Depression
Mood disorders
Characterised by a disturbance of mood producing:
- Manic
- Depressive behaviour
Recurrent and brought about by life stressors
Several severe types:
- Depression or major depressive disorder
- Bipolar disorder
- Diminished involvement with others
- Loss of social skills
- Lack of interest re; impression management
- Staying home
Symptoms
- Feelings of sadness/ unhappiness
- Thoughts of suicide/ death
- Depressive thinking styles
BASIC
PERSON
BIOLOGICAL
- Introverted personality
- Pessimistic
- Indecisive
- Loss of pleasurable experiences
- Lack of assertiveness/ passive personality
SOCIO-CULTURAL
- Headaches
- Digestive problems
- Chronic pain
- Insomnia
Development
SOCIO-CULTURAL
- Genetic predisposition
- Imbalance in neurotransmitters
- SRI drugs cause serotonin to remain after its released
- Substance abuse
PERSONAL
- Personality influences
- Gender roles: emotional suppression in males
BASIC
- Negative/ pessimistic thinking style
- Irrational thinking
- Classical conditioning: learned helplessness
- Operant conditioning
- Observational learning: we can learn poor strategies- depressive responses
BIOLOGICAL
- Diminished involvement with others
- Increase in technology --> social isolation
- Gender bias
- Age discrimination
- Controversial treatment
- Electrical charge used to induce a controlled epileptic seizure
- The seizure is localised in areas of the brain that control mood/ emotion
Structured problem solving (as problems may seem overwhelming)
PSYCHOLOGICAL INTERVENTIONS
Treatments
ELECTROCONVULSIVE THERAPY (ECT)
- Antidepressants, aims to alter the chemicals in the brain
- Imbalance in neurotransmitters, serotonin
- SRI drugs cause serotonin to remain after it is released by neurons
MEDICAL INTERVENTION (BIOLOGICAL)
CBT
Aims to alter behaviours and thinking patterns that lead to maintenance of depression
Sleep management (symptom of disrupted sleep)
Pleasant event scheduling (can help symptoms)