Atypical Depression

Definition: Any type of depression can make you feel sad and keep you from enjoying life. However, atypical depression — also called depression with atypical features — means that your depressed mood can brighten in response to positive events. Other key symptoms include increased appetite, sleeping too much, feeling that your arms or legs are heavy, and feeling rejected.

Symptoms: Depression that temporarily lifts in response to good news or positive events, Increased appetite that can cause weight gain, Increased desire to sleep, usually more than 10 hours a day, Heavy, leaden feeling in your arms or legs that lasts an hour or more in a day — a feeling that is different from fatigue, Sensitivity to rejection or criticism, which affects your relationships, social life or job.

Statistics: Respondents who started out with higher levels of depressive symptoms experienced a faster rate of increase in BMI (for Whites only) and waist circumference (for Blacks and Whites) over time than did those who reported fewer symptoms of depression in year 5. Initial BMI and waist circumference did not influence the rate of change in symptoms of depression over time.