psychological problems

• What is unipolar depression?


  A type of mood disorder causing periods of feeling sad and lacking motivation to do everyday activities.

  
• What are the 3 categories that unipolar depression can be put in?

  Mild

  Moderate

  Severe

  
• Name some symptoms of unipolar depression? [8 possible answers]


  • Not enjoying activities that they used to enjoy doing.

  • Poor sleep, finding it difficult to fall asleep or waking up tired.

  • Extreme tiredness that is not relieved by sleep.

  • Poor appetite or an increased appetite.

  • Lack of self-esteem.

  • Feeling guilt or blaming themselves for problems.

  • Acting nervously or feeling like general behaviour has slowed.

  • Feeling suicidal or attempting to commit suicide.
• What are the 3 main symptoms of unipolar depression?

  • Lowering of mood - feeling sad or upset.• Lack of energy after rest.• Lack of motivation.
• What does ICD-10 require a patient to have before diagnosis of unipolar depression?

  The ICD-10 require them to have at least one of the three main symptoms for at least 2 weeks on most days.

  
  

  The patient should also suffer from another one of the three symptoms at some point in that two week period.
• What features or characteristics may we see from a person with

  milddepression?The person may find their symptoms upsetting but they will be able to carry out most day-to-day activities.

  
• What do the ICD-10 refer to addiction as?

  A dependance disorder, because the body ‘depends’ on the substance or activity to feel normal.
• What features or characteristics may we see from someone with

  severedepression?The person may have suicidal thoughts or engage in self-harm to cope with their feelings.

  
• What is

  addiction?Addiction is a psychological problem where people feel the need to 'have' or 'do' something regularly to avoid negative feelings.

  
• What are

  withdrawalsymptoms?A set of unpleasant physical and psychological symptoms a person feels when trying to quit an addiction. The person may take or do the thing again to just feel 'normal'.

  
• What features or characteristics may we see from someone with

  moderatedepression?The person may struggle to do day-to-day activities, such as going to work or school.

  
• What are the symptoms of a dependance disorder (or addiction)? 6 possible answers.

  • Frequently feeling the need to take a substance.

  • Stopping or reducing the substance is very difficult.

  • Physical withdrawal symptoms such as: shaking, sweating or vomiting when the substance is not used for a period of time.

  • Developing tolerance to a substance: meaning a person needs to take more of the substance to get the same effect over time.

  • Replacing normal, fun activities with time spent using the substance.

  • Ignoring the evidence that the use of the substance is harmful to them.
• What are the symptoms of behavioural addiction?

  • The need to do the activity regularly.

  • Reducing the activity is very difficult.

  • Doing the activity more often or making if it more risky and extreme to get the same buzz.

  • Spending more and more time doing the activity. doing other things they used to enjoy less.

  • Ignoring arguments that the activity is unhealthy or damaging.
• How many

  symptomsneed to be present over howlongto be diagnosed with addiction?3 symptomsneed to be present at the same time over at least a1 monthperiod.
• How has the incidence of mental health problems changed over time?

  • Over the years, the amount of people being diagnosed with depression and other mental illnesses is growing.

  • Brandon Hidaka suggests that 'modern living' is more stressful and has more risk factors that lead to depression, for example: sleep deprivation.

  • The rise in cases in teenagers being diagnosed is heavily growing too.

  • Jean Twenage found that the cause of the rise in cases in teenagers could mean that their lifestyles are more stressful today than in the past.

  • Liu yo Lin has shown links between high social media usage and depression in her studies.
• How do mental health problems affect individuals and society?

  • A major effect of depression is the increasing risk of individuals committing suicide.

  • Many people are missing work because of mental illnesses, this puts a strain on workforces that need to get emergency cover.

  • Antidepressant drugs are very expensive to prescribe.

  • There are not enough therapist to help council patients.

  • Treatment, drug and therapeutic, costs NHS a lot, which could put a strain on their other services.
• What is

  genetic predisposition?A biological tendency to develop a particular behaviour as a result of the genes someone has.

  
• What is the

  diathesis-stress model?An explanation for depression that claims people can have a gene that makes them more likely to develop depression, but only if they face a stressful situation that triggers depressive thoughts.

  
• What are the

  strengthsof using agenetic explanationfor depression?• If we look at depression as a result of genes people inherit then society may be more accepting of those with depression. People with depression may be more accepting of having depression and they may be more willing to have treatment.

  • Lots of research backs up the point that genetics has an impact on developing depression. This can be seen from the twin studies and the amount of serotonin people have in their bodies.

  
• What is serotonin?


