Combatting depression

Major depression is an episodic disorder characterized by major depressive episodes and intervening periods or normal mood. This is distinguished from dysthymia, which is a milder but more persistent mood disorder, characterized by chronic low mood for at least a year in young people, accompanied by fewer additional cognitive or behavioural symptoms than are required for a diagnosis of major depressive disorder. The diagnostic criteria for a major depressive episode are described in ICD-10 (World Health Organization, 1992) and DSM–IV-TR (American Psychiatric Association, 2000).