depression

• DSM-5 categories of depression:

  • major depressive disorder (severe but often short-term)
  • persistent depressive disorder (long-term or recurring)
  • disruptive mood dysregulation disorder (childhood temper tantrums)
  • premenstrual dysphoric disorder (disruption to mood prior to or during menstruation)
• Behavioural characteristics of depression:

  • activity levels (reduced energy levels)
  • disruption to sleep and eating behaviour (can experience reduced sleep/appetite or an increased need for sleep/food)
  • aggression and self-harm (verbal/physical aggression towards themselves or others)
• Emotional characteristics of depression:

  • lowered mood (still a defining emotional element of depression but it is more pronounced than in the daily kind of experience of feeling sad)
  • anger (can be directed at themselves or others)
  • lowered self-esteem (tend to report reduced self-esteem)
• Cognitive characteristics of depression:

  • poor concentration (unable to stick to a task/difficulty making decisions)
  • attending to and dwelling on the negative (inclined to pay more attention to negative aspects of a situation and ignore the positives)
  • absolutist thinking (tend to think situations are either all-good or all-bad. when a situation is unfortunate they tend to see it as an absolute disaster)