mood disorders Flashcards
what’s the definition of major depressive disorder (MDD)?
- 2 or more major depressive episodes without mania
- 5 or more of the symptoms shown in a 2 week period
what is the bereavement exclusion?
- in the DSM 4, if someone lost a loved one within the last 2 months, they’re not diagnosed with depression
what is the significance of the bereavement exclusion
it blurs the line between what counts as depression or not (ie. what is pathological vs what is normal)
depression vs sadness
depression: long term deeper mood changes, no stimulus needed, interferes with social interactions
sadness: short term responses to a stimulus, can change when doing something more “happy”
what is a biomarker?
anything in the body that that can medically verify illnesses
what is bipolar disorder
when a patient cycles between episodes of mania and episodes of depression
what is mania?
an exaggerated good mood
what are some symptoms of bipolar disorder
- high risk episodes
- unrealistic beliefs
- easily distractible
- highly involved in pleasurable activities
what is premenstrual dysphoric disorder (PMDD)
its a disorder characterized by extreme symptoms of PMS
what is the issue with PMDD becoming an illness?
- a lot of the symptoms are similar to normal PMS symptoms, so many argue whether this is actually an illness or just normal
- a drug (sarafem) was released to treat PMDD as soon as it was put into the DSM, so there is talk that this drug had an impact of making these symptoms considered an illness
what is disruptive mood dysregulation disorder? (DMDD)
when children (6 -18) has severe temper outbursts beginning at age 10
what are some of the issues with DMDD becoming an illness?
- similar to other illnesses (bipolar disorder, ODD)
- seems to be normal childhood behaviour
- some don’t like that childhood is medicalized
- goes against the doctors oath
why could it be that the diagnoses for depression have gone up?
- depression is the cost of the society changes
- there is more focus on individual attention vs others
- we tend to blame others
- greater awareness and less stigma