12 - 4 Flashcards
Depressive disorders
are disturbances in emotional experiences that are strong enough to intrude on everyday living.
most common is major depressive disorder (MDD), which is, in fact, the most commonly diagnosed psychological disorder.
Major Depressive Disorder (MDD)
is a severe form of depression that interferes with ** concentration, decision making, and sociability.**
Women are twice
as likely to experience major depression as men
(1/4 of all females apt to encounter it at some point during their lives).
Rate of depression
is going up throughout the world (no one is quite sure why).
people are developing major depression at increasingly younger ages.
Symptoms of Major Depression include
feelings of worthlessness, loneliness, crying, sleep disturbance, despair over the future, suicide.
They may experience such feelings for months or even years (the depth of such
behaviour and the length of time it lasts are the hallmarks of major depression).
Causes of Major Depressive Disorder (MDD):
Biological factors
several neurotransmitters play a role in depression.
alterations in the functioning of serotonin and norepinephrine in the brain
unclear whether this is a cause of depression or a consequence of depression.
brain structure called
area 25
is related to depression
When area 25 is smaller than normal, it is associated with a higher risk of depression.
right anterior insula
a region of the brain related to self-awareness and interpersonal experience, also appears to be related to depression.
Brain imaging studies suggest that
people with depression experience a general blunting (dull) of emotional reactions.
one study found that the brains of people with depression showed significantly less activation when they viewed photos of human faces displaying strong emotions than those without the disorder.
Psychological causes of Major Depression
proponents of psychoanalytic approaches see depression as the result of feelings of loss (real or potential) or of anger directed at
oneself.
One psychoanalytic approach, for instance, suggests that depression is produced by the loss or threatened loss of a parent early in life.
Causes of MDD
Behavioural theories
(Environmental factors)
argue that the stresses of life produce a reduction in positive reinforcers.
As a result, people begin to withdraw, which only reduces positive reinforcers further.
In addition, people receive reactions for their depressive behaviour, which could further reinforce the depression.
Causes of MDD
Cognitive View
(Cognitive and Emotional Factors)
**Learned helplessness **
(Martin Seligman):
a learned expectation that events in
one’s life are uncontrollable and that one cannot escape from the situation.
Depression as a result of hopelessness;
(Cognitive View)
a combination of learned helplessness
and an expectation that negative outcomes in one’s life are inevitable.
Cognitive theory of depression
Depression is a result of faulty cognitions
(negative cognitions lead to feelings of depression)
Depressed individuals typically view themselves as life’s losers, blaming themselves whenever anything goes wrong.
By focusing on the negative side of situations, they feel inept and unable to act constructively to change their environment.
Women experiencing stress greater than the stress men experience
(Women twice as likely to experience depression)
at certain points in their lives (ex. simultaneously earn a living and being the primary caregiver for her children).
