...difference in theories of the psychological and biological explanations of major depression. Psychological explanations refer to the cognitive and behavioral theories of major depression such as negative cognitions, learned helplessness, and hopelessness. While biological explanations refer to genetic and neurochemical factors to explain the development and maintenance of major depression (Davey, 2011). Major depression, also commonly referred to as clinical depression, major depressive illness, major affective disorder, or unipolar mood disorder, is a clinical mood disorder including one or more episode of serious depression lasting two or more weeks with no manic episodes. Symptoms include fatigue, impaired...
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...Depression in Adolescents: A Look at Effects, Causes, and Treatments Christopher Marshall Jaffe Vanderbilt University Abstract This paper describes and analyzes the very general term of depression, specifically keying on depression in adolescents. The paper is split into four main sections, the first being the definition of the problem. This section will discuss what the problem is and how it is defined in the scientific world. The second section will outline and present the effects and importance of depression on the individual, family, and society as a whole. The third section will discuss the causes of depression using theories such as the Hopelessness Theory of Depression, the Response Style Theory of Depression, and Beck’s Cognitive Theory of depression. And lastly the fourth section of this paper will discuss different treatments to the problem and their effectiveness. Definition Depression Depression has been around before the ancient Greeks and even before it got deemed “depression” the famous, “Greek physician Hippocrates, called it melancholia” (Encyclopedia Britannica, 2012). It is so common in the psychological world now that some refer to it as the common cold. Depression can be described simply as, “A mood or emotional state that is marked by feelings of low self-worth or guilt and a reduced ability to enjoy life” (Encyclopedia Britannica...
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...overall prevalence of depression at about 11.1% of the American population, or nearly 35 million individuals (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2011). A predictive models suggest that up to 50% of the population will experience at least one episode of depression during their lives” (Life Extension, 2014). Depression has negatively affected the lives of many individuals throughout the world. Look around you there may even be someone close to you that is demonstrating signs of its stifling affects. Depression does not discriminate with its suffocating relentless appetite. It is known to affect children as well as adults of all ethnicities. Depression has an insidious way of taking one from feeling at a level of ten to a level of zero. And if left untreated depression can lead to losing everything that means the world to you. One is debilitated by its unwavering feeling of loneliness, and sometime paralyzing affects. It’s often said that depression results from a chemical imbalance, Scientist have believed for more than 30 years that mood related chemicals such as dopamine, serotonin, and norepinephrine also known as monoamines are low in the brain during major depressive episodes (Nauert, 2006). Clearly, there is an impact on the patient’s life and his/her family life. Therefore, depression is often considered as a disorder that affects the whole family. In this presentation we will attempt to describe the general behaviors associated with depression, explain how biological...
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...suicide, the surviving family is at risk for mental health and relationship problems (Miers, Abbott, & Springer, 2012, p.119) The American Associate for Suicidology found that family and friends of a person who commits suicide often experience an emotional turmoil of disbelief, remorse and depression (CDC, 2013). Suicide has a huge effect on the community as well resulting in 34.6 billion dollars in medical and work loss costs (CDC, 2014). Thus, suicide affects everyone and continues to be a significant health...
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...Follingstad, Brennan, Hause, Polek and Rutlaedge (1991) found stronger correlations between depression and psychological abuse rather than physical abuse, supporting a link between sense of self and depression in abusive relationships. Jack and Dill (1992) also observed that depressed women reported ―a loss of self‖ either they were with the history of domestic violence or not. Findings of another study indicated that physical and psychological violence by close family members is very common and leading to intimidation, emotional trauma, continued depression, suicidal ideations, and suicidal attempts among women (Sheikh, 2000). Women with the history of domestic violence are fatally depressed and demeaned by their abuser, there seems to be...
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...According to the IPTS the desire for suicide is composed of PB and TB. These components are considered necessary but, alone, not sufficient for suicide to occur. Specifically, the experience of either state alone is a proximal risk (immediate vulnerability) and sufficient cause for passive suicidal ideation (thoughts of wishing to be dead but not an active desire to inflict self-harm). Therefore, the more severe form active suicidal ideation (an active desire to inflict lethal self-injury) is caused by the simultaneous presence of both interpersonal constructs when perceived hopelessness that the situation is unchanging is present (Van Orden et. al., 2010). Past research has found PB and TB to individually predict passive suicidal ideations (Davidson et al., 2010). Although, individually these constructs predict passive suicidal ideations, the theory hypothesizes that the simultaneous presence of these constructs creates the desire to die within an individual or active suicidal ideation. In addition to understanding this two-way interaction, it is important to further understand the levels of ideation which move an individual from minimal risk to high risk of enacting suicidal behavior. Figure 2 illustrates the causal process beginning with TB and PB and ending with the desire to...
