Depression and its 9 Diagnostic Criteria

Depression: What Does It Exactly Mean?!

The History of the Depression

Depression has left its mark throughout history, mentioned in ancient texts. Socrates used “mania” and “melancholia” to describe it around 450 BC. Cornelius Celsus linked it to black bile in the 1st century BC. Aristotle, Galen, and Alexander of Tralles also explored it further.

In the Middle Ages, the practice of medicine flourished in the Islamic lands, with scholars like Razi and Avicenna considering melancholy as a specific illness. However, it wasn’t until the 20th century that extensive studies on mental disorders, especially depression, were conducted, surpassing all previous eras. Towards the end of this century, it became evident that depression has strong genetic foundations and specific neurobiological disorders exist in the brains of those affected by it. Now, we have highly effective pharmacological treatments and various forms of psychotherapy, such as cognitive therapy and interpersonal therapy, for treating depression.

Classification of Mood Disorders

For classifying mental disorders, a booklet published by the American Psychiatric Association is commonly used. This booklet is called the “Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders,” abbreviated as DSM. The fifth edition of this booklet has been published. To understand depression, one must first become familiar with a broader category known as mood disorders. Mood disorders involve disturbances in emotional state or mood. Individuals may experience these disturbances in the form of severe depression, mania, or a combination of these emotional states. Thus, mood disorders are like two sides of a coin, sometimes manifesting as severe depression and other times as episodes of extreme excitement and happiness. In the DSM, mood disorders include the following: major depressive disorder (which is the same as the depression we are discussing), bipolar I disorder, bipolar II disorder, cyclothymic disorder, and unspecified depressive disorder.

Criteria for Diagnosing Depression

In the DSM, the following criteria are considered for diagnosing Major Depressive Disorder: At least 5 of the following symptoms must be present for two weeks or more in the individual.

1- Depressed mood, most of the day and nearly every day.

2- Marked decrease in interest or pleasure in all or almost all activities, most of the day, nearly every day.

3- Marked weight loss, without following a specific diet or exercise plan for weight loss, or weight gain (for example, a change in body weight of more than five percent within one month), or decreased or increased appetite nearly every day.

4- Insomnia or hypersomnia, nearly every day.

5- Psychomotor agitation or retardation nearly every day (observable by others, not merely subjective feelings of restlessness or being slowed down).

6- Fatigue or Loss of energy nearly every day.

7- Feelings of worthlessness, Excessive or inappropriate guilt feelings (which may be delusional) nearly every day.

8- Diminished ability to think or concentrate, or indecisiveness, nearly every day.

9- Recurrent thoughts of death (not just fear of dying), recurrent suicidal ideation without a specific plan, suicide attempt, or specific plan for committing suicide.

So if you have five or more of these symptoms, you should seek further evaluation from a psychologist or psychiatrist.

To support me through my investigations you can buy me a book📖 and also For more interesting and engaging facts, subscribe and follow now.