186 Depressive Disorders
B. Two (or more) of the following: 
1. Significant weight gain or increase in appetite.
2. Hypersomnia.
3. Leaden paralysis (i.e., heavy, leaden feelings in arms or legs).
4. A long-standing pattern of interpersonal rejection sensitivity (not limited to epi-
sodes of mood disturbance) that results in significant social or occupational im-
pairment.
C. Criteria are not met for “with melancholic  features” or “with catatonia” during the
same episode.
Note:  “Atypical depression” has historical significance (i.e., atypical in contradistinction
to the more classical agitated, “endogenous” presentations of depression that were the
norm when depression was rarely diagnosed in outpatients and almost never in ado-
lescents or younger adults) and today does not connote an uncommon or unusual clin-
ical presentation as the term might imply.
Mood reactivity is the capacity to be cheered up when presented with positive events
(e.g., a visit from children, compliments from others). Mood may become euthymic (not
sad) even for extended periods of time if the external circumstances remain favorable.
Increased appetite may be manifested by an obvious increase in food intake or by
weight gain. Hypersomnia may include either an extended period of nighttime sleep or
daytime napping that totals at least 10 hours of sleep per day (or at least 2 hours more
than when not depressed). Leaden paralysis is defined as feeling heavy, leaden, or
weighted down, usually in the arms or legs. This sensation is generally present for at
least an hour a day but often lasts for many  hours at a time. Unlike the other atypical
features, pathological sensitivity to perceived interpersonal rejection is a trait that has