Types Of Major Depressive Disorder

Major Depressive Disorder has claimed the lives of up to 15% of those suffering from the disorder through suicide (Belmaker & Agam, 2008). Different people are effected by depression in different ways. Some individuals, like Raquel, suffer from loss of interest, feelings of worthlessness, along with thoughts of suicide (Fave & Kendler, 2000). Others go on with their daily routine with a smile on their face, while hiding their emotions. Although most individuals will experience depressed mood or general loss of interest in activities they once enjoyed (Spaner, Bland, & Newman, 2007).

Major depressive disorder, we all have probably heard of it, but do we really know what is it is ? Major depressive disorder is “a mood disorder that causes a persistent feeling of sadness and loss of interest… major depressive disorder or clinical depression, affects how you feel, think and behave and can lead to a variety of emotional and physical problems”(Mayo Clinic Staff). Having this disorder puts you in a very unstable position because you are constantly feeling depressed so it affects the way you think and feel and that can be very dangerous. Sometimes this happens to a person for one day, but put yourself in the shoes of someone who experiencing this for more than two weeks? When you have major depressive disorder, the signs of depression disorder can last for two weeks or more(myers646). This dis order must be treated immediately because “depression may make you feel as if life isn 't worth living”(Mayo Clinic Staff). Feeling this way can lead you to doing things that you can not take back such as committing suicide and sadly that can happen when you have major depressive disorder. Kiyohara and Yoshimasu conducted a research that showed that 90% of suicides have were dealing with major depressive disorder(qtd. in The World Health Organization). Throughout this paper I will be discussing the causes, symptoms and treatment when dealing with major depressive disorder.

Mental disorders can be diagnosed in infancy, childhood, or adolescence. Major depression is a lost of interest or pleasure in all activities. People with major depression experience symptoms such as a change of appetite, restlessness sleep, decreased energy, feeling of worthlessness, difficulty concentrating, and/or suicidal thoughts. A major depressive episode can lasts for about 2 weeks or more. A major depressive episode can be caused by stress, social anxiety, or other reasons. People with a milder depression are able to function and seem normal (DSM-IV-TR). A major depressive disorder affects about 14.8 million adults in America with 6.7 million at age 18 and older in the United States population. A depressive disorder can develop in any age and more likely to occur more often in women than in men and any person who is going through a hard time can develop depression. A treatment for individuals with depression is medication, psychotherapy, or attending social groups, 80 percent of the people who follow up with these treatments begin to show improvement with in four to six weeks. About 50 percent of the patients that take medicine to “cure” the depression are unsuccessful with the treatment, because they stop taking their meds due to the side effects, but the people who are in the support

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.

Depression is a clinical condition associated with the normal emotions of bereavement and sadness. However, this condition does not pass on when the external causes of these emotions dissolve and is usually inconsistent to their cause. In essence, the classic severe conditions of depression have not been attributed to external precipitating cause. One of the most common conditions of depression is Major Depressive Disorder (MDD), which is a psychiatric condition that impairs moods, behavioral patterns, and thoughts for a protracted duration. This psychiatric illness tends to impair the patient’s social functioning and quality of life due to its impacts on cognitive functioning. Some of the most common symptoms of the condition include difficulty in concentration, weight change, minimal interest in pleasure, high rate of suicide, and physical impairment. The severity of this disease was evident in the year 2000 when the World Health Organization ranked it as the fourth cause of disability and premature death across the globe.

“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

Depression is often described in superficial terms based on the manifestation of symptoms but falling short of capturing the complexity existing within the intrinsic etiology of the disease. It is one of two classifications of mood disorders with the other being Bipolar Disorder which is also known as manic-depressive illness. Major depression is one of the most common mental disorders in the United States. The lifetime prevalence rate of depression is 16.2% of the population with a two-fold greater risk in women than men after adolescence (McCance, 2010). Signs and symptoms characteristic of Major Depression include sadness, irritability, significant weight gain or loss, insomnia, guilt, and suicide ideation. It is distinguishable from Bipolar Disorder in that it lacks symptoms of mania. Risk factors associated with depression are stress, comorbidities, life changes, and substance and/or alcohol abuse. It is important to understand the relative risk associated with these risk factors when determining treatment. For example, the relative risk between the substance abuse, depression, and suicide is evident in a recent analysis conducted by The National Survey on Drug Use and Health focusing on the suicidal thoughts and behavior among adults with substance dependence or abuse and adults with major depressive episode. Results indicated that adults 18 or older who had past year substance

