Affective Disorders Flashcards
What is affective disorders
Disorders of mood
Most common of these disorders
Bipolar major affective disorder, also known as manic depressive illness.
Unipolar major affective disorder or severe depression.
Bipolar affective disorders
The dominant feature of this disorder is the presence of elevated mood (mania) with or without intervening periods of depression. During the period of mania, at least three of the following seven symptoms must be present ( According to the American Psychiatric Association)
Inflated self-esteem or grandiosity
Decreased need for sleep
Ore talkative than usual or pressure to keep talking
Distractibility
5) Flight of ideas or subjective experience that thoughts are racing
6) Increase in goal-directed activity (either socally, at work or school, or sexually) or psychomotor agitation.
7) Excessive involvement in pleasurable activities which have a high potential for painful consequences, eg., unrestrained shopping sprees, sexual indiscretions, or foolish business investments.
Symptoms of bipolar affective disorder
Inflated self-esteem or grandiosity
Decreased need for sleep
Ore talkative than usual or pressure to keep talking
Distractibility
5) Flight of ideas or subjective experience that thoughts are racing
6) Increase in goal-directed activity (either socally, at work or school, or sexually) or psychomotor agitation.
7) Excessive involvement in pleasurable activities which have a high potential for painful consequences, eg., unrestrained shopping sprees, sexual indiscretions, or foolish business investments.
More on bipolar affective disorder
Full-blown manic episodes require that symptoms be sufficiently severe to cause marked impairment in job performance or relationships, or to necessitate hospitalization to protect patients and others from harm.
When practitioners have reason to believe that a client may have this disorder, it is important to enquire whether the client has experienced the above symptoms. If exploration seem to indicate that a client has the disorder, immediate psychiatric consultation is needed to determine if hospitalization is needed or to determine the need for medication.This disorder is biogenetic and various compounds containing lithium carbonate produce remarkable results in stabilizing maintaining these persons. Close medical supervision is required, however, because lithium compounds have a relatively narrow margin of safety.
Major Unipolar Affective Disorder
This type of disorder is far more common than bipolar disorders. Persons with this disorder, experience recurrent episodes of depressed mood. Major depression differs from the blues in that dysphoria (Painful emotions) and the absence of pleasure (anhedonia) are present. The painful emotion commonly is related to anxiety, mental anguish, an extreme sense of guilt (over what appears to be relatively minor offences), and restlessness (agitation).
In assessing depression, it is important to identify precipitants of the depressive episode. Commonly an important loss or series of losses have occurred and clients may need assistance in working through grief associated with these losses and developing compensatory sources of companionship and support.
Symptoms of major unipolar affective disorder
To be assigned a diagnosis of major depressive episode, a person must have had at least five of the following nine symptoms for at least two weeks (APA, 1987):
Depressed mood…most of the day, nearly every day.
Markedly diminished nterest or pleasure in all, or almost all, activities.
Significant weight loss or weight gain when not dieting… or decrease or increase in appetite.
Insomnia or hypersomnia nearly every day
5) Psychomotor agitation or retardation
6) Fatigue or loss of energy nealy every day
7) Feelings of worthlessness, or excessive or inappropriate guilt.
8) Diminished ability to think or concentrate, or indecisiveness.
9) Recurrent thoughts of death…recurrent suicidal ideation with a specific plan, or a suicide attempt or a specific plan foe committing suicide
