The
DSM-IV recognizes five subtypes of depression disorder:
-
Melancholic depression is
characterized by a loss of pleasure in most or all activities, a failure of
reactivity to pleasurable stimuli, a depressed mood more pronounced than that
of grief or loss, a worsening of symptoms in the morning hours, early morning
waking, psychomotor retardation, excessive weight loss (not to be confused with
anorexia nervosa), or excessive guilt.
-
Atypical depression is
characterized by mood reactivity (paradoxical anhedonia) and positivity,
significant weight gain or increased appetite (comfort eating), excessive sleep
or sleepiness (hypersomnia), a sensation of heaviness in limbs known as leaden
paralysis, and significant social impairment as a consequence of
hypersensitivity to perceived interpersonal rejection.
-
Catatonic depression is a rare
and severe form of major depression involving disturbances of motor behavior
and other symptoms. Here the person is mute and either remains immobile or
shows purposeless or even bizarre movements. Catatonic symptoms also occur in
schizophrenia or in manic episodes, or may be caused by neuroleptic malignant
syndrome.
-
Postpartum depression, or mental
and behavioral disorders associated with the puerperium, not elsewhere
classified, refers to the intense, sustained and sometimes disabling depression
experienced by women after giving birth. Postpartum depression has an incidence
rate of 10–15% among new mothers. The DSM-IV mandates that, in order to qualify
as postpartum depression, onset occur within one month of delivery. It has been
said that postpartum depression can last as long as three months.
Seasonal
affective disorder (SAD) is a form of depression in which depressive episodes
which arise in the autumn or winter, and resolve in the spring. The diagnosis
is made if at least two episodes have occurred in colder months with none at
other times, over a two-year period or longer.
The Vital Needs Theory - page 25