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Symptoms

Depressed mood

Shariq Refai, MD, MBA, board-certified psychiatrist and the reviewer of this article.

Reviewed by Shariq Refai, MD, MBA·Updated March 15, 2026·About 3 minutes

About this term

Sources

  • American Psychiatric Association. DSM-5-TR.
  • Kroenke K, Spitzer RL, Williams JBW. The PHQ-9: validity of a brief depression severity measure. J Gen Intern Med. 2001.
  • World Health Organization. ICD-11.
  • National Institute of Mental Health. Major Depression statistics. NIMH, 2022.

Primary source: MedlinePlus: Depression (U.S. National Library of Medicine).

Frequently asked questions

What's depressed mood as a clinical symptom?
Depressed mood, in the DSM-5-TR, refers to a sustained low mood (sadness, emptiness, hopelessness) present for most of the day, nearly every day, for at least two weeks. It's one of the two core symptoms of a major depressive episode; the other is anhedonia, the loss of interest or pleasure.
How is depressed mood different from sadness?
Sadness is a normal response to loss or stress and tends to ease with time, comfort, and a change in circumstances. Depressed mood in major depressive disorder is more pervasive, more persistent, less responsive to comforting events, and is accompanied by other symptoms such as sleep changes, fatigue, guilt, or thoughts of death.
In children and adolescents, can irritability count as depressed mood?
Yes. The DSM-5-TR allows irritable mood to substitute for depressed mood in children and adolescents. Many young people with depression appear angry or short-fused rather than sad, and missing this leads to underdiagnosis.
What if I have a low mood without other symptoms?
A low mood without the other symptoms required for major depressive disorder may reflect an adjustment reaction, grief, or a transient response to stress. It's still worth talking to a clinician if it lasts more than two weeks, interferes with daily life, or is accompanied by thoughts of self-harm.

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Last reviewed March 15, 2026.

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