Major Depressive Disorder and Major Depressive Episodes affect many across the country in various forms and degrees. Though many are affected by MDD/MDE most do not receive the help they need. A group that may not always be acknowledged in suffering from major depressive disorder/major depressive episodes are adolescents. Consequently, more often than not, adolescents do not receive a diagnosis or support with their struggles. Mental illness symptoms in adolescents may be dismissed for various of reasons, but can have a serious impact on various aspects of their lives.The struggles could be mitigated and managed by a public health approach. Public health approach may help to first collect the information on the extent of the issue. The

A disabling, painful, and costly mental disorder that can affect adults, teens, and children in debilitating ways; this is how Major Depressive Disorder (MDD) is viewed. Depression stems from a mixture of nature and nurture; it is compiled with factors such as genetics, socio-cultural, environment, and psychology (Marsella, 2003). It is important that clinicians, social workers, health care providers, and those that provide care and service of others recognize the symptoms of MDD and know the forms of treatment for this disorder.

“It’s more than just a bout of the blues, depression isn’t a weakness and you can’t simply ‘snap out of it’” (Mayo Clinic Staff 1). One of the most common mental disorders in the United States is Major Depression. It typically ends up with significant impairments that can interfere with one’s daily activities (“Major Depression” 1). Depression is a mental disorder that drastically can change the affected person’s outlook on life and how they handle the world around them. Depression rates have consistently increased worldwide, but, luckily, there are methods to help with the symptoms. This disorder has been made more well known over the years, leading to an increase in preventative measures.The following paper will discuss the rising rates,

Interpersonal Psychotherapy (IPT) is a short-term psychotherapy that was developed by Myrna Weissman and Gerald Klerman in the 1980’s. It focuses on the interpersonal relationships in the client’s life, instead of on past or biological causes. The therapy is kept fairly structured by the clinician’s use of a manual and aims to help the client recover from their current episode of depression. Interpersonal Psychotherapy has been used in conjunction with Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) in research studies, with promising results. Though initially developed for the use of depression, IPT has also been effective with other disorders, such as anxiety and eating disorders. Interpersonal Psychotherapy continues to be

Interpersonal therapy (IPT) is a derivative of therapy designed for depressed individuals, which originated from the New Haven-Boston Collaborative Depression Project (Fairburn et al 1993). It borrows from the psychodynamic school of psychology, but concentrates on interpersonal functioning and involves three steps: 1) the first is an intensive analysis of the interpersonal context which the disorder develops and is maintained 2) the second involves addressing the interpersonal problems and contracting with the patients to work on these problems 3) the third deconstructs feelings about termination of therapy, reviews progress and outlines future work (Fairburn et al. 1993).

Depression is a normal emotional reaction to perceived loss and hopelessness (Segal, Williams, & Teasdale, 2002). There are a number of different types of depression such as chronic depression, manic depression and the primary focus of this essay Major Depressive Disorder (MDD). MDD is a clinical depression, which is more chronic and more severe compared to other types of depression. It significantly disrupts the individual’s ability to meet the normal demands of life. According to many clinicians, clinical depression should be considered as a medical illness in need of medical intervention. Other mental health professionals believe this is an overstatement of the role of physiology and the

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)

Major depressive disorder affects nearly 15 million of American adults in a given year. (Kessler, Chiu, Demler & Walters, 2005). With the impact it has on the society as well as the well-being of the individual, it must be in the interest of the healthcare to be able to provide patients with the most effective treatment method. Extensive research has been conducted on the efficacy of antidepressant medication and cognitive therapy, the two main treatment methods used for depression today. The discussion has, however, been characterized by conflicting claims, resulting in a debate over what should be used rather than us having definite conclusion of how patients are best helped.