Course
The course of PMD may be helpful in distinguishing it from other disorders. Most PMD patients report having an initial episode between the ages of 20 and 40. Over a lifetime, it appears that PMD patients experience an average of 4 to 9 episodes. As with NPMD, the episodes of PMD tend to last for a certain amount of time and subside. While PMD can be chronic (lasting more than 2 years), most PMD episodes last less than 24 months. Unlike psychotic disorders such as schizophrenia and schizoaffective disorder, patients with PMD generally function well between episodes, both socially and professionally.
Read more about this topic: Psychotic Depression