Classification and Diagnosis of Depression
Outline the clinical characteristics of depression (5) The clinical characteristics of depression are sad depressed mood, most of the day, nearly every day for two weeks, or loss of interest and pleasure in usual activities. There is also difficulties in sleeping (insomnia); not falling asleep initially; not returning to sleep after awakening in the middle of the night, and early morning awakenings; or, in some patients, a desire to sleep a great deal of the time. A shift in activity level and feeling lethargic or agitated is also a common symptom. Poor appetite and weight loss or increased appetite and weight gain is a physical symptom of depression. You may also experience loss of energy and great fatigue. A negative self concept, self blame and feelings of worthlessness and guilt with further evidence being difficulty in concentrating, such as slowed thinking and indecisiveness. Recurrent thoughts of death or suicide is the main symptom and finally apathy (no interest or pleasure in activities). There are two types of unipolar depression according to the classification systems. The first is major depressive disorder and the other is dysthymic disorder. Patients with MDD require five symptoms, suicidal thoughts. The symptoms are severe but can be short lived. On the other hand DD requires three or more symptoms, including depressed mood but not suicidal thoughts. Patients
Depression. There are several approaches to depression, two of which are psychological and biological.
Psychology Assignment: Depression Depression is a type of mood disorder affecting a person's emotional state of mind. Unipolar disorder classifies depression under a DSM-IVR system where a person will be diagnosed if they shows signs of intense sadness or apathy alongside four other symptoms which include difficulties sleeping, fluctuations in energy levels, feelings of guilt and inferiority. It's crucial that these symptoms are clearly causing distress and consistently present for two weeks or more. It is important to identify and characterise depression in order to diagnose and treat the disorder. There are several approaches to depression, two of which are psychological and biological. The first psychological approach is the psychodynamic theory pioneered by Freud. His explanation of depression stems from relationships in early childhood, also focusing on the power of the unconscious and how this force propels our behaviour. Freud observed similar symptoms between grief and depression thus reaching the conclusion that depression is an extreme reaction to loss, whether real or imagined. It is this perceived loss and the failure to acquire an effective way of dealing with such a loss early on that increases the likelihood of becoming depressed when faced with another perceived radical loss. There is an emphasis on unresolved feelings of hostility when loss has been
Compare and contrast two explanations of depression.
Compare and contrast two explanations of depression. There are two types of depression, Bipolar and Unipolar both of which effect mood of the patient. Unipolar depression is where the person feels 'low' the majority of the time and have the following clinical characteristics: The emotional symptoms of unipolar depression are that the person feels intense feelings of guilt and a lack of enjoyment in activities that the individual previously enjoyed. Motivational symptoms can include difficulty in conducting actions as well as a lack of decision making. There are also cognitive and somatic symptoms which include negative thoughts and feelings of hopelessness (cognitive) as well as loss of energy, disturbance in weight and sleep (somatic). The clinical characteristics of Bipolar depression are also divided into four categories: Emotional, Cognitive. Somatic and motivational. Emotional characteristics are that if being euphorically happy then drastically changing into feeling of extreme sadness. The individual is also very irritable.Cognitive symptoms include an inflated self-esteem, racing thoughts and ideas as well as lack of attention however this may drastically change into feelings of hopelessness and dysfunctional thought. Somatic symptoms include decreased need of sleep as well as being fidgety and more talkative with rushed speech. Finally Motivational symptoms include
Depression- Biological Explanations
Discuss biological explanation of depression. (25 marks) In order for depression to be diagnosed the person needs to show at least five of these symptoms everyday for a minimum of two weeks. These clinical characteristics for depression can be emotional symptoms; this can involve sadness, melancholy, self-involvement, guilt and even thoughts of suicide. Another characteristic could be a lack of motivation including passivity, loss of interest and energy. The person could also have cognitive problems such as thoughts of hopelessness, pessimism and lack of self-esteem. Finally there can be somatic symptoms such as loss or increase of appetite and weight, and sleep disturbances. Depression is a mood disorder which can have different variations; Unipolar disorder is most common and most severe form of depression and bipolar disorder is where the condition occurs in episodes of depression, periods of normality and periods of mania. This can be caused genetics which can predispose the individual to the disorder. Furthermore we would expect to find that relatives have similar chances of developing the disorder. Evidence from this can come from twin studies; MZ twins share 100% of their genes whereas DZ twins only have 50%. If genes are to be a facto in depression we would expect a higher number of MZ twins to share the disorder. One study based on nearly 200 pairs of twins found
Clinical characteristics of depression
(a) Outline the clinical characteristics of depression (b) Explain the issues associated with the classification and diagnosis of depression (24 marks) Depression is a collection of physical, mental, emotional and behavioural experiences that are more prolonged, severe and damaging. The medical model involves individuals going to the doctors and having their physical symptoms observed and questions asked about their illness/problem. To help doctors diagnose diseases such as mood disorders, the medical classifications ICD-10 and DSM-IV both define these diseases in order for doctors to follow the guidelines and diagnose the correct illness. A person is defined as having a mild depressive episode of depression by the International Classification of Diseases 10th edition by having two or three of the following psychological symptoms; lowering of mood, reduction of energy, decreased activity, ideas of guilt and worthlessness, capacity for enjoyment, interest and concentration is almost always lowered, appetite diminished, sleep disturbed and self-esteem and self-confidence is lowered. These psychological symptoms may also be accompanied by somatic symptoms such as; lowering of mood, waking hours before normal in the morning, depression worst in the morning, marked psychomotor retardation, agitation, loss of appetite, loss of libido and weight loss. To be diagnosed as
Compare and contrast one biological explanation and one psychological of depression.
