Depression and what you learned about it - Essay Example

DEPRESSION: What I learned about it (Major Depressive Disorder) ID number: of Human Resources s Name:Name of University (affiliation)Location of University:Date of Submission: February 02, 2014Estimated Word Count = 598 (text only)IntroductionDepression is the state of feeling down due to a low mood that causes a person to avoid any meaningful activities. This aversion or avoidance to normal activities of daily living in turn affects the feelings, emotions, thoughts, and behaviors of the person so affected which can cause a negative effect on the sense of well-being and happiness of the person concerned.

Depression is normal sometimes because of worries, pressures, anxieties, tensions, and problems associated in living in a modern society like today. Depression is also considered normal when linked to a loss of a job, a prized possession, or a loved one due to an illness and death. However, it stops being a normal state of mind whenever there is a constant feeling of sadness the cause of which is not in any way directly related to the loss of something or someone valuable. If it is indeterminate in a sense the feeling of sadness cannot be pinpointed with accuracy, then there is depression.

DiscussionA depressed mood is not necessarily a mental or psychological medical condition when it is associated with adverse life events such as a recent death of a loved one (as mentioned above earlier), experiencing a traumatic natural disaster, a job loss, financial difficulties, a divorce, bad relationships, or major life stages such as reaching middle age or having a menopause already. It has a number of symptoms which can serve as warning signs to seek treatment right away. Some of these common symptoms are loss of appetite, memory loss, lack of mental concentration, loss of interest in normally pleasurable activities, lack of energy, insomnia, or excessive sleeping.

The depressed person usually has negative thoughts about life, low feelings of self-worth, guilt, helplessness, anxiety, and irritability which can lead to suicide (Beck & Alford, 2009, p. 30). Whenever the feelings of sadness (depression) persist over a long period of time without any direct cause for it, then it becomes a serious mental condition which is clinically termed as a major depressive disorder (MDD) based from the differential diagnosis approach recommended by the American Psychological Association (APA) using their Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fourth Edition (DSM-IV).

The severity, frequency, duration, and kinds of symptoms exhibited by a depressed person may vary from one individual to another because of so many factors. However, depression is a common but serious ailment that is often not treated because either the depressed did not recognize it as such, or is in denial, or even misdiagnosed if the psychiatrist is not trained very well to recognize it or is not very meticulous in detecting the signs and symptoms of a major depression (NIMH, 2011, para. 2) to recommend treatment.

ConclusionThere are also different kinds of depression such as psychotic depression (characterized by feelings of delusion and hallucination), persistent depressive disorder (lasting for two years or even more), seasonal affective disorder (also called or shortened to SAD due to the onset of the winter season), postpartum depression (applies only to pregnant women after they gave birth), or bipolar disorder (which is a cycle of high moods and low moods or severe depression).Depression is caused by the factors already mentioned earlier but sometimes also due to certain types of medication, or having a serious medical condition like cancer or diagnosed with being HIV-AIDS positive.

All is not lost, as depression can be treated if done on time. One treatment is cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) to alter the thought patterns (Goldberg, 2012, para. 1) by replacing the negativity with healthier and more positive lines of thinking. ReferencesBeck, A. T. & Alford, B. A. (2009). Depression: causes and treatment. Philadelphia, PA, USA: University of Pennsylvania Press.Goldberg, J. (2012, July 23). Cognitive behavioral therapy for depression. Depression Health Center. Retrieved on February 2, 2014 from http://www.webmd.com/depression/guide/cognitive-behavioral-therapy-for-depression National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH). (2011). What is depression?

Bethesda, MD, USA: NIMH Information Resource Center. Retrieved on February 2, 2014 from http://www.nimh.nih.gov/health/publications/depression/index.shtml