Depressive Disorders/understanding responses to stress

Question 1

Major depressive disorder

Answer 1

Presents with a history of one or more major depressive episodes. The symptoms interfere with the person’s social or occupational functioning and in some cases may include psychotic features.

Question 2

Mood disorder

Answer 2

A category of disorders characterized by disturbances of mood that range from elation to depression and interfere with normal functioning

Question 3

Dsythymic disorder

Answer 3

A mild to moderate mood disorder characterized by a chronic depressive depressive syndrome that is usually present for many years. The depressive mood disturbance is hard to distinguish from the person’s usual pattern of functioning, and the person has minimal social or occupational impairment.

Question 4

Anergia

Answer 4

Lack of energy or passivity.

Question 5

Psychomotor agitation

Answer 5

Constant involvement in some tension-relieving activity, such as constantly pacing, biting one’s nails, smoking, or tapping one’s fingers on a tabletop

Question 6

Psychomotor retardation

Answer 6

Extreme slowness of and difficulty in movements that in the extreme can entail complete inactivity and incontinence.

Question 7

Vegetative signs of depression

Answer 7

Significant changes from normal functioning in those activities necessary to support physical life and growth, such as eating, sleeping, elimination, and sex, during a depressive episode.

Question 8

Hypersomnia

Answer 8

The spending of increased time in sleep, possibly to escape from painful feelings; however, the increased sleep is not experienced as restful or refreshing

Question 9

Anhedonia

Answer 9

Loss of ability to experience joy or pleasure in living.

Question 10

Transcranial magnetic stimulation

Answer 10

Noninvasive treatment modality that uses MRI-strength magnetic pulses to stimulate focal areas of the cerebral cortex.

Question 11

Vagus nerve stimulation

Answer 11

Pacemaker like device is implanted surgically into the left chest wall from which a thin, flexible wire is threaded up and wrapped around the vagus nerve on the left side of the neck. Electrical stimulation of the vagus nerve is thought to boost the level of neurotransmitters, improving mood and the action of antidepressants.

Question 12

Stressors

Answer 12

Psychological or physical stimuli that are incompatible with current functioning and require adaptation.

Question 13

Fight or flight response

Answer 13

Body’s way of preparing for a situation an individuals receives as a threat to survival. Results in increased blood pressure, heart rate, and cardiac output.

Question 14

General adaptation syndrome (GAS)

Answer 14

The body’s organized response to stress, as elucidated by Hans Selye. It progresses through three stages: 1- the stage of alarm, 2- the stage of resistance, 3- the stage of exhaustion.

Question 15

Distress

Answer 15

A negative, draining energy that results in anxiety, depression, confusion, helplessness, and fatigue. Can be caused by such stressors as a death in the family, financial overload, or school/work demands.

Question 16

Eustress

Answer 16

Positive, beneficial energy that motivates and results in feelings of happiness, hopefulness, and purposeful movement.

Question 17

Psychoneuroimmunology

Answer 17

Study of the links among stress, the immune system, and disease

Question 18

Physical stressors

Answer 18

Include environmental conditions (e.g., trauma and excessive cold or heat), as well as physical conditions (e.g., infection, hemorrhage, hunger, and pain).

Question 19

Psychological stressors

Answer 19

Include such things as divorce, loss of a job, unmanageable debt, the death of a loved one, retirement, and fear of a terrorist attack, as well as changes we might consider positive, such as marriage, the arrival of a new baby, or unexpected success.

Question 20

Coping styles

Answer 20

Discrete personal attributes that people have and can develop to manage stress

Question 21

Progressive muscle relaxation (PMR)

Answer 21

A method of decreasing anxiety in which the individual tenses groups of muscles as tightly as possible for 8 seconds and then suddenly releases them

Question 22

Benson’s relaxation techniques

Answer 22

Techniques that allow a patient to switch front the sympathetic mode of the autonomic nervous system to a state of relaxation by focusing on a pleasant mental image in a calm and peaceful environment.

Question 23

Guided imagery

Answer 23

A process whereby a person is led to envision images that are both calming and health enhancing and can be used in conjunction with Benson’s relaxation technique.

Question 24

Meditation

Answer 24

A discipline for training the mind to develop greater calm and then using that calm to bring penetrative insight into one’s experience.

Question 25

Biofeedback

Answer 25

A technique for gaining conscious control over unconscious body functions, such as blood pressure and heartbeat, to achieve relaxation or the relief of stress-related physical symptoms; involves the use of self-monitoring equipment.

Question 26

Mindfulness

Answer 26

A centuries old form of meditation that emphasizes awareness of ourselves and our mental activity from moment to moment.

Question 27

Cognitive reframing

Answer 27

A process of changing the individual’s perceptions of stress be reassessing a situation and replacing irrational beliefs.

Question 28

Journaling

Answer 28

Keeping a diary which may be informal or part of a treatment plan of daily events, activities and feelings.