ABSTRACT

Major depression disorder (MDD), a common psychiatric disorder, is characterized by a depressed mood, anhedonia, hopelessness, sleep and weight problems, suicidal thoughts and actions, a depressed appearance, and somatic complaints. Depression is both an inability to regulate emotion and a persistence of negative affect. The MDD is traditionally considered to be an episodic disorder, but in youth it often manifests as a disease with protracted periods of illness and with a chronic pattern.