Depression is a name for several related mood disorders, as defined in the American Psychiatric Society's "Diagnostic and Statistical Manual, 4th ed., Text Revision" (DSM-IV). When identified as depression, it usually means major depression, a disorder affecting millions at some time in their lives.
Mood Symptoms
Major depression means that a person experiences some degree of low mood, such as sadness, hopelessness, and feeling down. According to "Synopsis of Psychiatry", lifetime prevalence rates are around 15 percent, with women having as high as a 25 percent chance of experiencing depression.
Severe Mood Symptoms
When depression is severe, a person may stop getting out of bed, be unable to care for herself, stop eating, have recurrent thoughts of death and be suicidal. Some severe depressions include psychotic episodes. These severe symptoms warrant immediate intervention, according to "Synopsis of Psychiatry."
Other Emotional Symptoms
With depression, a person may experience feeling empty, lonely, guilty or worthless. He may lose interest in pleasurable activities he used to enjoy, or he may lose interest in any activity and isolate himself from others, according to the DSM-IV.
Physical Symptoms
Depression can cause a marked change in weight, lost or gained, within a month. A depressed person may be insomniac or may sleep most of the time. She may be agitated or seem slowed down. She may be fatigued or have no energy, according to DSM-IV and "Synopsis of Psychiatry."
Other symptoms
Depression can cause a person to be unable to concentrate or think or be unable to make decisions. He may suffer concurrent anxiety and panic and may abuse alcohol or other substances. Depression is not always diagnosed by itself when medical or other psychiatric disorders are present, according to "Synopsis of Psychiatry."
Depression and Elderly People
Depression tends to be underdiagnosed in elderly persons, although some studies report prevalence rates of 25 to 50 percent. While the exact reasons for this are unknown, some elderly patients show more body-oriented symptoms and may be overlooked because practitioners consider the behaviors as part of aging, according to "Synopsis of Psychiatry."
References
- "Diagnostic and Statistical Manual, 4th ed., Text Revision" American Psychiatric Association, 2000
- "Synopsis of Psychiatry, 9th ed."; Benjamin J. Sadock & Virginia A. Sadock, 2003
