Week 2 Post 1: Depressive Disorders

 Depressive Disorders:  

Leading cause of disability in the world, lingers at least 2 consecutive weeks, smaller frontal lobe, hippocampus volume, asking about suicidal thoughts reduces suicide risk 

Disruptive Mood, Dysregulation Disorder, Major Depressive Disorder, Persistent Depressive Disorder/Dysthymia, Premenstrual Dysphoric Disorder, Substance/Medication-Induced Depressive Disorder, Depressive Order Due to Another Medical Condition, Other Specified Depressive Disorder, Unspecified Depressive Disorder 

• Major Depressive Disorder: 5+ symptoms, 2-week period, significant change, persistent sad mood, anhedonia (loss of interest or pleasure) 

  
  

Symptoms- significant change in weight or appetite, sleep patterns, psychomotor agitation and retardation, fatigue, thoughts of worthlessness or guilt, difficulty concentrating or indecisiveness, suicidal thoughts 

**cannot be explained by the effects of a substance or another medical condition or a (short-lived) response to loss or grief 

**Dani Burrow’s Perspective: blackness, suffocating, “nothing is enough” (nothing can make you happy), losing the social part of life (friends, family, etc.), regular daily activities become forced, often trying to hide it 

**6-7% of adults (3 times more likely in 18-29 than in 60+), female prevalence=1.5 to 3 times, male prevalence=0.5%, often begins in adolescence of early-adulthood, increases with puberty, increased risk of another episode with severity of preceding episode, being younger, more prior episodes; genetic risk is higher with closer relativity 

• Persistent Depressive Disorder (Dysthymia): chronic and lower grade intensity version of MDD, depressed mood for most of the day, more days than not, for at least 2 years 

Symptoms-poor appetite or overeating, insomnia or hypersomnia, fatigue, low self-esteem, poor concentration or indecisiveness, sense of hopelessness 

**amalgamation of Dysthymic Disorder and Chronic Major Depressive episode, early start,  

Spontaneous Recovery: recovering (even temporarily) without intervention 

Disrupted Neurotransmitter Functioning=serotonin, dopamine, noradrenaline 

Diathesis-stress Model: underlying predisposition (genetic, physiological, psychological) that is triggered by stressful life events and brings on a disorder 

Cognitive Behavioral Model of Depression: focuses on changing negativity about self, world, future 

Pessimistic Explanatory Style: bad things from internal, stable and global factors; good things from external, random factors 

Treatments- Cognitive Behavioral Therapy; Behavioral Activation/Pleasant Events Scheduling, exercise, cognitive restructuring