Exam 2 (Weeks 5 - 9) Flashcards
(82 cards)
What is depression
low, sad state in which life seems dark and its challenges overwhelming
Mania
opposite of depression - state of breathless euphora, frenzied energy, in which people have an exaggerated belief that the world is theirs for the taking
Bipolar disorder
alternating or intermixed periods of mania or depression
How common is unipolar depression?
5% are mild forms, 8% are severe
20% of adults will have an episode of severe unipolar depression at some point in their lives
depression is higher among people of lower SES
women are 2x more likely than men
more common among transgender/nonbinary people than cisgender people
28% of Indigenous people, 23% white people – but minorities are less likely to get treatment
Symptoms of Depression?
- emotional: feel sad, dejected, miserable, empty – lose sense of humor, sense of pleasure, and anxiety/anger
- motivational: lose desire to pursue their usual activities; lack of drive and initiative
- behavioral: less active and productive; more time alone and may stay in bed for longer
- cognitive: hold extremely negative views of themselves, pessimism, feel their intellectual ability is poor
- physical: headaches, indigestion, constipation, dizzy spells, general pain, disturbances in sleep and appetite
Major Depressive Disorder
a severe pattern of depression that is disabling and not caused by factors as drugs or a general medical condition
Persistent Depressive Disorder
a chronic form of unipolar depression marked by ongoing and repeated symptoms of either major or mild depression
Premenstrual dysphoric disorder
People who repeatedly have clinically significant depressive and related symptoms during the week before they menstruate
Postpartum depression
major depressive disorder begins within 4 weeks of delivering a child, and many cases begin during pregnancy
- affect parent-infant relationship, self-image of parent, psychological and physical health of child
What triggers unipolar depression
Stress - 80% of all severe depressive episodes occur within a month or two of a significant negative event
What is the biological model of unipolar depression?
- genetic factors: people inherit a predisposition to depression
- biochemical factors: low activity of 2 neurotransmitter chemicals, norepinephrine and serotonin are strongly linked to depression – and the interactions between serotonin and norepinephrine specifically, and when glutamate is involved
- hormones: in the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis, people with depression overly react in the face of stress, causing excessive releases of cortisol and related hormones
- brain circuits: prefrontal cortex, hippocampus, amygdala, and subgenual cingulate are all related and may be malfunctioning in depression
- immune system: under intense stress, immune systems become dysregulated and lead to slower funcitoning of important white blood cells and increase pro-inflammatory cells that cause inflammation and vairous illnesses
What are the biological treatments of unipolar depression?
- antidepressant drugs
- brain stimulation
Types of antidepressant drugs?
- MAO inhibitors that increase serotonin and norepinephrine
- tricyclics that act on the neurotransmitter re-uptake mechanism and keep serotonin and norepinphrine in their synapses for longer to properly stimulating receiving neurons
- SSRIs: Prozac, Zoloft, Lexapro
- ketamine: alleviates depression very quickly, helps people who are unresponsive to other kinds of treatments and people who are suicidal; increases activity of glutamate in the brain
Types of brain stimulations?
- electroconvulsive therapy that sends electrical currents, causing convulsions in the brain
- vagus nerve stimulation: implanted pulse generator sends regular electrical signals to a person’s vagus nerve; the nerve the stimulates the brain
-transcranial magnetic stimulation: electromagnetic coil is placed on the patient’s head, and sends a current into the brain which increases neuron activity - deep brain stimulation: a pacemaker powers electrodes that have been implanted in the patient’s subgenual cingulate, which stimulates that area
What is the psychodynamic explanation of depression?
- depression is similar to grief in people who lose loved ones
- there is then a series of unconscious processes set in motion - mourners first regress to the oral stage of development, so they merge their identity with the person they lost and symbolically regain that person. So all feelings of anger/sadness for the loved one is turned inward. This reaction is called introjection, which is temporary UNLESS the patient had various dependency needs that were improperly met during infancy and early childhood. This leads to depression.
Symbolic loss
Freudian theory
- the loss of a valued object that is unconsciously interpreted as the loss of a loved one, aka imagined loss.
What is the psychodynamic treatment for depression?
- bring underlying issues to consciousness and work them through
- free association, interpretations of the client’s associations, displays of resistance and transference, and then help the person review past events and feelings
Downside to psychodynamic treatment for depression?
Long-term pscychodynamic therapy is only occasionally helpful in cases of unipolar depression b/c:
1. depression clients may be too passive and feel too weary to join fully in the subtle therapy discussions
2. clients may become discouraged and end treatment early when long-term approach isn’t able to provide quick relief
What is the cognitive-behavioral model of depression?
combo of maladaptive behaviors and dysfunctional ways of thinking. Theories fall into 3 groups:
1. Explanations that focus mostly on the behavioral realm
2. give primary attention to negative thinking
3. feature a complex interplay between cognitive and behavioral factors
What is the behavioral dimension to depression, according to the cognitive behavioral model?
- rewards people receive in life is related to the presence/absence of depression, and especially social rewards
What is the negative thinking dimension to depression, according to the cognitive behavioral model?
- people develop maladaptive attitudes as children that are a result of their experiences, judgments of people around them, and society
- thinking takes the form of a cognitive triad
- errors in their thinking
- automatic thoughts that are a steady train of unpleasant thoughts that keep suggesting to them that they are inadequate and have a hopeless situation
- ruminative responses to their depressed mood – dwell on it, instead of acting to change it
What is a cognitive triad?
individuals repeatedly interpret their
1. experiences
2. themselves
3. and their futures
in negative ways that leads them to feeling depressed
What is the learned helplessness in depression, according to the cognitive behavioral model?
people become depressed when they think
1. they have no control over the reinforcements (rewards/punishments) in their lives and
2. they themselves are responsible for this helpless state
What does cognitive-behavioral therapy do with patients with depression?
- behavioral activation: therapists work systematically to increase the number of constructive and rewarding activities and events in a client’s life.
- 3 key components:
1. reintroduce depressed clients to pleasurable events and activities
2. consistently reward nondepressive behaviors and withhold rewards for depressive behaviors
3. help clients improve social skills