Depression

• Emotional characteristics of depression are low mood/sadness, loss of interests & pleasure, worthlessness, hopelessness, anger
• Behavioural characteristics of depression are reduced/increased activity, reduced energy, changes to appetite & sleep habits
• Cognitive characteristics of depression are negative thoughts & beliefs, low self-esteem, irrational perceptions of reality
• Beck's Negative Triad is: negative view of the world, negative view of the future, negative view of self
• Negative self-schemas may cause a person to interpret all information about themselves negatively
• Faulty information processing occurs when people attend to the negative aspects of a situation and ignore the positive aspects
• Ellis's ABC model consists of: Activating event, Beliefs, Consequences
• Activating events are external events that trigger irrational thoughts and beliefs
• Beliefs may be either rational or irrational
• Consequences may be either healthy or unhealthy
• Ellis's ABC model only explains reactive depression, as it has to be triggered by an activating event