admitting here I didnt read the whole thread. a post in this thread caught my eye as I was reading.

Rdgrad15 said they did not think they had depression because the problems didnt last for 2 weeks required by the dsm5.

the world is now on DSM 5 TR.. that means many of the disorders have been changed. for depression you dont need to have the symptoms for 2 weeks straight through. the wording is that you have to have 5 of 9 criteria present during the same 2 week period and represent a change from previous function. at least one of the symptoms is either depressed mood or loss of interest or pleasure. The very first criteria has the wording "nearly every day" (thats not the whole criteria just putting the important point of the first criteria)

which means out of 14 days how many days have you felt sad/ empty and hopeless for the whole day that interferes with your daily functioning

one day yea a person doesnt meet that first criteria. but someone who has more whole days during a two week time period of feeling sad, empty and hopeless meets that criteria.

to be clear though. in order to meet the diagnostics for major depressive disorder you have to meet at least 5 of the first set of criteria.

Also in the new DSM 5 TR there are many depressive disorders and many of other disorders now carry depression as a "specifier" or symptom.

the only way to know for sure what kind of depression or disorder you have is by going to a treatment provider. dont try to self diagnose. you may end up self diagnosing with the wrong thing or not diagnosing a problem you may have. contact a treatment provider.

you can also find the new DSM 5 TR in libraries (most aloow you to read and print off from reference books but dont let you check the book out to take home). you can also purchase one the American Psychiatric Associations website, and Amazon. (not a sales pitch. some now aware that the new DSM 5 TR is out may want to know how to find it)