2.   Affective: guilt and sadness, lack of enjoyment or pleasure in familiar activities or company.  Behavioural: passivity  Cognitive: negative thoughts, faulty attribution of blame, low self esteem, irrational hopelessness, difficulty concentrating, indecisiveness  Somatic: lack of energy, insomnia or hypersomnia, weight loss/gain, diminished libido. Symptoms of a Major Depressive Disorder

3.   When someone experiences two weeks of depressed mood or loss of interest or pleasure.  Diagnosis requires at least 4 additional symptoms (such as insomnia, suicidal thoughts, passivity, or difficulty concentrating). Diagnosis of Depression

4.   Depression affects 15% of people at some time in their life (Charney and Weismann 1988).  Depression tends to be a recurrent disorder with about 80% experiencing a subsequent episode.  Depression is 2-3 times more common in women than in men.  It occurs frequently among members of lower socio- economic groups.  Levav (1997) found the prevalence rate to be above average in Jewish males suggesting that some groups are more prone to depression. Facts about Depression