Diagnosis and Treatment of Depression
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BEH 225
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Diagnosis and Treatment of Depression
One very common type of psychological disorder is depression. “Depression is a mood disorder that is characterized by sadness, loss of interest in activities and perhaps excessive guilt or feelings of worthlessness.” (Morris & Maisto, 2010, p. 398). Depression is the most common type of mood disorder. Most individuals who suffer from depression feel as though they do everything wrong and feel like they are a failure at life. They also tend to blame themselves for their problems. People who suffer from depression often lose interest in sex and food and are also likely to suffer from insomnia. They also have problems concentrating and suffer from short term memory loss.
It is normal to be sad occasionally, but this is different from being clinically depressed. When there is a disturbance in mood that is a normal reaction or the disturbance does not last very long, there is no cause to worry; however, when it is long lasting and it is not a normal reaction it is classified as a mood disorder. Depression is mainly diagnosed by a person’s self-reported experiences or the person’s friends or relative’s voiced concerns. This then prompts a physician to do a mental examination to determine if the person is indeed depressed. After a family history is done, and the doctor is aware of the patient’s symptoms, the physician may ask the patient different questions and provide the patient with a questionnaire to fill out. This questionnaire may help the physician to determine whether or not the patient is depressed and if so how severe the depression may be. In some cases, especially in when dealing with children and adolescents, physicians may conduct interview with friends in relatives to assist with determining if the patient is actually clinically