2Please remember, we are not medical professionals and cannot provide medical advice. It is essential to seek the opinion of a qualified healthcare professional for any health concerns or before making any decisions related to your medication or treatment. This information is for general knowledge and informational purposes only and does not constitute medical advice.

Major Depressive Disorder (MDD), also known as clinical depression, is a common but serious mood disorder that significantly impacts how a person feels, thinks, and behaves, often leading to a diminished interest in daily activities. It's characterised by a persistent feeling of sadness and loss of interest or pleasure and can affect various aspects of life, including sleep, appetite, energy levels, concentration, and self-worth.

To be diagnosed with MDD according to the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, 5th Edition (DSM-5), an individual must experience five or more of the following symptoms during the same 2-week period, and at least one of the symptoms must be either depressed mood or loss of interest or pleasure:

1. Depressed mood most of the day, nearly every day, as indicated by either subjective report (e.g., feeling sad, empty, or hopeless) or observation made by others (e.g., appearing tearful). In children and adolescents, this can manifest as an irritable mood.
2. Markedly diminished interest or pleasure in all, or almost all, activities most of the day, nearly every day.
3. Significant weight loss when not dieting or weight gain (e.g., a change of more than 5% of body weight in a month) or a decrease or increase in appetite nearly every day. In children, this can be a failure to make expected weight gain.¹⁴
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 or excessive or inappropriate guilt (which may be delusional) nearly every day (not merely self-reproach or guilt about being sick).
8. Diminished ability to think or concentrate, or indecisiveness, nearly every day (either by subjective account or as observed by others).
9. Recurrent thoughts of death (not just fear of dying), recurrent suicidal ideation without a specific plan, or a suicide attempt or a specific plan for committing suicide.

Furthermore, these symptoms must cause clinically significant distress or impairment in social, occupational, or other important areas of functioning and cannot be attributed to the physiological effects of a substance or another medical condition. Also, the episode must not be better explained by schizoaffective disorder, schizophrenia, schizophreniform disorder, delusional disorder, or other specified and unspecified schizophrenia spectrum and other psychotic disorders. Finally, there should have been no history of a manic or hypomanic episode.

It's important to note that depression is a treatable condition, and help is available through medical professionals and mental health services.