Depression

• Absolutist thinking

  • Tend to think in 'black and white' thinking(all good or all bad)
  • if the situation is unfortunate they view it as a disaster
• Attending to dwell on the negative

  • Pay more attention to the negative aspects of a situation
  • have a bias toward recalling unhappy events
• Poor concentration

  • May find it difficult to stick with tasks as they usually would
  • may find it hard to make decisions that would normally be straightforward
• What are the cognitive characteristics of depression?

  • Poor concentration
  • Attending to dwell on the negative
  • Absolutist thinking
• What is self-esteem?

  The emotional experience of how much we like ourselves
• Lowered self-esteem

  • Suffers report a rduced self-esteem
  • this can be quite extreme (self-loathing)
• Anger

  • Frequently experience anger/ extreme anger
  • can be directed at the self or others
• Lowered mood


  • More pronounced than in the daily kind of experience of feeling lethargic and sad
  • patients often describe themselves as 'worthless' or 'empty
• What are the emotional characteristics for depression?

  • Lowered mood
  • anger
  • lowered self-esteem
• Aggression and self-harm

  • Often irritable( physically/verbally aggressive)
  • Can lead to physical aggression against the self
• Disruption of sleep and eating behaviour


  - Insomnia: reduced sleep

  - hypersomnia: increased need for sleep

  -appetite may increase/decrease causing weight gain/loss
• Activity levels (behavioural characteristics)

  • reduced levels of energy (lethargic)
  • tend to withdraw from work, education and social
  • may have the have the opposite effect: psychomotor agitation
• What are the behavioural characteristics of depression?


  - Activity levels

  - disruption to sleep and eating behaviour

  - aggression and self-harm
• Premenstrual dysphoric disorder


  Disruption to mood prior to and/or during menstruation
• Disruptive mood desregulation disorder


  Childhood temper tantrums
• persistent depressive disorder

  • longterm/recurring depression
  • including sustained major depression
• Major depressive disorder

  Server but often short term
• What a the DSM-5's categories of depression?

  • Major depressive disorder
  • persistent depressive disorder
  • disruption and mood dysregulation disorder
  • premenstrual dysphoric disorder
• How are all formsof depression / depressive disorders characterised?


  By changes in mood