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...be useful in understanding Depression? Shannon Casey PSYC 2301 - Introduction to Psychology R.Richardson Spring 2015 | Tue/Thu LCC Montgomery Campus Abstract Thru out life most people will experience some kind of depression. At times, depression can make life unbearable. Treatment from a psychologist could help learn the reason for the depression and any necessary treatments. The cognitive perspective is concerned with understanding mental processes such as memory, perception, thinking, and problem solving. How can the Cognitive Perspective be useful in understanding Depression? As it is well known, most people will or have experienced some kind of depression in their lives. At times, depression can make life unbearable. Treatment from a psychologist could help learn the reason for the depression and any necessary treatments. DEPRESSION Depression is a mental illness in which a person experiences deep, stable sadness and discontinued interest in nearly all activities. People also use the term depression to describe the temporary sadness, loneliness, or blues that everyone feels from time to time. In contrast to normal sadness, severe depression, also called major depression, can dramatically lessen a person’s ability to function in social situations and at work. People with major depression often have feelings of despair, hopelessness, and worthlessness, as well as thoughts of committing suicide. Depression can take several other forms...
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...Major Depression and Suicide Kathy Lightsey AB200 Introduction to Applied Behavioral Science Carol Abraham Nov. 03, 2014 Major Depression and Suicide The word depression is used for a wide range of mental states. On one side are passing moods of disappointments, regrets, or anxiety that almost everyone experience one time or another. On the other side there are symptoms which are described by many psychiatrists as clinical depression. This is a lingering feeling of despair that last for weeks at a time. Normally when a doctor or psychiatrists make a diagnosis of clinical depression is when a person suffers from most or all of a group of symptoms for longer than two weeks. Depression is the common cold of psychological problems. People with the run-of-the-mill depression may feel sad, blue, or “down in the dumps.” They may complain of lack of energy, loss of self-esteem, difficulty concentrating, loss of interest in activities, and other people ( Nezlek et al., 2000), uncontrollable crying, and thoughts of suicide. These feelings are more intense in people such as Joe in our course case study with major depressive disorder (MDD). According to the nationally representative sample of more than 9,000 adults in the United States, MDD affected 6% to 7% of the people within any given year, and one person in six over the course of their lives (Kessler, 2003). About half of those with MDD experience sever symptoms such poor appetite, serious weight loss, and agitation or psychomotor...
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...Schizophrenia, Depression and Mania, Anxiety disorder and Tourette syndrome. Schizophrenia is an extremely complex disorder with several different types including; catatonic, paranoid, disorganized, undifferentiated and residual. Schizophrenia is characterized by positive and negative symptoms. The symptoms are considered positive or negative because they are behaviors that are either “bizarre” excesses or lacking in a persons character. (Comer, 2011). Symptoms may include things like hallucinations, delusions, illogical speech or thought, bag hygiene, reduction in emotional expression, reduced speech and no motivation. There are different theories behind the causes of schizophrenia but the main biological theories include brain abnormalities or chemical imbalance with the dopamine neurotransmitter, genetics or even the possibility that exposure to a virus during fetal development is the cause. (Comer, 2011). Antipsychotic drugs are typically used to treat this disorder and can greatly reduce symptoms. There are the conventional antipsychotic and the newer atypical antipsychotic drugs. While each has their ups and down the conventional drugs tend to cause motor disturbances while the atypical neuroleptics can cause weight gain, diabetes and issues with fat regulation. Many people experience depression at one point during their lives. Depression is an affective disorder that can be unipolar or bipolar. When depression is bipolar it has periods of depression followed by...
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...In today’s society there is evidence of ostracism everywhere. It happens in schools, at work and online, within groups of friends, and between strangers. Most people have probably felt this feeling of being ignored, left out, or bullied at one point in their life. For most, it’s not a big deal, the situation blows over and normal life continues, however, for some ostracism can be life threatening. Increased access and popularity of the internet, especially social sites like Facebook and Twitter make escaping ostracism almost impossible. In the article “Social Exclusion causes Self-Defeating Behavior” by Jean Twenge, Kathleen Catanese and Roy Baumeister, they explain that out of ostracism comes a natural instinct to try to turn a negative feeling into a positive feeling for the victim. Unfortunately, in an attempt to produce a positive outcome, negative ones most often happen. A good example in our society is in the latest media coverage of homosexual males who have committed suicide as a result of extreme ostracism and self-defeating behaviors that arise from feeling alone. I would argue that today’s society is much more accepting and supportive of those who are homosexual, however, although overall society accepts these individuals, there are still many who are not accepting and go out of their way to make people feel “different” and ‘wrong”. In the case of the student at Rutgers University, it was found that not only was he feeling ostracized in school and online, his parents...
