D2I2.
mental⚑ High burden in India

Depression

Major depressive disorder (MDD), also known as depression, is a mental disorder characterized by at least two weeks of pervasive low mood, low self-esteem, and loss of interest or pleasure in normally enjoyable activities. Introduced by a group of US clinicians in the mid-1970s, the term was adopted by the American Association for this symptom cluster under mood disorders in the 1980 version of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-III), and has become widely used since. The disorder causes the second-most years lived with disability, after lower back pain.

Underlined words are explained — tap any of them.

Symptoms — what it feels like

  • ·Low mood, low self-esteem, loss of interest in normally enjoyable activities, low energy, pain without a clear cause, disturbed sleep pattern (insomnia or hypersomnia)

Causes — why it happens

  • ·Environmental (e.g. adverse life experiences), , psychological factors such as stress

Treatment

  • ·Psychotherapy, antidepressant medication, electroconvulsive therapy, transcranial magnetic stimulation, exercise

Complications

  • ·Self-harm, suicide
Plain-language summary adapted from Wikipedia. Not medical advice.