What is Major Depressive Disorder?

This video describes Major Depressive Disorder (MDD). Major Depressive Disorder has symptom criteria as well as some other criteria. A diagnosis of Major Depressive Disorder requires at least one major depressive episode. It's not unusual for individuals with Major Depressive Disorder to have had multiple major depressive episodes through the course of their lifetime. When we look at the definition for Major Depressive Disorder in the DSM, the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual, we see a number of symptom criteria. Five or more of these symptoms criteria need to be met in the last two weeks, however, with the first two symptom criteria, one of those two symptom criteria must be present. The first symptom criterion is depressed mood most of the day, nearly every day. The second is markedly diminished interest or pleasure in all, or almost all, activities. This symptom must be present most of the day, nearly every day. Other symptom criteria include weight gain or weight loss, too much or too little sleep, psychomotor agitation or retardation, fatigue or loss of energy, feelings of worthlessness or excessive or inappropriate guilt, trouble concentrating, and recurrent thoughts of death. In addition to the symptom criteria for Major Depressive Disorder, there are four other criteria: there needs to be clinically significant distress, the disturbance can't be better explained through substance use or medical condition or from schizophrenia, schizoaffective disorder, and other related psychotic disorders, and there can never have been a manic episode in the individual’s history. If there's a major depressive episode and a manic episode in the history, Bipolar Disorder would be considered rather than Major Depressive Disorder. The 12-month prevalence of Major Depressive Disorder the United States is around 7% and females are more likely to be diagnosed with this disorder than males, however, the course and the treatment response for Major Depressive Disorder is about the same for females and males.