Supporting People with Depression - Essay Example

Supporting People with Depression Introduction Hattie is 47 years old who has suffered from depression during most of her adult life. At the moment, she is feeling particularly low in mood, having difficulty sleeping and is finding routine tasks such as eating washing and dressing difficult. She is currently unemployed and lives alone. Her parents died when she was a teenager, and she has no other family nearby. Hattie is currently unemployed and lives alone. I am giving her treatment and monitoring her condition as her community psychiatric nurse. Based on a rational assessment, there is a discovery that her depression is a form of mental illness (The British Psychological Society, 2009). There are varied causes of depression, and for the case of Hattie, the possible causes are the loss of her parents, joblessness and loneliness. Depression can be a simple as being in low moods if it is mild, but for severe cases, it needs treatment because it can be suicidal (The British Psychological Society, 2009). This work discusses nursing practice, heath surveillance and health promotion and sociological aspects of health and disease concerning the case. The work also describes the principles and concepts of health monitoring and health promotion related to mental health management. There is also an illustration of the application of theoretical aspects of fundamental nursing for the case and the relationship between applied sciences and health. Through the implementation of the theories discussed, the work outlines how nurses should care for depressed patients. Nursing Practice Clinical Depression has two core features, which form essential symptoms. The patient typically has lowered moods accompanied with disinterest and or displeasure in usual activities. Hattie possesses both signs, which call for diagnosis. The first stage of my diagnosis will be to find out the extent of her depression through asking her clinically designed questions and discussing the symptoms with her. I can also use the International Classification of Disease (ICD-10) to determine symptoms likely to suggest that she is depressed. For instance, the two mentioned symptoms and others (World Health Organization, 2004). I will try to find out from Hattie about her concentration levels, level of self-esteem and self-confidence, time of sleeping, and change in weight or appetite. There are other symptoms such as feelings of worthlessness or guilt, agitation, pessimism or hopelessness or suicidal thoughts and acts. For the determination of the severity of her case, there are other symptoms, which accompany the ones mentioned. Such symptoms may include being tired at all times, irritability, libido loss, and other medically unexplained signs. Considerably, Hattie is experiencing moderate levels of depression because she has the two core symptoms and shows levels of disinterest in her routine. I will advise the patient to find a job or an alternative source of income because the cause of her problems could be socioeconomic factors (Rush, Thase & Dube 2003). There is a conclusion that depression is more expressed in people with the lowest socio-economic levels than those in the higher bracket for the same factor. Such a conclusion is in line with the Star Recovery Model, which proposes financial security as a stimulation to recovery. The patient could also have a problem because of psychosocial factors, for this case, the loss of her parents and her economic status (Moriarty 2005). The patient also has a record of depression because of the hard living conditions that she has undergone. The most important factor of my diagnosis is the history of depression. People who have had at least two episodes of depression are likely to develop the third. Such a case calls for a discussion with the patient to let her know of the dangers of her depressed behaviors. Out of the study of the patient’s history, I will learn how to deal with her. Hattie will require continuing her contact with me so that I can monitor her condition actively (Rush, Thase & Dube 2003). She also needs health education concerning the effects of depression and ways of avoiding the problem (Rush, Thase & Dube 2003). She needs to be involved in physical activities such as walking and others for at least twice a week to relax her mind. Her diet will have to change and have an inclusion of fresh fruits and vegetables and avoid alcohol. Hattie also needs to have enough sleep, and join a social support from friends and others (Rush, Thase & Dube 2003). Health Surveillance and Health Promotion Health surveillance involves careful monitoring of the situation of the patient with a target of detecting and preventing diseases from developing (Teutsch & Churchill, 2000). Similarly, health promotion entails the development of factors, which will ensure that the patients live free of disease. Heath development involves three basic strategies, advocacy, enabling and mediating. Advocacy means a combination of social and individual actions to gain policy support, social acceptance, political commitment, as well as system support for a given goal or program. The process can take different forms such as the use of mass media, direct lobbying, mobilization of the community, use of multimedia tools and others (Haddad, Buszewicz & Murphy, 2011). It takes the responsibility of health officials to lobby for