Depression

• define depression.


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

  all form of depression & depressive disorders are characterised by changes to mood.
• what are the DSM-5 categories of depression and depressive disorders?

  major depressive disorder - severe but short term depression.

  
  

  persistent depressive disorder - long term or recurring depression, including sustained major depression and what used to be called dysthymia.

  
  

  disruptive mood dysregulation disorder - childhood temper tantrums.

  
  

  premenstrual dysphoric disorder - distruption to mood prior to and or during menstruation
• what are the behavioural characteristics of depression?

  activity levels.

  disruption to sleep and eating behaviour

  aggression and self harm.
• explain behavioural characteristics of depression - activity levels.

  people with depression have reduced levels of energy - making them lethargic.

  this has a knock on effect, with people tending to withdraw from work, education & social life.

  extreme cases - can be so severe that person cannot get out of bed.

  some cases - depression can lead to the opposite effect - known as psychomotor agitation. - agitated individuals struggle to relax & may end up pacing up and down a room.
• explain behavioural characteristics of depression - disruption to sleep and eating behaviour.


  depression associated with changes to sleeping behaviour.

  person may experience reduced sleep (insomnia), particularly premature waking.

  or an increased need for sleep (hypersomnia).

  
  

  appetite and eating may increase or decrease, leading to weight gain or loss.
• explain behavioural characteristics of depression - aggression and self harm.

  people with aggression often irritable - can become verbally or physically aggressive.

  can have serious knock on effects on a number of aspects of their life.

  e.g: someone experiencing depression might display verbal aggression by ending a relationship or quitting a job.

  depression can lead to physical aggression directed against the self. includes self harm, often in form of cutting or suicide attempts.
• what are the emotional characteristics of depression?

  lowered mood.

  anger.

  lowered self esteem
• explain emotional characteristics of depression - lowered mood.


  depressed = lowered mood

  lowered mood defining emotional element of depression but it is more pronounced than in the daily kind of experience of feeling lethargic and sad.

  people with depression describe themselves as 'worthless' and 'empty'.
• explain emotional characteristics of depression - anger .


  people with depression frequently experience anger, sometimes extreme anger.

  anger can be directed as self or others.

  on occasion such emotions lead to aggressive or self harming behaviour - characteristic appears under behavioural characteristics as well.
• explain emotional characteristics of depression - lowered self-esteem..


  self- esteem is the emotional experience of how much we like ourselves.

  depression - reduced self-esteem, like themselves less than usual.

  can be extreme, some describe it as self loathing - hating themselves.
• what are the cognitive characteristics of depression?

  poor concentration.

  attending to and dwelling on the negative/

  absolutist thinking.
• explain cognitive characteristics of depression - poor concentration.

  depressed person unable to stick with a task as they usually would, or might find it hard to make decisions that they normally would find straightforward.

  poor concentration and poor decision-making likely to interfere with the individual's work.
• explain cognitive characteristics of depression - attending to and dwelling on the negative.

  when experiencing a depressive episode, people inclined to pay more attention to negative aspects of a situation and ignore the positives.

  tend to see glass as half empty rather than half full.

  depressed people have a bias towards recalling unhappy events rather than happy ones - the opposite bias that most people have when not depressed.
• explain cognitive characteristics of depression - absolutist thinking.


  most situations are not all good or all bad, but when a person is depressed they tend to think in these terms.

  called 'black and white thinking'.

  means that when a situation is unfortunate they tend to see it as an absolute disaster.
• Who was Albert Ellis (1962)?

  An american psychiatrist
• What did he suggest?

  A different cognitive explanation of depression
• What did he propose?

  That good mental health is the result of rational thinking
• What is this defined as?

  Thinking in ways that allow people to be happy and free of pain
• To Ellis what do conditions like anxiety and depression result from?

  Irrational thoughts
• How did Ellis define irrational thoughts as?

  Not as illogical or unrealistic thoughts, but as any thoughts that interfere with is being happy and free of pain
• How did Ellis use the ABC model?


  To explain how irrational thoughts affect our behaviour and emotional state
• A-


  Activating event
• What situations did Ellis focus on?

  Situations in which irrational thoughts are triggered by external events
• According to Ellis, when do we get depressed?

  When we experience negative events and these trigger irrational beliefs
• B-


  Beliefs
• What did he call the belief that we must always succeed or achieve perfection..?

  'Musturbation
• What is I-can't-stand-it-itus?


  The belief that it is a major disaster whenever something does not go smoothly
• What is Utopianism?


  The belief that life is always meant to be fair
• C-


  Consequences
• What happens when an activating event triggers irrational beliefs ?

  There are emotional and behavioural consequences