Major Depressive Disorder

As of 2015, around 16.1 million adults suffer from Major Depressive Disorder in America and one in five teenagers will experience it (Adaa) (Everett). Depression is a temporary disease that is treatable with an assortment of medications and services (Everett). The American Psychiatric Association defines Depression and/or major depressive disorder as a “common and serious medical illness that negatively affects how you feel, the way you think and how you act.”(Psychiatry). Yet there are many forms of treatment, from medication to therapy treatments. For example, Selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors, shortened to SSRIs, are a form of antidepressants that work by “increasing levels of serotonin in the brain” (Mayo Clinic. (2018). Selective).

In an attempt to better understand depression in today’s youth, I have chosen to explore the depths of Major Depressive Disorder and how it affects the young people in our society. Depression amongst school age children and adolescents are the primary focus. The prevalence, adversities, and treatment of the depression are discussed as well. After exploring these few facets of the disorder, I will talk briefly about the Ecological Model developed by Urie Bronfenbrenner and Morris in 1998 that is used by counselors to help evaluate and assess the children who are referred by teachers or medical

One disorder that really strikes a nerve with me is Major Depressive Disorder. After being incorrectly treated and misdiagnosed for several years, I have finally found relief in SNRI form, after many failed attempts with SSRI drugs.

Depression being an affective mood disorder is a serious global public health issue with over 350 million sufferers worldwide8,10,11. Although it is described with feelings of low mood, inadequacy, guilt, low self-worth, loss of motivation, interest, pleasure and concentration; it is also associated with a functional deficit of the monoamine transmitters (serotonin and noradrenaline) in certain brain regions such as amygdala, hippocampus and prefrontal cortex6,10. It can also induce biological symptoms like retardation of thought and action as well as sleep disturbances, loss of appetite and libido and if left untreated, it can eventually lead to disability8,11. Therefore, the pharmacotherapy plays a crucial role in the treatment of depression.

A major depressive episode is described as having a depressed mood or loss of interest or pleasure along with five (or more) of the following symptoms: (a) significant weight loss, (b) insomnia or hypersomnia, (c) psychomotor agitation or retardation, (d) fatigue or loss of energy, (e) feelings of worthlessness or excessive or inappropriate guilt, (f) diminished ability to think or concentrate, or indecisiveness, and (g) recurrent

To understand major depressive disorder one must first explore the symptoms. The DSM-5 has a clear and defined criterion to assist in the diagnosing of major depressive disorder (MDD). Depression is a widespread and common place as evidenced by the estimate that 32 to 35 million US residents will develop MDD in their lifetime (DeRubeis et al., 2008). This alarming number means that millions of US residents have met at least five of the stated symptoms with in the DSM-5 for much of a two week time period. The 11 different criterion outlined in the DSM-5 are as follows; 1.depressed mood most of the day. 2) Markedly diminished interest or pleasure in all or most daily activities. 3) Significant unintended weight loss or unusual increase in appetite. 4) Insomnia or hypersomnia. 5) Psychomotor agitation or retardation observable by others. 6) Fatigue or loss of energy. 7) Feeling of worthlessness or excessive or inappropriate guilt. 8) Difficulty maintaining

Major Depressive Disorder (MDD) is a very common diagnosis in the mental health field. It is important that clinicians understand MDD thoroughly as it is such a common diagnosis. Many clinicians will be faced with working with clients with a diagnosis of MDD at some point in their careers so it is important to review the criterion and study the diagnosis. Major Depression Disorder requires a distinct change in mood usually a transition into feelings of sadness and hopelessness. This is usually accompanied by several symptoms such as sleep disturbances, irritability, suicidal thoughts, physiological changes amongst other symptoms that will be later discussed in this paper. The presenting symptoms must last at least 2 weeks

?Do you or someone that you now suffer from major depressive disorder? Major depressive disorder effects 6.7 percent of the adult American population; approximately 14.8 million Americans. It is a tragic fact that so many people suffer from depression at some point in their lives.?A diagnosis of major depressive disorder is given when a licensed counselor/ psychiatrist concludes that someone suffers from at least five of the nine symptoms listed in the DSM which are present for longer than a two week period. The second requirement is a depressed mood or loss of interest or pleasure. There are nine symptoms listed that have been researched and proven to lead to depression. The feelings of being sad, empty, or hopeless is considered a depressive mood, and should be noted if occurring longer than a day. A loss in pleasure of all or any normal activities is another symptom of depression. An abnormal change in appetite or weight should be considered in looking at signs of having major depressive disorder. Some of the other effects of major depressive disorder include fatigue and loss of energy, retardation, and insomnia. One symptom of the nine that really stands out is having a disruption in your ability to think or concentrate; affecting your everyday life activities. Then the last sign that has been mentioned is having thoughts about death. These thoughts are not just a fear of dying, but a specific plan in which to die by suicide. Major depressive disorder ?symptoms cause