the desired levels of health in the society. I will use the Quality of Life Approach designed by the World Health Organization in 1995. The theory suggests that a person has an interpretation the quality of their life according to the community background and their expectations in life. The definition encompasses a wider view of mental health as being inclusive of a satisfaction with the environmental, social, psychological, spiritual, as well as the status of health. The concept of the theory also describes mental health in terms, which include both positive and negative aspects of coping satisfaction, resilience, and autonomy in the list of others. The Resilience Approach defines mental health as having the ability to cope with problems and avoid breaking down after a confirmation by stressors (Herrman, Saxena & Moodie 2005). The model proposes that resilience involves a constitution of an interactive procedure with the environment. Hattie should be optimistic because according to the Salutogenic Model, optimists have lower tendencies of developing mental health problems such as depression. She needs to have a strong sense of coherence because it gives it provides the patients with a better ability to tackle stresses. I will involve a series of counselling sessions so that the patient may develop a sense of acceptance of all the situations around her. Counselling is the best approach, which will ensure that I use the theories in the process of ensuring the patient recovers from her afflictions. The counselling will also be accompanied by interpersonal therapy, which will involve working with the patient on the areas of weakness for the patient (Herrman, Saxena & Moodie, 2005). Sociological aspects of health and ill health Socially isolated and disadvantaged people have poorer health in comparison with others (Seeman 1996). Societies, which are more socially cohesive than others are healthier and have lower mortality. A number of societies indicate a powerful association of health and social connectedness. There is an evolution of ideas concerning the social determinants of mental health as well as mental disorders. Such a development is concurrent with the advances in learning from neuroscience, as well as brain sciences of the 21st century. The chief idea at the start of the 21st century was that disease resulted from our genetic make-up. Then, in the latter part of the same century, there was the development of a concept that the genetic make-up may alter because of the effect of the environment. The environment has a bearing on the social aspects of life (Lennox, 2002). People in the lower socio-economic sections of the community have more stressors in comparison to those in the higher segment. Those individuals who are less well-off have little control over their environment. Their inability to control the environment causes them to encounter more stressors in life that those who can regulate the same environments. Evidence also indicates the fact that women live longer than men do (Lennox, 2002). An explanation for such a conclusion is difference in biological make-up. For instance, Estrogen delays the onset of CHD because it reduces the tendency of blood to clot and the levels of cholesterol in the blood. Another aspect is ethnicity, which suggests that the minority have higher tendencies to contracting diseases. An explanation for such a fact is the difference in behaviors across the different ethnic backgrounds. The ethnicity of people may confer varying sexual traditions and practices, which may influence the health of individuals. Ethnic minorities have a wider range of stressors because of racial discrimination and the demand to shift cultures and problems of accessing Medicare. Another case, which applies to the client, is the work condition. People who do work have higher tendencies of developing diseases than those who work. Conversely, those who work for large payments are less likely to develop diseases because of the differing abilities to access health care. Religious beliefs also influence the prevalence of illness among people because of the restrictions of health behavior, diet, and the quality of social and family ties. Many of the factors discussed interplay with each other to determine the risks of contracting diseases (Swartz & Richter, 2010). Psychological aspects of health and ill health The lay people have conclusions concerning health and disease (Lauber et al. 2003). Some patients delay the process of meeting their doctors should they feel signs of disease if they are severe. On the contrary, if the signs indicate little severity, they are more likely to see the doctor earlier than in the other case. At times, the patients may try to evade the idea of sickness until they feel that the conditions indicate worsening tendencies. The basis for such behavior is a combination of both optimism and unconsciousness. Patients tend to think that admission of sickness threatens life and existence. Some would shun the mere thought of illness, which would reduce the prevalence of disease among such individuals. Some patients suppress symptoms of a disease because of the thought of the pain, which they are likely to meet the process of treatment (Wittkower, 2002). Such a reason is the cause of immediate disappearance of pain just before treatment. At the same time, the doctor may succeed in dispelling fears from his patient and accelerate