A person that I am close with suffers from depression. For the ease of writing this paper, I will refer to this person as Lucy. While there are many types of depression, I will be focusing on unipolar depression. Unipolar depression a type of depression in which the person does not suffer from a history of mania.
2Depression is a low, sad state marked by high levels of sadness, loss of energy, low self-worth, feelings of guilt and other related symptoms.
Lucy has not suffered from depression for long but her symptoms are quite severe. She frequently has crying spells and sometimes struggles to leave the house and complete ordinary daily tasks. What once seemed like an easy task to Lucy now seems like an overwhelming task that she could not …show more content…
Additionally, Time Magazine recently reported that certain genetic variations can account for 17 to 29 percent of the risk of developing depression (as well as other diseases of the mind). This clearly shows that genetics can play a role in the formation of depression in the course of one's lifetime. Additionally, certain neurotransmitter chemicals have also been strongly linked to unipolar depression. For example, norepinephrine and serotonin are shown to be related to depression when these chemical show low activity in the brain. Certain medications can lower norepinephrine and serotonin level within the brain. The next theoretical model used to explain depression is the psychodynamic model. Sigmund Freud developed the first psychodynamic explanation of unipolar depression. Freud explains that when a person experiences loss, they may merge their emotions with the identity of the person they have lost. This process can lead to the person being depressed. Freud also recognizes that not all depressed people have experienced the loss of a loved one. In response to this argument, Freud explains that some people may endure symbolic or imagined loss meaning that a person may equate different types of losses with the loss of a loved one. For example, a college- aged student like Lucy may fail one of her courses at school. Lucy may equate this loss with the loss of the love of her parent by believing that her parents will only love her if she succeeds in all of her …show more content…
In order to treat depression, behaviorists aim to help depressed people to build more positive patterns of behavioral reinforcement. Peter Lewinsohn was among the first clinical theorists to create both a behavioral explanation and treatment for unipolar depression. The next theoretical model that is used
5to explain the causes of depression is the cognitive