explaining depression

• categories of depression recognised by DSM:

  • major depressive disorder - severe but short term
  • persistant depressive disorder - long term/ recurring
  • disruptive mood regulation disorder - childhood, intense tantrums
  • premenstrual dysregulation disorder - prior/during menstruation
• behvaioural characteristics of depression:

  • activity level - increased/decreased energy levels
  • disruption to sleep + eating behaviour - gain/loss
  • aggression and self harm
• emotional characteristics of depression:

  • lowered mood - pronounced (worthless/empty)
  • anger - directed at self/others
  • lowered self esteem
• cognitive characteristics of depression:

  • poor concentration - poor decision making
  • attending to or dwelling on negatives
  • absolutist thinking - black/white thinking
• cognitive explanations of depression:

  • beck's negative triad
  • ellis's ABC model
• beck's negative triad:

  • persons cognitions create vulnerability to depression
  • faulty information processing - thinks in black/white, attend to negative and ignore positives
• negative schema:

  • package of info people have about themselves, used to interpret world
  • negative = interpret info about themselves in negative way
• triad:

  • views of the world - unpredictable, dangerous
  • views of future - hopelessness, no point
  • views about self - overwhelmed, damaged, incompetent
• ABC model:

  • good mental health = rational thinking. only thoughts interfere with being happy + free from pain
• irrational thoughts:

  • must achieve perfection (musterbation)
  • disaster when something doesnt go smoothly (i-cant-stand-it-itis)
  • life must be fair but it isnt (utopianism)
• structure of ABC model:

  • A = activating agent - negative events trigger beliefs
  • B = beliefs - can be rational/irrational
  • C = consequences - rational = healthy emotions, irrational = depression
• EVALUATION: research support

  • grazioli + terry -assessed 65 pregnant women for cognitive vulnerabilities before and after birth - high cognitive vulnerability = likely to suffer with postnatal depression
  • clark + beck - confirmed this in review - vulnerabilities common in depressed people and preceded depression
  • association between vulnerabilities and depression
• EVALUATION: real world application to treating depression

  • led to CBT - requires understanding of how vulnerabilities and irrational beliefs lead to depression
  • acknowledgement of faulty cognitions = can be treated through altering thoughts + beliefs - March et al said its an effective treatment
  • importance of cognitive explanations in clinical practice
• EVALUATION: alternative explanations - overlooks factors

  • biological approach = genes + neurotransmitters can cause depression - research support, low level of serotonin in depressed people
  • success of drug therapies which act on serotonin system show transmitters play a role
  • existence of many explanations- diathesis-stress approach may be advisable