Depression or depressive disorders (unipolar depression) are mental illnesses characterized by a profound and persistent feeling of sadness or despair and/or a loss of interest in things that once were pleasurable (Ford, Anne, & Odle, 2015). A major depressive episode is a change in several different aspects of a person’s life or emotional state consistently for a minimum of 14 days. A major depressive disorder may consist of a single episode or be recurrent at various points in life. Anhedonia, a state where a person no longer feels pleasure from activities that previously invoked joy, usually accompanies a major depressive disorder (Kneisl & Trigoboff, 2013). Signs of depression include: changes in appetite (increased or decreased cravings),

In today’s society it isn’t uncommon for most people to know someone who has been diagnosed with depression or been diagnosed personally. Over time it has been proven that depression isn’t just ‘a way of thinking or a weakness in ones character. It has been linked not only to genetics but also chemical imbalances that occur within the brain. Based upon the severity of the depression it can have a significant impact on a person’s ability to function and their overall quality of life. There are many treatments currently available for depression. Most of these treatments are in the form of medications that work by inhibiting the reuptake of neurotransmitters such as serotonin, dopamine, and norepinephrine from within the synapses of the brain.

Depression is a mental illness categorized by strong feelings of sadness and cognitive changes that can alter a person’s ability to function normally. While research is still being done on what exactly triggers depression in the brain, a hypothesis on one of the physical causes of feeling depressed is a serotonin imbalance in the brain. Serotonin is a monoamine neurotransmitter that produces the ‘good feelings’ in the brain. Two problems are present in people with depression: either the brain is not producing enough serotonin or the serotonin transporters are retaking the serotonin too

Major depression is defined as a persistent mood disorder that involves abnormalities in normal cognitive, emotional, and behavioural functioning (Dozois, 2012). A depressed individual will typically be extremely sad and unmotivated, displaying a loss of pleasure in activities that were once pleasurable (Dozois, 2012). Depression involves a serious brain abnormality that can easily be hidden from the naked eye. The signs of depression are not always obvious and many individuals fail to get proper diagnosis and treatments.

Patients with depression display an alternation of neurotransmitters arising from interruptions of serotonin, norepinephrine, and dopamine. The impedance of these neurotransmitters causes depressive symptoms to present themselves, including a patient’s inability to regulate sleep, appetite, and sexual drive. The brain produces neurotransmitters that are critical to human function, however, in a depressed patient there is an altered release of several neurotransmitters (Harvard Health Publications, 2009). All of these neurotransmitters relate to the “monoamine hypothesis of depression”, an early theory that persists today (Sheline et al.; 2002). A drop in the levels of serotonin, norepinephrine, and dopamine typically correlates with major depressive

Depression is a chronic, recurrent psychiatric disorder affecting nearly 21% of the world population (Gu et al., 2014; Lai et al., 2014). According to the world health organization (WHO) reports, it will become the 4th leading cause of disability worldwide by the year 2020 (WHO, 2001; Wang et al., 2013). The monoamine theory states that the brain neurotransmitters such as 5-Hydroxytyrptamine (5-HT), Norepinephrine (NE), and Dopamine (DA) assume to play a key role in the pathophysiology of depression (Patel and Galani, 2013). Clinically, at the early stages of depression, noradrenaline reuptake inhibitors (e.g. desipramine, reboxetine, etc.) and selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (e.g. fluoxetine, citalopram, etc.) have been mainly exploited

Major depression, in itself, is a debilitating mental disorder that negatively impacts most or all aspects of a sufferer’s life and often times can even lead to suicide. Just to give a few numbers, at least 1 million people worldwide every year take their own life (Hawton and Heeringen 1372-81), half of which are caused by the possession and improper or unsuccessful treatment of major depression (Chehil and Kutcher 30-33). In light of these dark statistics, the benefits and limitations of the main treatments for major depression, antidepressants and psychotherapy, are not only worth investigation, but with thousands of lives on line, vital to the human race. However, to take it further, there is much to be said of human