Depression

• Depression: A mood disorder characterized by low mood, loss of interest, and low energy. The DSM-V distinguishes between major depressive disorder and persistent depressive disorder.
• Major depressive disorder: a shorter term mood disorder characterized by a persistent and debilitating depressed mood.
• persistent depressive disorder: a longer term, recurrent, and debilitating mood disorder characterized by low mood and low self-esteem. Lasts for at least 2 years.
• Emotional characteristics of depression are sadness, loss of interest/pleasure in activities, feelings of hopelessness, low self-esteem, lack of control and inward or outward anger.
• Behavioural characteristics of depression can be a shift in activity level (increased or decreased drastically), reduced energy and tiredness or erratic agitation and restlessness. Also insomnia or excessive sleeping and variation in appetite.
• Cognitive characteristics of depression are a negative self-concept, negative view of the world, inability to concentrate, guilt, irrational thoughts and low self-esteem.
• Ellis proposed that the key to developing mental disorders such as depression lies in irrational beliefs.
• Ellis proposed the ABC model, where there is an activating event, a behavioural response based on a belief and a consequence.
• If a person has negative beliefs about the activating event, there will most likely be a negative consequence, such as irrational thoughts.
• The source of irrational beliefs lies in musturbatory thinking. For example, saying 'I must be successful in order to be happy'.
• In order for mental healthiness to prevail, irrational beliefs must be challenged first. This can be achieved through CBT.
• Beck proposed a negative triad specifically about depression. He proposes that depression occurs as a result of perceived lack of control and negative interpretations of life.
• The negative triad consists of a negative view of the self, the world and the future.
• People with depression have negative schema which are mental frameworks that lead people to have different perceptions of the world. This can be acquired during childhood by parental abuse, rejection and criticism.
• Negative schema can lead to cognitive biases. For example an individual over-generalises small negative feedback into a conclusion about themselves.