy; severe feelings of guilt or worthlessness; difficulty thinking or making decisions; and thoughts of death or suicide. In a major depressive episode, a person has at least four of these symptoms, in addition to either depressed mood or loss of interest. The symptoms have to be severe enough to interfere with a person's ability to function at home, in school, or on the job. They can't be caused by other medical problems (such as hypothyroidism) or by medications, or by other psychiatric diagnoses. Manic episode Depressive episodes sometimes come along with episodes of the opposite mood, mania. The main feature of a manic episode is a week or more of "high" mood (overly energetic, happy, expansive), or irritability, along with at least three or four of the following:
Other definitions
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