A friend of yours expressed feelings of depression for a few days after a stressful event, but is able to go back to their usual behavior and functioning after the few days’ pass. Could this person be diagnosed with Major Depressive Disorder? Why or why not? What criteria do we give the symptoms of Depression so that we can consider a diagnosis?

No. Major Depressive Disorder is a 2 + week process of being so-called “depressed.” People can hide their emotions in public, but when they get home, they usually bawl out due to a loss or some traumatic event. You can never tell if someone is going through something if they can hide the aspect very well due to their emotions being strong around others. The question doesn’t mention anything about how this certain person has dealt with this for 2 + weeks or even if this person is crying/ being emotional.