Depression Compare and contrast one biological explanation and one psychological of depression Depression has been described, as 'the common cold of all psychological disorders' as 7 to 12 per cent of men and 20 to 25 per cent of women will suffer from depression in their lifetime. There are two main types of depression, these are Major or Unipolar Depression and Manic Depression or Bipolar depression, bipolar depression is said to be 10 per cent of cases of depression, and occurs equally in both males and females. Other types of depression include, Seasonal Affective Disorder, Premenstrual Depression and Postpartum Depression. Whereas some psychological disorders, such as schizophrenia has onset in adolescents, depression can occur at any time. In addition, depression is diagnosed if there are five symptoms, which have lasted a minimum of 2 weeks. The clinical characteristics of depression are some of the following; disturbed appetite, sufferers often suffer from insomnia, a lack of sleep, or hypersomnia where the sufferer has too much sleep. In the cases of manic or major depression, sufferers may experience hallucinations or delusions. Other symptoms include; disturbed thinking, apathy, social withdrawal, anhedonia and possible suicidal thoughts. A biological explanation for depression is the genetic explanation. This theory suggests that you are more
Critically consider 2 or more psychological explanations of depression
Assignment title: Critically consider two or more psychological explanations of depression. The first psychological approach is the psychodynamic theory introduced by Sigmund Freud. This model suggests that major losses such as the loss of a job or rejection tend to increase the chance of developing depression in an individual. According to Freud, if an individuals fail to establish effective ways of dealing with such loss early on, they are likely to be depressed when confronted with another major loss. In this model, Freud also emphasised the significance of low self esteem in depression as a consequence of anger inward when encountering loss. For example the individual may believe that it is inappropriate to express their anger and therefore internalise it which leads to depression. One strength of the psychodynamic model of depression is that it has been supported by research in this area. For example Shah and Waller (2000) reported that many depression sufferers admitted to having affectionless parents. Given this, it could be argued that early loss is active in triggering later depression. In support of this Bifulco (1992) discovered that children were more likely to suffer depression later in life if their mothers had died during their childhood. However although this appears to be the case, we could argue that since their mothers had died, lack of necessary care
Describe and Evaluate Psychodynamic, Behaviourist and Humanist Theory of Psychology
Describe and Evaluate Psychodynamic, Behaviourist and Humanist Theory of Psychology Psychology is a relatively new science, having only been officially recognised for a hundred years or so. In this short time there have been many different theories and approaches. In this essay three of the main approaches are discusses and positive and negative ideas of the three are given. The three approaches in discussion are Psychodynamics, Behaviourism and Humanism. Sigmund Freud (1856-1939) developed an approach to psychology referred to as psychoanalysis. Other psychologists refer to Freud's theories as psychodynamics of the mind. Freud believed that different mental forces operate in the mind. He expanded his ideas to state that conflicting mental forces can cause inner conflict. Freud believed that a large amount of the processes that occur in the mind happen on an unconscious level. Freud believed that many people were unaware of the thoughts and processes of the mind. Freud argued that slips of the tongue and accidental damage caused by a person had roots in the unconscious and were expressing themselves without the subject being aware. Freud would argue that when a child accidently calls a teacher 'mum' the child unconsciously relates to the teacher as a mother. This mistake is termed a Freudian slip. Freud states that thoughts and memories were held in the unconscious by a
Outline and evaluate one or more biological explanations for depression. In your evaluation you should refer to research evidence.
Outline and evaluate one or more biological explanations for depression. In your evaluation you should refer to research evidence. (8 marks + 16 marks) The biological explanations for depression centre on the mood disorder being biologically caused. Genetic factors suggest that you are born with a biological weakness which makes you unable to resist stressors, which consequently leads to depression. This is known as the diathesis stress model. The main piece of research that supports this comes from the Maudsley Hospital twin register, where concordance rates of 46% were found in MZ twins and 20% in DZ twins. This suggest that depression must be passed on through genes if there is a high concordance rate between twins which share the same genetic makeup both having depression. However, biological factors such as the amine hypothesis states that if amines such as serotonin and noradrenalin become unbalanced, they can lead to depression. PET scans support this idea as they show that low levels of serotonin are present in people that are depressed. Other supporting evidence is that drugs such as MAOI's, which work by increasing the available amount of noradrenalin in the brain, were found to be effective in alleviating the symptoms of depression. A problem with this is that it doesn't state whether it is cause or effect. Significant support for the biological explanation
Explain why the depression of 1929 was a godsend for the Nazi Party
Explain why the depression of 1929 was a 'godsend' for the Nazi Party Of all European countries, none was hit harder than Germany by the stock market crash of October 1929. Germany, who was still suffering from the Treaty of Versailles, had borrowed very large sums from American banks, with much of the money repayable either on demand or at short notice. These loans were of course recalled, and bankruptcies in Germany rose sharply from the start of 1930. Unemployment rose sharply, too. The German economy plummeted with the stock market and the situation Germany found itself in resulted in even more faith being lost in the Weimar constitution. This situation was a godsend for the Nazi Party as it enabled them to gain public support. Having lost faith in what they already felt was an indecisive Government, and after the 'stab in the back' myth having been circulated throughout the country, Germany became increasingly hard to govern. Hitler, an inspiring and energetic speaker, took this opportunity to present himself and the Nazi party to the German people. Showing himself as a strong leader, he promised to abolish the Treaty of Versailles and restore Germany to power. This was one of the ways in which the Great Depression aided the Nazis. Because of the people of Germany falling into poverty and despair and being eager for help, Hitler's talk of a new Germany and his
