Depression

• Depression: A mental disorder characterised by low mood and low energy levels
• Behavioural: How we act
• Emotional: How we feel
• Cognitive: How we think
• All forms of depression and depressive disorders are characterised by changes to the mood
• What are the four categories of depression and depressive disorder recognised by the DSM?

  Major depressive disorder, persistent depressive disorder, disruptive mood dysregulation disorder, premenstrual dysphoric disorder
• What are the three behavioural characteristics of depression?

  Activity levels, disruptions to sleep and eating behaviour, aggression and self-harm
• What are the three emotional characteristics of depression?

  Lowered mood, anger, lowed self-esteem
• What are the three cognitive characteristics of depression?

  Poor concentration, attending to and dwelling on the negative, absolutist thinking
• Activity levels

  People with depression have reduced energy, making them lethargic. In some cases this can lead to the opposite (psychomotor agitation) - agitated individuals struggle to relax
• What knock-on effect does reduced energy levels have?

  People can tend to withdraw from work, education and social life
• Disruption to sleep and eating behaviour

  A person may experience insomnia or hypersomnia. Appetite and eating may also increase or decrease - leading to weight gain or loss
• What is insomnia?

  Reduced sleep
• What is hypersomnia?

  An increased need for sleep
• Aggression and self-harm

  People can become irritable and sometimes verbally/physically aggressive. Depression can also lead to physical aggression directed against the self, including self-harm
• Lowered mood

  People with depression often describe themselves as 'worthless' and 'empty'
• Anger

  People with depression often experience anger, which can be directed towards the self or others
• Lowered self-esteem

  People with depression tend to report reduced self-esteem, which can be quite extreme - with some describing a sense of self-loathing
• The cognitive aspect of depression is concerned with the ways in which people process information. Those with depression tend to process information about the world differently than the 'normal' person
• Poor concentration

  The person may struggle to stick with a task, or may find it hard to make decisions - both things they'd normally find straightforward. Poor concentration and poor decision-making are likely to interfere with the individual's work
• Attending to and dwelling on the negative

  When experiencing a depressive episode, people are more likely to pay attention to negative aspects of a situation and they also have a bias towards recalling unhappy events
• Absolutist thinking

  Depressed people believe most situations are not all-good or all-bad; sometimes called 'black-and-white thinking'
• What is Major depressive disorder?

  Severe but often short-term depression
• What is persistent depressive disorder?

  Long-term or recurring depression, including sustained major depression
• What is disruptive mood dysregulation disorder?

  Childhood temper tantrums
• What is premenstrual dysphoric disorder?

  Disruption to mood prior to and/or during menstruation