RECOVERY, CHRONICITY, AND LEVELS OF PSYCHOPATHOLOGY IN MAJOR DEPRESSION

Major depression is a chronic and recurrent disorder for many people w ho are afflicted by it. There is a wealth of literature addressing the course of this disorder with follow-up times varying from several mon ths to several decades, which gives a remarkably consistent picture in treated and untreated populations. Fortunately, most people who devel op major depression recover from their initial episode; unfortunately, a significant minority do not recover fully and a near majority devel op additional episodes. This article examines a selected group of stud ies that have examined the course of depression, with a focus on a lar ge naturalistic longitudinal prospective study of affective disorders- the NIMH Collaborative Depression Study.