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...Depression is a common mental disorder. At times people may feel desperation and hopelessness. If this is one of the moods you are experiencing, then you may be depressed. Depression is a continuing and persistent mood that can interfere with your life. It’s represented by feelings of guilt, sadness, and self-doubt. Most people will get affected by depression at one point in their lives through a close friend or a family member. Whatever the cause, events in your life causes chemical changes in your brain. There are many types of depression Such as; persistent depressive disorder, seasonal affective disorder, and psychotic depression. First, persistent depressive disorder is an ongoing depression that last for two years or longer, also known...
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...us is the major cause of depression? It’s not really hard to believe when you think about it as we are faced with mass unemployment, and a recession which can put heavy strain on even the most balanced of individuals and their interpersonal relationships around them. There are many interpersonal instances that can have the ability to lead to the onset of depression, such as the family environment, the socialization setting, and the discrimination against gender in certain cultures and instances. Depression has many brothers and sisters in the medical world, ranging from disorders such as Dysthymia, postnatal depression and in some extreme cases of depression such as Bio polar, and major depression (Unipolar). But no matter what the diagnosis is or how serious the depression is, depression is not trivial and is a real health condition contrary to what some people believe. It is not something that you can just snap out of and more importantly it is not a sign of weakness. For many people depression can affect them in different ways to other people with the same condition but normally the symptoms are similar. These can range from lack of sleep or too much sleep, weight loss or gain, unpredictable mood swings, thoughts of self-harm or suicidal tendencies, low self-worth, and no interest or motivation. These are just a few of the psychological symptoms but the major question in which this essay will try to answer is what is the major cause of depression is. Is it psychological...
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...disorder is a mood disorder that disrupts an individual’s emotional state. Suffers have states of mania characterized by euphoria and states of depression. There are 4 types of bipolar disorder diagnosed by their states of mania versus hypomania. There is no single cause for bipolar disorder. It can begin as soon as early adolescents, although it often gets misdiagnosed. With treatments such as mood stabilizers and antidepressants, episodes of mania and depression can be significantly reduced. Without treatment, the risk for suicide and accidental death are increased. About Bipolar Disorder Mood disorders are disorders that change a persons’ emotional state to greater extremes and for longer periods of time than most people. Mood disorders can be either uni-polar or bipolar. Uni-polar mood disorders, such as depression change individuals’ emotions in only one manner. Depression causes feelings of extreme sadness or hopelessness. Bipolar disorder gets its name from the fact that it can affect a persons’ mood in two directions, extreme happiness or extreme sadness. In terms of the earth, the poles are the northernmost and southernmost points on Earth; they are the furthest point you can go before changing directions. Varied states of extreme happiness, mania, and extreme sadness, depression, is why many refer to this disorder as manic depression. In the context of bipolar disorder, both extremes can result in death. Researchers study the types of bipolar disorder, the course that...
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...Journal of Applied Philosophy,Suicide Intervention and Non-Ideal Kantian Theory Vol. 19, No. 3, 2002 245 Suicide Intervention and Non-Ideal Kantian Theory MICHAEL J. CHOLBI Philosophical discussions of the morality of suicide have tended to focus on its justifiability from an agent’s point of view rather than on the justifiability of attempts by others to intervene so as to prevent it. This paper addresses questions of suicide intervention within a broadly Kantian perspective. In such a perspective, a chief task is to determine the motives underlying most suicidal behaviour. Kant wrongly characterizes this motive as one of self-love or the pursuit of happiness. Psychiatric and scientific evidence suggests that suicide is instead motivated by a nihilistic disenchantment with the possibility of happiness which, at its apex, results in the loss of the individual’s conception of her practical identity. Because of this, methods of intervention that appeal to agents’ happiness, while morally benign, will prove ineffective in forestalling suicide. At the same time, more aggressive methods violate the Kantian concern for autonomy. This apparent dilemma can be resolved by seeing suicide intervention as an action undertaken in non-ideal circumstances, where otherwise unjustified manipulation, coercion, or paternalism are morally permitted. 1. The chances are good that each of us will some day confront a person close to us contemplating suicide. Every year...
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...RUNNING HEAD: CASE STUDY #1 SEVERE DEPRESSION 1 Severe Depression July 20, 2014 SEVERE DEPRESSION 2 What causes severe depression? It's not known exactly what causes depression. As with many mental disorders, a variety of factors may be involved. Depression is a serious disorder that can take a terrible toll on individuals and families. Untreated depression can result in emotional, behavioral and health problems that affect every area of your life. Neurotransmitters are naturally occurring brain chemicals that likely play a role in depression. When these chemicals are out of balance, it may be associated with depressive symptoms. Because traumatic events such as the death or loss of a loved one, financial problems, high stress, or childhood trauma can trigger depression in some people, depression is more common in people whose biological (blood) relatives also have this condition. Researchers are trying to find genes that may be involved in causing depression, and changes in the body's balance of hormones may be involved in causing or triggering depression. Hormone changes can result from thyroid problems, menopause or a number of other conditions. Numerous depression treatments are available. Medications and psychological counseling (psychotherapy) is very effective for most people. Psychotherapy...
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