Depression characteristics

• What is depression?

  A mental disorder characterised by low mood and low energy levels
• what is major depressive disorder?

  severe but often short-term depression
• what is persistent depressive disorder?

  long term or recurring depression
• what is disruptive mood dysregulation disorder?

  childhood temper tantrums
• what is premenstrual dysphoric disorder?

  disruption to mood prior to and or during menstruation.
• what are the behavioural characteristics?

  • activity levels
  • disruption to sleep and eating behaviours.
  • aggression and self harm
• explain activity levels

  • reduced energy levels.
  • tend to withdraw from work, education or social life.
  • psychomotor agitation - agitated individuals struggle to relax
• explain disruption to sleep and eating behaviours

  • reduced sleep (insomnia)
  • increased need for sleep (hypersomnia)
  • increased or decreased appetite leading to weight gain or loss
• explain aggression and self-harm

  • irritable
  • can become verbally or physically aggressive.
  • physical aggression directed against the self.
• what are the emotional characteristics?

  • lowered mood
  • lowered self-esteem
  • anger
• explain lowered mood

  • more pronounced than everyday sadness and lethargy.
  • feelings of worthlessness and emptiness
• explain lowered self-esteem

  • reduced self esteem
  • sense of self-loathing
• explain anger

  • directed at self or others
  • can lead to aggressive or self-harming behaviours
• what are the cognitive characteristics

  • poor concentration
  • attending to and dwelling on the negative
  • absolutist thinking
• explain poor concentration

  • unable to stick with a task as they usually would.
  • hard to make decisions.
  • both of these can interfere with the individuals work.
• explain attending to and dwelling on the negative

  • pay more attention to the negative aspects of a situation and ignore positive ones.
  • glass half empty rather than half full
  • bias towards recalling unhappy events rather than happ ones
• explain absolutist thinking

  • black and white thinking
  • when a situation is unfortunate, they tend to see it as an absolute disaster