Typically, patients with minor depression were treated by watchful waiting, prescribed antidepressants, and given brief supportive counseling, but Problem-Solving Treatment for Primary Care (PST-PC) is a Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy that has gained popularity. In one study, PST-PC and Paroxetine, an antidepressant, were shown to be equally effective in significantly reducing symptoms. In another study, PST-PC was compared with the more typical care of the time and shown to reduce symptoms more quickly. Although the use of antidepressants has been widely used, not all agree that it is an appropriate treatment for some minor depression disorder settings.Another alternative that has been researched is the use of St. Johns wort (Hypericum perforatum). This herbal treatment has been studied by various groups with various results. Some studies show evidence of the treatment being helpful to treat minor depression, but others show that it does no better than the placebo. History
At its core, minor depressive disorder is the same illness as major depressive disorder with its symptoms being less pronounced. This ties its history closely to that of major depressive disorder. Depression in the past has largely been shrouded in mystery, as its causes and appropriate treatment were largely unknown. By the 1950s, it was clear that depression could be both a mental and largely physical disease, thus being able to be treated through both psychotherapy and medication. When the DSM-IV-TR was created and major depressive disorder was spelled out more clearly, there still seemed to be an uncategorized range of depression.
People in this category did not have a complete set of symptoms in order to be diagnosed with major depression, but still were undoubtedly depressed. The DSM-IV-TR solution to this uncatergorized range of depression was to create Depressive Disorder Not Otherwise Specified (NOS). This group of not specified disorders included minor depressive disorder. In the recent switch to the current DSM-5, minor depressive disorder was dropped from the list of depression disorders. With the disappearance of minor depressive disorder from the DSM-5, there has been confusion between dysthymic disorder, persistent depressive disorder, and minor depressive disorder. Dysthymic disorder was a subsection in the DSM-IV-TR under mood disorders. In the DSM-5, dysthymia is relabeled as "Persistent Depressive Disorder (Dysthymia)". There are differences between persistent depressive disorder and minor depressive disorder including: length of symptom presence, the number of symptoms present, and recurrent periods. The diagnosis of minor depressive disorder has historically been harder to outline, which could have perhaps lead to the disappearance of the disorder. The DSM-IV-TR includes a statement detailing the difficulty of diagnosis, "symptoms meeting research criteria for minor depressive disorder can be difficult to distinguish from periods of sadness that are an inherent part of everyday life". == References ==