Symptoms And Treatment Of Depression

A major depressive episode is not a disorder in itself, but rather more of a description or symptoms of part of a disorder most often depressive disorder or bipolar. A person suffering from a major depressive episode must have a depressed mood or a loss of interest in daily activities consistently for a minimum of a two-week time span (Psych Central, 2013). In diagnosing the mood must reflect a change from the person’s normal mood. A person’s daily activities and functions, such as work, social routines and friends, education, family, and relationships must also have been negatively impacted by the change in their mood. A major depressive episode is also identified by presence of five or more of the following symptoms. The patient can show signs of significant weight loss or weight gain even not dieting or trying to lose or gain weight. The patient will also display a change in appetite almost everyday, either with an increase or a decrease in their normal eating habits. The weight change is typically set at an increase or decrease in weight of more than 5% per month. The patient will display a depressed mood almost the entire day and this sadness, emptiness, loneliness, crying, and distant is observed by others or indicted by the patient, is typically

One of the most common psychiatric disorders is known as clinical depression and affects anywhere between 3% and 13% of the population with some form of depressive symptoms affecting as much as 20% of the adult population at some point in their lives (Amenson & Lewinson, 1981; Kessler et al., 1994; Oliver & Simmons, 1985, as cited in Antonuccio, Danton, & DeNelsky, p. 574). The concept of ‘harmful dysfunction’ advanced by Horwitz and Wakefield (2007) describes two key components of clinical depression: a dysfunctional mechanism and the dysfunction being harmful to the individual (as cited in, Parker & Paterson, p.405). This paper explores the following questions: what does research indicate about clinical depression and what are the implications for treatment? Reviews are presented in regards to the emergence of depression and psychotherapy versus medication to treat clinical depression. Considerations are briefly discussed and the research paper will conclude with an interpretation of the critical points.

Major depression is a commonly diagnosed psychological disorder affecting individuals’ ability to feel happiness and peace of mind. Those who suffer experience negative emotions, lack of motivation, changes in behaviour and dysfunctional cognitive symptoms. Depression is classified by the Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders Fifth Edition (DSM-5) as five of more of the listed symptoms present persistently over the same two weeks. One of these symptoms must be depressed mood or loss of interest in previously pleasurable activities. Depression causes disruption to typical daily life such as inability to maintain friendships and jobs. Other symptoms outlined by the DSM-5 include; insomnia, fatigue and recurrent thoughts of death. There is much debate over what exactly causes depression. Biological explanations question hereditary and neurotransmitter factors. While psychological theories include the cognitive ideas of Beck’s negative triad and hopelessness theory. This essay will focus on the ways in which psychological and biological explanations contrast and how their theories can overlap to better understand depression.

“Major depressive disorder affects approximately five to eight percent of the U.S. population age eighteen and older annually” (Neeb’s, 181). Signs and symptoms of major depressive disorder are feelings of guilt or worthlessness, increased agitation, sad mood, increased fatigue, weight loss or gain, anhedonia, recurrent thoughts of death or suicide, and decreased ability to think (Neeb’s, 182). Five or more of these symptoms must appear in the patient for at least a two week

After reviewing the case of my patient Tom, I have come to the conclusion that he suffers from depression. At this stage of analysis of this case, we can look at the symptoms and signs shown by the patient and match them with the symptoms and signs of depression. Looking at the DSM IV (Diagnostic Statistic Manual 4) we can understand that the most basic symptoms of depression include loss of interest or pleasure in daily activities for more than two weeks, being in a mood that is different from

Depression is one of the most common mental disorders in the United States and is the leading cause of disability worldwide. The disorder can affect anyone at any time and any age however the onset is often due to a chemical imbalance or a stressful event in one’s life. For many people with depression, symptoms usually are severe enough to cause noticeable problems in day-to-day activities and relationships with others. Major depression is widespread, and the causes of are equally as numerous, and so are the variety of treatment plans.

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

Christine is a 47-year old married Caucasian female. She currently takes Lexapro, 50mg, and has been taking it for 8 years. She reports a diagnosis of major depressive disorder. She has twice attempted suicide, both times she was under the influence of alcohol and took pills (two handfuls of ibuprofen). She reports to you that she often thinks about “not wanting to be here [alive].” What questions would you ask her? What are things you would consider about her case? What would you report to her prescriber? As her counselor, what would you want to work on?