the chances of healing. Such a factor is the cause described by the lay people of having family and personal doctors. The doctors react to the diagnosis in a way, which make the clients feel intimate and accelerate the healing process. Some other patients doubt the results of a test with a mind that the information could be exaggerated to exploit them. Such patients end up consulting different doctors in an attempt to establish the truth concerning their situation (Wittkower, 2002). Other patients fear hospital admission because they feel that such conditions indicate that the patients have worse situations than they had thought (Moriarty, 2005). The perception of disease this scenario makes the patients develops feelings of well-being so that they can evade admission to hospital. The reasoning concerning sickness varies from one person to another, so is the tendency of falling sick. It implies that people who do not feel secure with the medical procedures will remain healthy for long. On the other hand, those who feel cared for by their doctors will have short inter-hospital visits. There is also a notion among the people that sickness reduces the realistic outlook of an individual. For this reason, some people would never wish to fall sick because they always do not want to lose credibility before others. It comes with a proposition that sickness is a state of the minds of the affected people. Conclusion Diagnosis of a disease in patients entails varied approaches, which relate to the relationship between humans and their environment. For instance, the social, economic, physiological, and other factors affect the rate of disease attacks. For patients who have mental problems, such a depression, there is a need that the doctors in charge take care of both the psychological and health requirements. The best approach is diagnosis of the problem followed by discussing the need for reformed character (Trivedi et al., 2006). The therapy needs an accompaniment of treatment using anti-depressants and counselling. The nurse-in-charge also needs to have follow-up activities to determine the rate of development and the healing process. Such actions are a part of the health surveillance and monitoring procedures, which reduce the possibility of re-occurrence of the problems. Establishing a patient’s history of depression helps the nurses and other medical practitioners a chance to provide quality treatment (Thomas, 2012). Usually, the tendency of an occurrence of depression in patients relates to haunting situations in the past. It means that the nurses will always have to make their clients feel like a part of the social set up and relax their mind. The rate of healing will speed up if the patients and the doctor maintain a rapport that will make both of them comfortable. References Haddad, M., Buszewicz, M., & Murphy, B. (2011). Supporting People with Depression and Anxiety: A Guide for Practice Nurses. London: Mind. Herrman, H., Saxena, S., & Moodie, R. (2005). Promoting Mental Health: Concepts, Emerging Evidence, Practice a Report of the World Health Organization, Department of Mental Health, and Substance Abuse in collaboration with the Victorian Health Promotion Foundation and the University of Melbourne. World Health Organization. Lauber, C., Falcato, L., Nordt, C., & Rössler, W. (2003). Lay Beliefs About Causes Of Depression. Acta Psychiatrica Scandinavica, 108(s418), 96-99. Lennox, N. (2002). Health Promotion and Disease Prevention. Physical Health of Adults with Intellectual Disabilities, 230-251. Moriarty, J. (2005). Update for SCIE best practice guide on assessing the mental health needs of older people. London, Social Care Workforce Research Unit, Kings College. Assessing Older People with Mental Health, (111). Rush, A. J., Thase, M. E., & Dubé, S. (2003). Research issues in the study of difficult-to-treat depression. Biological Psychiatry, 53(8), 743-753. Seeman, T. E. (1996). Social Ties and Health: The Benefits of Social Integration. Annals of Epidemiology, 6(5), 442-451. Swartz, L., & Richter, L. (2010). Promoting Mental Health. Cape Town, South Africa, HSRC Press. Teutsch, S. M., & Churchill, R. E. (2000). Principles and Practice of Public Health Surveillance. Oxford University Press. The British Psychological Society. (2009). Psychological health and well-being: A new ethos for mental health A report of the Working Group on Psychological Health and Well-Being. Leicester, UK. Retrieved February 4, 2015 from http://www.bps.org.uk/sites/default/files/images/psychological_health_and_well-being_-_a_new_ethos_for_mental_health.pdf Thomas, H. (2012). Assessing and Managing Depression in Older People. Nursing Times, 109(43), 16-18. Trivedi, M. H., Rush, A. J., Wisniewski, S. R., Nierenberg, A. A., Warden, D., Ritz, L., ... & Fava, M. (2006). Evaluation of outcomes with citalopram for depression using measurement-based care in STAR* D: implications for clinical practice. American Journal of Psychiatry, 163(1), 28-40. Warr, P. (1990). The Measurement of Well‐Being and Other Aspects of Mental Health. Journal of Occupational Psychology, 63(3), 193-210. Wittkower, E. (2002). Psychological Aspects of Physical Illness. Canadian Medical Association Journal, 66(3), 220. World Health Organization. (2004). International statistical classification of diseases and health related problems (The) ICD-10 (Doctoral dissertation, World Health Organization). Read More