  A neurotransmitter associated with controlling mood.
• What are the

  weaknessesof usinggenetic explanationfor depression?• Some people believe that you have the free will to choose whether or not you 'let yourself' become depressed.

  • Another argument is that the genetic theory is reductionist because it does not take into account that many other factors can contribute to a person becoming depressed.
• What are the

  strengthsof usinggenetic explanationfor addiction?• There is scientific evidence such as twin studies and adoption studies.

  • Genetic explanation can help use understand why some people find it easier to stop and start addictive activities. This allows us to have better understanding in how to treat addiction.
• What are the

  weaknessesof usinggenetic explanationfor addiction?• It is reductionist because it fails to take into account other factors that lead to addiction.

  • Research has not been able to find a single gene that explains where addiction comes from.
• What is the

  cognitive theoryexplanation of depression?Cognitive theory states that behaviour can be explained by looking at how the brain processes information, and therefore how we think.

  
• What is

  Negative triad?A set of thought patterns where people feel bad about themselves, the future and the world in general. This develops from bad past experiences.
• How did Aaron Beck explain depression?

  He suggested that depression can be explained by negative thought patterns that people have based upon past experiences. These are negative self-schemas.
• What did Ellis's ABC model suggest?

  •Activating event: something that makes a person feel bad or unsettled. E.g. a bad exam result.

  •Beliefs: A person will associate the event to why it has happened, this can be rational or irrational.

  •Consequences: - If a person has a rational thought, they will think they failed the exam because they didn’t study enough.- If a person has an irrational thought, they will think they’ve failed because they went to a birthday party last week, although they studied the rest of the time.
• Strengths


  of thecognitive theoryexplanation?• It takes into account past events in people's life's.

  • It has been applied to modern day therapy, cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT).
• Weaknesses


  of thecognitive theoryexplanation?• It is difficult to tell if irrational thoughts are a caused of depression or a symptom?

  • Some types of depression cannot be explained by past life experiences.
• What is the genetic theory of addiction?

  There is some evidence that addictions run through families which explains why some people can do addictive activities but still not become addicted. However, others may do an activity once and become addicted.
• How does the

  Twin studylink to genetics?The Twin study found that identical twins, monozygotic twins with 100% shared genes are more likely to share the same addiction.

  However, dizygotic (unidentical) twins were less likely.
• How does the

  adopted childstudy link to addiction and genetics?If adopted children who had at least one biological parent with alcohol addiction they were more likely to show signs of alcohol addiction themselves.

  
• Strengths

  of thegenetic explanationof addiction?• There are scientific studies that back up the genetic theory, such as twin and adoption studies. This makes the theory more reliable.

  • It helps us understand why some people are more prone to becoming addicts. This helps doctors find ways to find ways of treating different individuals.
• Weaknesses

  of thegenetic explanationof addiction?• It is reductionist because it fails to take social factors into account.

  • Research has not been able to find a single gene that explains where addiction comes from. DDR2 A1 has been linked but is not fully responsible for addiction.
• What is CBT?


  Cognitive behavioural therapy is a type of therapy used to treat many different mental health disorders.

  
  

  The main aims are to help patients change the way they think (cognitive side). And to change they way they act to improve their symptoms (behavioural side).

  
• What are the


  strengthsof usingCBTto treatdepression?• There is evidence to suggest that it is effective. Matthijis Beltmen found that depressed patients treated with CBT improved more than those patients without CBT.

  • CBT is longer lasting treatment, compared to antidepressants, which can stop working after a period of time or cause problems when used for long periods. With CBT, patients learn to control and deal with thoughts and emotions - this knowledge can be used after therapy.
• What are the


  weaknessesof usingCBTto treatdepression?• It relies on patients wanting to change their behaviour and on the patient realising their thoughts are irrational. A symptom of depression is a lack of motivation, so patients may not be able to attend all session and complete homework.

  • There are also ethical objections. Some people believe therapist encourage patients that they way they think is 'wrong', this could further put the patient into a depressive sate.

  • Some therapists could abuse their power or change people's ways of thinking to suit what the therapist believes to be 'normal'.

  
• What are the


  2 stageswhen usingCBTto treat addicts?• Functional analysis.

  • Skills training.
• What is


  Functional analysis?The first stage of CBT to treat addiction. The therapist and patient identify who, what or where is the cause of their addictive triggers.

  
• What is


  Skills training?The second stage of CBT to treat addiction whereby addicts learn ways to control the patterns of behaviour that lead to addiction. Patient will learn skills and activities that prevent addictive triggered, they will usually also have a diary for homework.