Psychology: Mental Health

Question 1

Define mood disorder.

Answer 1

Mood disorders are conditions that affect a person’s emotional state. They severely impact someone’s mood & related functions.

Question 2

What is major depressive disorder? List 6 symptoms.

How long must these symptoms exist for the disease to be diagnosed?

Answer 2

A clinical depression. It is characterized by persistent sadness, loss of interest inactivity, & other symptoms that interfere with daily life.

• Having a depressed mood
• Anhedonia
• Significant weight or appetite change
• Sleep disturbance
• Fatigue or loss of energy
• Feeling worry or excessive guilt.

Symptoms must be present for 2 weeks in order to be diagnosed.

Question 3

What is bipolar disorder?

Answer 3

A mental health condition that causes extreme mood swings.

Things like emotional highs & lows & depression.
- Elevated mood & a low mood (bi = both).
- Manic times & depressed times.

Question 4

What is mania (a manic episode)? Give at least 5 DSM symptoms/examples of this disorder.

Answer 4

A manic episode is a distinct period of abnormally and persistently elevated, expansive, or irritable mood and abnormally and persistently goal-directed behavior or energy.

It lasts for at least 1 week and presents most of the day, or nearly every day.

• Inflated self-esteem or grandiosity
• Decreased need for sleep
• More talkative than usual or pressure to keep talking
• Increase in goal-directed activity or psychomotor agitation
• Distractibility as reported or observed.

Question 5

What is persistent depressive disorder (formerly dysthymic disorder)? How is it different from major depression?

Answer 5

A chronic low-level depression that is not as severe, but may be longer lasting than, major depressive disorder.

Question 6

How is persitisnat depressive disorder (PDD) different from major depression (MDD)?

Answer 6

The main difference from PDD and MDD is the duration of symptoms.

For a doctor to diagnose someone with PDD (in adulthood), symptoms must have lasted for at least 2 years.

For MDD (in an adult), the patient must experience major depressive episodes with a gap of at least 2 months between them.

Question 7

Endogenous depression & an example

Answer 7

A mental health disorder that occurs suddenly without an obvious reason.

It happens without the presence of common triggers like stress, trauma, or grief.

A possible example of this is on a random Tuesday you suddenly have a loss of interest, lack of motivation, feel hopelessness, or suicidal but can not think of a reason why.

Question 8

Reactive/exogenous depression & an example

Answer 8

From external factors that are life triggering.

It is referred to as “reactive depression” because it occurs in reaction to a specific identifiable event.

A possible example being the death of a loved one, financial troubles, or significant life changes like losing your job, etc.

Question 9

What is SAD? What is believed to be the cause?

Answer 9

Sad is seasonal affective disorder, a type of depression.

• It happens during certain seasons of the year, most often fall or winter.
• Having less sunlight and shorter days are thought to be linked to a chemical change in the brain. This is believed to be the cause of SAD.

Question 10

Possible causes for depression using the biological perspective

Answer 10

Genetics or physical health conditions.
- Bladder outlet obstruction
- Epilepsy
- Obesity
- Traumatic brain injury
- Acne
- Diabetes
- Cerebral atrophy

Genetics & imbalances in brain neurotransmitters, hormonal fluctuations, inflammation, & disruptions in the brain’s stress response system can all play a role in potentially having depression.

The brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) plays an important role in depression, this can be passed from genetics.

Question 11

Give possible causes using the social-cognitive theory

Answer 11

Depression can come through negative thought patterns
- Low self-efficacy
- The interaction between stressful life events and cognitive vulnerabilities.

These can lead into a cycle of negative thinking & behavior.

Socially and cognitively, having difficulty recognizing emotions, understanding others’ mental states, & interpreting social cues, are also associated with depression.

These negative thoughts can play a big role in depression or developing depression.

Question 12

How do you know if a feeling is a mental health disorder?

Answer 12

DEVIANT: different from normal behavior

DISTRESSFUL: A subjective feeling that something is wrong/feeling discomfort

DISFUNCTIONING: Impairment to your behavior/life. It’s unwanted