Two weeks ?

According to the DSM-IV, a person who suffers from major depressive disorder must have depression symptoms such as either have a depressed mood or a loss of interest or pleasure in daily activities consistently for at least a two week period. This mood must represent a change from the person's normal mood; social, occupational, educational or other important functioning must also be negatively impaired by the change in mood...

Two weeks ? If your really really really sad for 2 weeks once in your life you have one of psychiatry's life time "brain diseases" with a lifetime label that requires drugs that cause dependence do to withdrawal reactions ?

Am I reading this right ?

This is true. It is good to note a few things.

The symptoms cause clinically significant distress or impairment in social, occupational, or other important areas of functioning.

The symptoms are not due to the direct physiological effects of a substance (e.g. a drug of abuse, a medication) or a general medical condition (e.g., hypothyroidism).

The symptoms are not better accounted for by bereavement, i.e., after the loss of a loved one, the symptoms persist for longer than 2 months or are characterized by marked functional
impairment, morbid preoccupation with worthlessness, suicidal ideation, psychotic symptoms, or psychomotor retardation.

Of course significant distress can be subjective and vary from doctor to doctor..

Interestingly, DSM V which just came out has changed this for the depression area:
[quote]Major Depressive Episode - proposed removal of the bereavement exclusion and addition of a footnote to clarify for clinicians how to differentiate bereavement and other loss reactions from Major Depression[/quote
http://www.dsm5.org/Pages/RecentUpdates.aspx