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DSM-5: depression diagnosis
What is DSM-5?
The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fifth Edition (DSM-5) is the 2013 edition of the diagnostic tool created by the American Psychiatric Association. U-center uses it as a guideline to diagnose various mental disorders, among which depression. The Manual provides an outline for both the symptoms of depression and the criteria to diagnose someone with depression.
Diagnosing depression is never a simple process, as it comes in different shapes and sizes and it often goes hand in hand with other disorders (comorbidity).
DSM-5 depression symptoms
The DSM-5 provides the following symptoms of depression:
- Feeling depressed for much of the day;
- Significant loss of interest or pleasure in most daily activities;
- Noticeable weight loss or gain that seems unusual, or a noticeable change in appetite;
- Feeling tired and sluggish both mentally and physically (this should also be noticed by those around you);
- Feeling tired on a daily basis;
- Feeling worthless or experiencing misplaced guilt on a daily basis;
- Having difficulty concentrating or making decisions every day;
- Having thoughts of death and feeling suicidal, with or without a concrete plan.
However, diagnosing someone with depression is not something the DSM-5 or U-center take lightly. Experiencing any of the above symptoms does not automatically mean you are suffering from depression.
DSM-5 depression criteria
The Manual states that you must be experiencing at least 5 symptoms for a minimum of 2 weeks. Furthermore, your symptoms must include either feeling depressed or a loss of interest or pleasure.
In addition, your symptoms should all be causing you distress or should be inhibiting your everyday life before your condition is labelled ‘a depression’. That means that you should feel a noticeable impact on either your social life, your professional life and/or other important parts of your life. Should your symptoms, however, be a result of substance abuse or a different medical issue, they will not lead to a depression diagnosis.
Recovery at U-center
If you are looking for a way to begin recovering from your depression, you are welcome at U-center. Our clinic offers a calming environment with all the necessary facilities, activities and therapies to move you toward recovery in a healthy way.
More importantly, you can count on a personalized approach. U-center chooses to treat each person as a whole, considering not only the disorder but also all underlying problems.
This is because we realize that mental disorders rarely occur in isolation. Your treatment program is therefore designed in a way that suits you and enables you to return to your normal life as quickly as possible.
Want to learn more about the different therapies we use to treat all these types of depression? Visit our treatment page.