DYSTHYMIC DISORDER Essay

Cognitive therapy is one of the few theories that have been extensively scientifically tested and found to be highly effective in over 300 clinical trials. It focuses on the immediate or automatic thoughts the client has and how these thoughts affect their feelings and behaviors. The goal of cognitive therapy is to identify these thoughts that are poorly affecting the client. Then teach the client how to identify these automatic thoughts and how they can effectively change them. Through the very structured sessions of cognitive therapy, a client should essentially learn the tools to be their own cognitive therapist for future problems they may encounter. The therapy session will not make them an expert but they will be better prepared to

Depression is defined as, “a mood disorder marked especially by sadness, inactivity, difficulty with thinking and concentration, a significant increase or decrease in appetite and time spent sleeping, feelings of dejection and hopelessness, and sometimes suicidal thoughts or an attempt to commit suicide” (Merriam Webster). A close friend of mine battles depression and would describe it is, “a debilitating mood that makes it hard to get out of the bed in the morning, a desire to sleep all the time, inability to experience joy, and apathy towards life.” Due to its prevalent occurrence among several people groups throughout history, depression is known as the “common cold of mental illnesses” and has been called “the most widespread, serious,

Cognitive-behavioural therapy is more frequently used to treat an extensive range of disorders such as depression and anxiety.

Cognitive behavioral therapy is a theory that deals with depression and ways to relieve the depression. The theory is based on the assumption that events happen and affect the behavior and emotions of an individual. When a positive event happens, there are three things that get to the depressed individual. First, the depressed child or adult think about the event. The depressed person selectively chose the negative aspect of the event and sees themselves as failure. Second, the emotions of the child or individual go down. Third, what the person does is withdrawal, de-activation,

“Recent data estimate the overall prevalence of depression at about 11.1% of the American population, or nearly 35 million individuals (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2011). A predictive models suggest that up to 50% of the population will experience at least one episode of depression during their lives” (Life Extension, 2014). Depression has negatively affected the lives of many individuals throughout the world. Look around you there may even be someone close to you that is demonstrating signs of its stifling affects. Depression does not discriminate with its suffocating

There is a recent debate is on the different treatment methods for depression and which are the most effective. The

Hollon, S. D., PhD. (1990). Cognitive therapy for depression. Psychiatric Annals, 20(5), 249-251,255-256,258. Retrieved from https://ez.salem.edu/login?url=https://search.proquest.com/docview/894194358?accountid=13657

Cuijpers (2017) identifies that over the last 40 years there have been approximately 500 randomized trials looking at the efficacy of treating depression with psychological methods. The studies chosen provide insight into the lack of efficacy of antidepressant medication therapy, as well as the effectiveness of psychological therapies. The evidence provided in the studies appears to support one another.

The foundation of cognitive therapy is that thoughts have the ability to influence individual's feelings. One's emotional

People of all ages, backgrounds, and walks of life have felt depressed and unhappy at some time in their lives. These periods of sadness usually pass after a short time, but for some people, this feeling can remain for weeks, months, and even years. (1) This prolonged state of unhappiness is called major (or clinical) depression and is characterized by a persistent sad or "empty" mood, loss of interest in favorite activities, difficulty concentrating, and many other symptoms. It is not simply a mental state but an illness that interferes with the way people feel, function, and think.(2)

In research conducted by Hollon et al (2005), it was stated that while there was evidence for the enduring effects of cognitive therapy, there was a lack of extensive research comparing the effects to the use of antidepressant medication after terminating the treatment.

They are also similar in that there is limited success with these approaches. The cognitive approach consists of four phases and is very effective in helping people overcome depression. The phases start with increasing the individual’s life activities which elevates their mood, the second phase forces individuals to change their automatic negative thoughts so they will be more positive, the third phase takes the new positive attitude and applies that thinking to the individual’s sense of what is happening in their life, the fourth and final stage is to change the primary attitudes that allowed the depressive behavior to begin (Chapter 7, 2009).

Dysthymic Disorder causes you to have a low mood for as long as a year, sometimes even longer. What this means is that you will feel sad a lot of the time. The symptoms you would experience would be sadness, feeling tired very often, changes in eating habits, and changes in sleeping habits. About 2% of the American population has this type of depression. The best treatment would be therapy as opposed to medication, although combining the two might result in a faster improvement.

Dysthymia is another form of depression, but it’s not as severe. This disorder can be a chronic illness that is long lasting. Dysthymia occurs every day for one year or less in teens. Some of the symptoms are fatigue, appetite deprivation and low self- esteem. The Primary Care Journal states that dysthymia only affects 3 percent of the population and it is associated with functional impairment. (www.en.Wikipedia.org/wiki/dysthymia). Individuals who are diagnosed with dysthymia usually don’t notice that they are experiencing depression. They are able to carry out their daily lives.

The term depression is widely misused in today’s society. All human beings experience periods in life where they are sad for a relatively short period of time, which is considered normal. Those who experience sadness for extended periods may be suffering from depression. Two terms used to reference the classifications of depression, are Major Depressive Disorder, and Dysthymia. Individual diagnosis of these classifications is dependent on the length of time, and severity of symptoms experienced by the individual. The causes for these depressive states can be due to genetics or the insufficient production of neurotransmitters, which provide the brain with the data necessary to regulate one's psychological well being. Two examples