Depression Flashcards
What is depression?
An affective mood disorder involving lengthy disturbance of emotions.
What percentage of people will suffer from some form of depression?
About 20%.
Is their a gender difference in depression incidence?
Women are twice as vulnerable as men.
When are women most vulnerable to depression? Why?
Mid to late adolescence.
This may be because it is a time where many experience body dysfunction, low self-esteem, and resistance to achieving.
Can depression occur in cycles? How long do they last?
Depression can occur in cycles.
Symptoms come and go over time, with an episode of depression generally lasting 2 and 6 months.
When is depression most like to be onset? What is the average onset age?
Any time from adolescence onwards.
Average age of onset being late 20s.
Has depression onset age increased or decreased in the past 50 years? Has the number of people with the disorder increased or decreased?
The age of onset has decreased over the past 50 years.
The number of people with this disorder has increased.
How is depression diagnosed?
At least 5 symptoms to be apparent every day for 2 weeks for depression to be diagnosed by a doctor, with an impairment to general functioning also evident that is not accountable for by other medical conditions or events.
E.g. mourning a loved one.
How is major depression diagnosed?
One of the 5 symptoms must be constant depressed mood or lessened interest in daily activities.
What is unipolar depression also referred to as?
(Unipolar Depression)
Major depression.
What is unipolar depression?
(Unipolar Depression)
A form of depression occurring without mania.
What percentage of women suffer from unipolar depression? What about men?
(Unipolar Depression)
25% of women.
12% of men.
How is unipolar depression characterised?
(Unipolar Depression)
Clinical symptoms, usually occurring in cycles.
Outline severe unipolar depression.
(Unipolar Depression)
Where sufferers also experience more social impairment and episodes of depression occur more frequently.
Severe unipolar depressives don’t respond well to what? What is used instead?
(Unipolar Depression)
Anti-depressants.
They respond well to a combination of anti-depressants/ psychotics.
What is mania?
An emotional state characterised by intense, but more often inappropriate elation, resulting in hyperactivity, distractibility, excessive talking, and disrupted thought processes.
What are the two types of bipolar depression?
(Bipolar Depression)
Endogenous Depression.
Exogenous Depression.
Outline endogenous depression.
(Bipolar Depression)
Depression that revolves around biochemistry and hormonal factors.
Outline exogenous depression.
(Bipolar Depression)
Depression due to stressful life experiences.
What percentage of people suffer from bipolar depression? What is the gender split?
(Bipolar Depression)
2% of people.
This is equally divided between the sexes.
When does bipolar depression usually occur?
(Bipolar Depression)
In a person’s 20s and before the age of 50.
What characterises bipolar depression?
(Bipolar Depression)
Mixed episodes of mania and depression being more common than mania alone.
State 3 emotional symptoms of unipolar depression.
Loss of enthusiasm.
Worthlessness.
Poor memory.
A constant depressed mood.
State 3 behavioural symptoms of unipolar depression.
Loss of energy.
Sleep pattern disturbance.
Weight changes.
Poor personal hygiene.
Social impairment.
State 3 cognitive symptoms of unipolar depression.
Delusions.
Thoughts of death.
Reduced concentration.
State 3 emotional symptoms of bipolar depression.
Irritability.
Elevated mood states.
Lack of guilt.
State 3 behavioural symptoms of bipolar depression.
High energy levels.
Talkative.
Reckless behaviour.
State 3 cognitive symptoms of bipolar depression.
Delusions.
Irrational thought processes.
