Characteristics of Depression

Question 1

List the 4 categories of depression that are recognised by the DSM-5.

Answer 1

1. Major Depressive Disorder
2. Disruptive Mood Dysregulation Disorder
3. Persistent Depressive Disorder
4. Premenstural Dysphoric Disorder

Question 2

Define ‘major depressive disorder’.

Answer 2

Severe but often short-term depression.

Question 3

Define ‘disruptive mood dysregulation disorder’.

Answer 3

Childhood temper tantrums.

Question 4

Define ‘persistent depressive disorder’.

Answer 4

Long-term or recurring depression - including sustained major depression.

Question 5

Define ‘premenstural dysphoric disorder’.

Answer 5

Disruption to mood prior to and/or during menstruation.

Question 6

What are behavioural characteristics?

Answer 6

Ways in which people act.

Question 7

What are cognitive characteristics?

Answer 7

Refers to the process of thinking; knowing, believing, perceiving.

Question 8

What are emotional characteristics?

Answer 8

Ways in which people feel.

Question 9

List the 3 behavioural characteristics of depression.

Answer 9

1. Activity levels
2. Disruption to sleeping and eating behaviour
3. Aggression and self-harm

Question 10

Summarise what is meant by the behavioural characteristic ‘activity levels’.

Answer 10

• Sufferers typically have a reduced level of energy; making them legarthic.
• Sufferers tend to withdraw from work, education and social life.
• Sufferers may experience psychomotor agitation; agitated individuals struggle to relax

Question 11

Summarise what is meant by the behavioural characteristic ‘disruption to sleeping and eating patterns’.

Answer 11

• Reduced sleep; insomnia.
• Increased need for sleep; hypersomnia.
• Apetite/eating may increase or decrease; leading to weight gain or loss.

Question 12

Summarise what is meant by the behavioural characteristic ‘aggression and self-harm’.

Answer 12

• Sufferers are often irritable; can become verbally or physically aggressive.
• Physical aggression can be directed towards oneself; including self-harm (cutting/suicide attempts).

Question 13

List the 3 emotional characteristics of depression.

Answer 13

1. Lowered mood
2. Anger
3. Lowered self-esteem

Question 14

Summarise what is meant by the emotional characteristic ‘lowered mood’.

Answer 14

• More pronounced than the everyday experience of feeling low.
• Patients often describe themselves as feeling ‘worthless’ or ‘empty’.

Question 15

Summarise what is meant by the emotional characteristic of ‘anger’.

Answer 15

• Anger/extreme anger can be directed towards oneself or others.
• Can lead to aggressive/self-harming behaviours.

Question 16

Define what is meant by the term ‘self-esteem’.

Summarise what is meant by the emotional characteristic ‘lowered self-esteem’.

Answer 16

• Self-esteem is the emotional experience of how much we live ourselves.
• Sufferers tend to report reduced self-esteem; they like themselves less than usual.
• Can be extreme; some describing that they hate themselves.

Question 17

List the 3 cognitive characteristics of depression.

Answer 17

1. Poor concentration
2. Attending to and dwelling on negative thoughts
3. Absoloutist thinking

Question 18

Summarise what is meant by the cognitive characteristic of ‘poor concentration’.

Answer 18

• Sufferers may be unable to stick to a task as normal.
• May be harder to make usually straighforward decisions.
• These are likely to interfere with the individual’s work.

Question 19

Summarise what is meant by the cognitive charcteristic ‘attending to and dwelling on nehayive thoughts’.

Answer 19

• During an episode, sufferers tend to pay more attention the the negatives; ignoring the positives.
• Sufferers have a bais of recalling unhappy events rather than happy ones.

Question 20

Summarise what is meant by the cognitive characteristic ‘absoloutist thinking’.

Answer 20

• Sufferers tend to think in terms of a situation being all-good and all-bad.
• Unfortunate situation = absolute disaster.