Depression: Psychopathology

• AO1 - Categories of Depression


  -Major depressive disorder - severe & short term depression

  -Persistent depressive disorder- long-term&recurring depression

  -Disruptive mood disregulation disorder- childhood temper tantrums

  -Premenstrual dysphoric disorder- mood disruption prior to and/or during menstruation
• AO1 - Behavioural characteristics of depression


  Activity levels:

  - Depression sufferers have reduced energy levels making them lethargic which has an effect on education, social life and work.

  Disruption to sleep&eating behaviour:

  - Sufferers may experience insomnia or an increased need for sleep. Similarly appetite may increase or decrease leading to weight gain or weight loss.

  Aggression or self harm:

  Sufferers are often irritable so can become verbally or physically aggressive. It can lead to aggression towards the self, including self harm in the form of cutting or suicide attempts.
• AO1 - Emotional characteristics of depression


  Lowered mood:

  - A more pronounced feeling of sadness in everyday life. sufferers describe themselves as feeling 'worthless' or 'empty'

  Anger:

  - Sufferers don't only experience sadness but also anger, sometimes extreme anger directed towards the self or others. such emotions can lead to self harming behaviour

  Lowered self-esteem:

  Sufferers tend to have lowered self esteem which can be extreme with some sufferers of depression describing a sense of self-loathing
• AO1 - Cognitive characteristics of depression

  Poor concentration:

  - Depression is associated with poor levels of concentration and the sufferer may find themselves unable to stick with a task they usually would so can interfere with a sufferers work.

  Attending to and dwelling on the negative:

  - More inclined to pay more attention to negative aspects of a situation and ignore positives. They also have a bias towards recalling unhappy events rather than happy ones.

  Absolutist thinking:

  - Most situations are not all-good or all bad but a sufferer tends to think in these terms