You can’t watch TV these days without seeing advertisements for pharmaceutical treatments for depression. The current ads offer drugs to take in addition to the drugs you’re already taking that aren’t working. This would be funny if depression wasn’t widespread, incapacitating, and potentially fatal. It would be funnier still if these pharmaceuticals weren’t linked to an increased likelihood of suicidal or homicidal behavior. The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual IV, commonly known as the DSM IV is the diagnostic manual used by mental health professional to classify mental illness. (It is currently undergoing revision and will soon be released as the DSM V).
There are several classifications for depression: Adjustment Disorder with Depressed Mood, Dysthymic Disorder (which the DSM V seeks to reclassify as Chronic Depressive Disorder), Major Depressive Disorders, and Bipolar Disorders. The DSM V proposes the inclusion of Premenstrual Dysphoric Disorder. Read more…
