Characteristics and explanations of depression

• Depression: Definition and symptoms

  Depression is a mood disorder.

  A mood disorder is the term used to explain disorders that affect the emotional state of those suffering from them, i.e. – the current emotional mood is distorted or inappropriate to the circumstances. 

  Depression is characterised by low mood and low energy levels.
• Diagnostic features of depression

  • Depression can affect the thoughts (cognitions), feelings (emotion), behaviour (actions) and the physical well-being of an individual.  
  • Clinical depression for example is not merely a feeling of sadness (although this forms a major part of the illness), but rather a set of complex symptoms. 
  • The symptoms must be causing distress or impaired functioning in social and/or occupational roles
• Beck’s explanation

  Beck suggested that there is a cognitive explanation as to why some people are more vulnerable to depression than others.

  He suggested three parts to this cognitive vulnerability

  • Faulty information processing
  • Negative self-schemas
  • The negative triad
• Beck’s explanation

  Faulty information processing

  Beck believed that people who are depressed make fundamental errors in logic

  Beck proposed that depressed people tend to selectively attend to the negative aspects of a situation and ignore positive aspects

  There is a tendency to blow small problems out of proportion with thinking in terms of black and white and ignoring the middle ground; you are a success or a failure, rather than not good at some things but OK at others.
• Beck’s explanation

  Negative self schemas

  A schema is a building block of knowledge, a ‘package’ of ideas and information that has developed with experience

  A self-schema is a package of ideas that we have about ourselves 

  People who have become depressed have developed negative self-schemas and therefore they interpret all the information about themselves in a negative way
• Beck’s explanation

  The negative triad

  Beck built on the idea of maladaptive responses, and suggested that people with depression become trapped in a cycle of negative thoughts. They have a tendency to view themselves, the world and the future in pessimistic ways – the triad of impairments 

  • Negative view of the self (I am incompetent and undeserving)
  • Negative view of the world (it is a hostile place)

  Negative view of the future (problems will not disappear, there will always be emotional pain)
• Ellis’s explanation

  Ellis proposed that good mental health is the result 

  of rational thinking

  Ellis argued that there are common irrational beliefs that underlie much depression (poor mental health), and sufferers have based their lives on these beliefs

  • For example: “I must be successful, competent and achieving in everything I do if I am to consider myself worthwhile”
• Ellis’s explanation

  Ellis suggested that…

  • (A) an Activating Event causes
  • (B) and individual's Beliefs which results in 
  • (C) a Consequence

  If beliefs are subject to cognitive biases (in the same way as Beck’s) then they can cause irrational thinking which may produce undesirable behaviours.
• Evaluation - Beck

  (+)It has good supporting evidence

  Much research has supported the proposal that depression is associated with faulty information processing, negative self-schemas and the triad of impairments 

  (+)It has practical application in CBT

  Beck’s cognitive explanation forms the basis of cognitive-behavioural therapy. All cognitive aspects of depression can be challenged in CBT.

  (-)It does not explain all aspects of depression

  The theory explains the basic symptoms of depression however it is a complex disorder with a range of symptoms, not all of which can be explained
• Evaluation - Ellis

  (-)It only offers a partial explanation

  Some depression does occur as a result of an activating event (reactive depression). However not all depression arises as a result of an obvious cause

  (+)It has practical application in CBT

  Like Beck’s explanation, Ellis’ explanation has led to successful therapy.  Irrational negative beliefs are challenged and this can help to reduce depressive symptoms suggesting that the irrational beliefs had some role in the depression.
• Evaluation - Ellis

  (-)It does not explain all aspects of depression

  This explanation also does not explain why some individuals experience anger associated with their depression or why some patients suffer hallucinations and delusions