What is Depression?

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by lucycarrick03gmailcom | Saturday 21st of January 2023

What is Depression?


Depression is classified by psychiatric diagnostic manuals (DSM-V and ICD-10) as being a disorder that affects an individual’s mood, with the more severe forms of clinical depression having a significant impact on an individual’s day-to-day functioning. Depression is a very common form of mental illness with between 8-12% of the British population experiencing depression in any one year (Office for National Statistics psychiatric Morbidity report, 2001). Depression is also more commonly found in women, with 1 in 4 women at some point in their lives experiencing an episode of depression that requires treatment, compared to 1 in 10 men. 


There are a number of different forms of depression that vary in symptoms, diagnosis and treatment; some of these include bipolar disorder (manic depression), postnatal depression and seasonal affective disorder (SAD). This study guide will focus on the most common diagnosis of major depressive disorder (MDD), also known as unipolar depression. There are also a number of different explanations of the causes of depression including biological explanations such as the roles of genetics and neurochemicals and psychological explanations e.g. cognitive and psychodynamic theories. In line with these different approaches to understanding depression are a variety of different treatments that aim to target the causal factor, including drug treatment, cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) and psychoanalysis. 


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Depression essays

What is depression? Here are some essays to help you understand more about depression


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