Depression Flashcards
What is Depression?
Depression is a mental disorder and all forms of depression and depressive disorders are characterised by changes in mood
What are the categories of depression and depressive disorders as defined by the DSM?
Major Depressive Disorder - sever, but short-term
Persistent Depressive Disorder - Long-term, or recurring depression
Disruptive Mood Dysregulation Disorder - Childhood Temper Tantrums
Premenstrual Dysphoric Disorder - Disruption to mood prior to period
Behavioural Characteristics of Depression (Actions)
Activity Levels - Reduced energy levels, lethargic. Thus, withdrawing from work, education, social life
OR people may become agitated and find to hard to relax - Psychomotor Agitation
Disruption to Sleep/Eating Behaviour - May experience hangs to sleep pattern. Reduced sleep (insomnia) or increased sleep (hypersomnia). Also, could eat less, more = weight loss/gain
Aggression + Self-Harm - Depressed people are often irritable and can become verbally aggressive. OR Acting aggressively towards themselves - self harm
Emotional Characteristics of Depression (Feeling)
Lowered Mood - Sad / Feeling ‘Worthless’ ‘Empty’
Anger - Can be directed to themselves or others
Lowered Self-esteem - Hate themselves
Cognitive Characteristics of Depression (Mental Processing)
Poor Concentration - Unable to focus on a task, Find it hard to make decisions
Attending to and Dwelling on the Negative - Pay more attention to the negative situations and ignore the positive aspects. Recalling unhappy moments in life.
Absolutist Thinking - ‘Black + White Thinking’ If something bad happens a depressed person would view it as a disaster.
What are the 3 processes involved in Beck’s Cognitive Theory of Depression?
Faulty Information Processing (known as Cognitive Bias): Where they focus on the negative aspects of a situation and ignore the positives.
Negative Self-Schemas: Is the package of information that we have about ourselves. According to Beck the Negative Self-Schemas is developed during childhood experiences due to negative experiences.
If a person has a Negative Self-Schemas they interpret information about themselves in a negative way (‘Im worthless’)
The Negative Triad: 3 Types of negative thinking
Negative feelings about themselves
Negative feelings about the future
Negative views about the world
Evaluation of Becks Model
Strengths:
There is evidence to support that depression is associated with cognitive biases, negative self-schemas and negative triad.
His theory can be applied to Cognitive Behavioural Therapy so this theory has a practical application so it is a successful explanation of depression. It is successful in treating depression showing the theory is strong.
Weaknesses:
Doesn’t explain all aspects of depression - Some patients suffer hallucinations and delusions. Becks theory cannot explain these symptoms. Lacking Validity
What is Ellis’s ABC Model?
Albert Ellis suggested a different cognitive explanation of depression. He suggested that a good mental health results from rational thinking (thinking that allow people to be happy). Therefore, conditions like depression result from irrational thinking (thinking that interfere with being happy)
What’s the ABC?
A - Activating Agent:
Ellis believes that irrational thoughts are triggered by external events. When we experience negative events these trigger irrational beliefs.
B - Belief - Irrational OR Rational - Ellis identified a range of irrational beliefs eg.
Masturbation - Belief that we must always succeed
‘I can’t stand it it is’ - Belief that it is a major disaster when something doesn’t go to plan)
Utopianism - Belief that life is meant to be fair
C - Consequence - When an activating agent triggers irrational beliefs there are emotional and behavioural consequences.
Evaluation of ABC Model
Some cases of depression follow the ABC model this is not the case for all.
Strengths to the Cognitive Approach in Explaining Depression
Practical Applications in CBT - Cognitive explanation have helped in developing treatments. Through Becks model we have developed CBT and through Elliss we have developed REBT which work by challenging irrational thoughts. There’s studies proving that these are effective in treating depression.
There’s is research evidence supporting the cognitive explanations of depression - Cohen el al (2019) tracked development of 473 adolescents, regularly measuring their cognitive vulnerability. Those who showed cognitive vulnerability were more likely to develop depression.
Weaknesses to the Cognitive Approach in Explaining Depression
There could be other explanations of depression: There is evidence that depression is lined to genes and neurotransmitters. Research has focused in the role of serotonin and found lower levels if its in depressed people. Also serotonin boosters (SSRI’s) have seen to treat depression
Does not explain the origins of irrational thoughts - Does a depressed person develop negative ways of thinking because of their depression or the other way round?
The cognitive approach to treating depression
Cognitive treatments of depression are based on the assumption that faulty thinking can make a person vulnerable to depression. CBT involves both cognitive and behavioural aspects.
Cognitive - to identify irrational thoughts and replace these with rational and positive ones.
Behavioural - encourages patients to test their beliefs through behavioural experiments and homework
Cognitive behaviour therapy
CBT is commonly used to treat depression and other mental health problems. It begins with an assessment where the patient and therapist work together to clarify the patients problems - jointly identify goals and creates a plan for achieving them. The therapist must challenge negative and irrational thoughts and put effective behaviours in place
Component of CBT:
1)initial assessment
2)goal setting
3)identify negativ/irrational thoughts through Beck’s CBT or Ellis REBT
4)homework
Becks cognitive behaviour therapy
Beck’s CBT aims to challenge negative thoughts and replace them with more realistic ways of thinking. It also works to change those negative and irrational thoughts and put more efficient behaviours in place.
Therapist will identify negative thoughts about the world, the self and the future (the negative triad).
Then the therapist challenges the negative thoughts by drawing attention to positive incidents - reality testing
Therapist uses techniques to encourage more positive thinking and my give homework where the patient investigates their negative beliefs in a scientific way