The popular Western conception of the depressed patient remains both culturally-pervasive and largely homogenous. From Eeyore to Hugh Laurie's portrayal of Dr. House, pop-cultural depressive symptomology oftentimes equates to images of despair, withdrawal, and an almost palpable air of sadness. This understanding of depression, indeed, too echoes in diagnostic criteria for depressive disorders as recently published within the fifth edition of the DSM. Accordingly, for example, the DSM-V classifies those exhibiting either (1) depressed mood and/or (2) anhedonia in conjunction with at least five of such other symptoms as “recurrent suicidal ideation” and “significant weight loss” for a significant portion of two-weeks, as clinically diagnosable with suffering from a “Major Depressive Episode.”

Depression is classified as a mood disorder by the DSM-IV (1994) and is defined as a mental illness characterized by sadness, general apathy, a loss of self-esteem, feelings of guilt, and, at times, suicidal tendencies (Lexicon, n.d). Depression is one of the most common mental illnesses that individuals receive treatment for today. In any six-month period, 9.4 million Americans, and 340 million people in the world, suffer from this disease. One in four women and one in 10 men will develop depression during their lifetime (An Overview of Depression, n.d). Although the DSM-IV has defined depression, its etiology, contributing factors, and interventions differ among the schools of thought in psychology. One such example is the different

Depression is a most prevalent diverse mood disorder .It’s a chronic disorder which upsets a person’s mood, thoughts, physical health and performance. Symptoms of this mind disorder are biological elements like impedance of thought, sleep disorder, loss of appetite and libido. The symptoms of emotional factors are sadness, apathy, pessimism, low self- respect, feeling of guilt, loss of enthusiasm and indecisiveness. The main two types of depression are unipolar depression and bipolar depression. Depression is one of the five leading causes of disability and disease burden worldwide. Prevalance rate of this disorder is more in woman, school dropouts and in geriatric

Depression can mean several different things. It can mean "normal" depression, such as loss, conflict, trauma, or the disruption of normal life balance. It can be a symptom of a physical illness, or a side effect of medication. It can also be based on neurochemical abnormalities (Karren, Smith, & Gordon, 2014, p. 181-182). Depression as an illness is not a normal reaction, but it can occur even without a clear reason (Karren, Smith, & Gordon, 2014, p. 182). A person who is depressed feels that the present conditions and the future possibilities are intolerable (Karren, Smith, & Gordon, 2014, p. 182). The elusiveness of depression makes it difficult to define: it 's not just one single condition with a simple cause (Karren, Smith, &

Depression is a psychiatric syndrome that affects at least 350 million people of all ages worldwide, (1) and it is an important global cause of morbidity and mortality, because patients with this disease have high risk of suicide or attempted suicide (2). This disorder has particular symptoms that interfere with social and personal abilities. These symptoms are related to a mood state and there are some criteria developed by DSM-IV that illustrate the features of the major depressive disorder, which includes depressed moods or loss of interest or pleasure, significant bodyweight loss or bodyweight gain, insomnia or hypersomnia nearly every day, psychomotor agitation or retardation, fatigue or daily loss of energy, and others (2). At present,

Severe depression can have a devastating effects on not only individuals, but also on their families and communities. Depressive disorders when severe or prolonged enough can cause some patients to seek to harm themselves, or worse; to seek to end their lives. While over the last century there have been significant strides in the treatment of depression, there still is much work to be done. May medication that treat depression take a long time for patient to reach therapeutic dosages, mean that patients often have to wait weeks on longer for their symptoms to improve. Because of the significant time for these medication to begin to cause patients depression to enter remission, there is a critical time frame in which patients need help or

In individual that suffer from depression, their work, school, eating, and the ability to enjoy life over an extended period are all affected. Depressed patients find it hard to function normally, focus, and participate in once-enjoyable activities. They also lack motivation or energy and may find it difficult making it hard to get through each day (Kroning & Kroning, 2016). All these symptoms are seen in this patient. Hence this is the primary diagnosis