Journey of Hearts 

Formal Diagnosis of Major Depression
The following criteria are taken from the DSM-IV, the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders 4^th edition, published by the American Psychiatric Association, 1994.

For your convenience, a general listing of signs and symptoms of depression, the translated version, follows the formal diagnostic criteria, for ease in interpreting the symptoms.

For a diagnosis of a major depression:

1. At least 5 of the following symptoms.
2. These symptoms must be present during the same 2 week period.
3. These symptoms must represent a change from a previous level of functioning.
 
• Depressed mood, nearly every day during most of the day.
• Marked diminished interest or pleasure in almost all activities.
• Significant weight loss (when not dieting), weight gain, or a change in appetite.
• Insomnia or hypersomnia (excess sleep).
• Psychomotor agitation or psychomotor retardation.
• Fatigue or loss of energy.
• Feelings of worthlessness or inappropriate guilt.
• Impaired ability to concentrate or indecisiveness
• Recurrent thoughts of death, recurrent suicidal

• Loss of interest in formerly pleasurable activities
• Dissatisfaction with life
• Withdrawal from social activities
• Loss of energy
• Feeling useless or hopeless
• Irritability
• Great concern with health problems
• Sadness or crying
• Worry and/or self-criticism
• Difficulty concentrating and/or making decisions
• Loss of appetite and weight

• Feeling sad, blue, depressed, or hopeless most of the day.
• Greatly reduced interest or pleasure in all or almost all activities; inability to think of anything that would be enjoyable to do (health permitting)
• Feelings of excessive guilt, or a feeling that one is a worthless person.
• Slowed or agitated movements (not in response to pain or discomfort)
• Recurrent thoughts of dying or of ending one's own life, with or without a specific plan.

• Significant, unintentional weight loss and decrease in appetite; or, less commonly, weight gain and increased in appetite.
• Insomnia or excessive sleeping
• Fatigue and loss of energy
• A diminished ability to think, concentrate, or make decisions
• Physical symptoms of anxiety, including dry mouth, cramps, diarrhea, and sweating, ideation, or suicide attempt or plan.

If you are feeling like harming yourself or someone else, or are feeling depressed, helpless or hopeless, Call 911, your local suicide hot-line, or Crisis Intervention line, located in the Yellow Pages, or contact the Samaritans via e-mail at:

For screens without frames http://www.samaritans.org.uk/textonly.html/texthome.html
For screens with frames http://www.samaritans.org.uk/sams.html/home2.html

The Samaritans is a UK charity, founded in 1953,which exists to provide confidential emotional support to any person, who is suicidal or despairing; and to increase public awareness of issues around suicide and depression. This service is provided 24 hours every day by trained volunteers, and relies upon public donations.

Call someone--a friend, or family member, your clergy or physician. Look in the Yellow pages under Counselors, Psychologists, Social Workers and Psychiatrists, if you feel you may need immediate professional assistance.