Major Depressive Disorder

Symptoms and Prevalence

What is sadness?
Why do people feel sadness?

Why might it evolutionarily adaptive to experience sadness?

Why might it evolutionarily adaptive to experience sadness?

If someone looks sad they are more likely to be helped by

other people.
Experiencing feelings of sadness allows us to take time out

of the situation, and possibly reflect on whatever it is that is causing the feelings of sadness.

What is depression?

Semantics
We often use the term depressed to mean having a bad day,

or feeling down. This is to use the term incorrectly.

Depression can be a debilitating disorder.

Ruby Wax (comedian) talks about having depression

Different types of depressive disorders

Unipolar Disorder

Bipolar Disorder
Major Depressive Disorder Dysthymia and others.

Major Depressive Disorder

Major Depressive Disorder is the most common type of

depressive disorder
This is the one well be studying

How would you know whether someone was depressed or not?

Are there biological tests which determine whether an

individual is suffering from a depressive disorder?

Major Depressive Disorder - Symptoms

To be diagnosed with Major Depressive Disorder, a patient must either have:
feelings of great sadness all day every day for at least 2

weeks and or
Anhedonia (the inability to find pleasure in anything)

Major Depressive Disorder - Symptoms

Plus 4 of the following:
Change in sleep patterns Change in appetite

Feelings of guilt
Feelings of hopelessness Feeling worthless
Inability to concentrate Recurrent feelings of

Loss of energy / fatigue

(overwhelming heaviness)
Either Agitation or

Psychomotor retardation

suicide or death (and / or self harm)

Prevalence of Major Depressive Disorder

Major Depressive Disorder can affect up to 15% of people at

some time in their life (Charney & Weismann 1988)

Depression is at least twice as prevalent in women as men.