Depression - Research Paper Example

? [Teacher’s Depression Human emotions are one of the most misunderstood concepts in the medical world. Their etiology still remains abstract; hence, the majority of psychological disorders are yet to have a definite diagnosis or treatment plan. Psychologists and psychiatrists mainly rely on the information they have from the patient and his or her relatives which can be misleading and requires a high level of skill as compared to other physicians treating pathologies with known pathogenesis. An example of such a disorder is depression, which is one of the leading disorders in terms of pharmacological expenditure. In fact, by the year 2020, researchers believe it will be the leading disorder in terms of treatment costs. This paper will analyze the modern approach towards depression and whether or not it is efficient (Aragones et al., 363-368). Depression can be defined as a negative mood or a loss of interest in pleasurable activities or life itself and is often associated with cognitive, behavioral and emotional symptoms (Aragones et al., 363-368). Currently, it is one of the most common psychiatric disorders and is currently ranked number four by the World Health Organization in terms of global disease burden. Depression may become a chronic disorder and if in appropriately treated may lead to disability or more serious consequences such as suicide. There are two main symptoms that are currently used to diagnose depression and these include low mood or persistent sadness on a daily basis along with the loss of interest in life. Other criteria that may be present include worthlessness, fatigue, psychomotor agitation, recurrent thoughts of death and changes in appetite. According to the above mentioned criteria it is easy to realize why one may easily feel he or she needs treatment for depression despite the fact that his or her condition may be a part of normal human emotions. The diagnostic criteria are not independent to critically patients and may be observed in normal individuals. The media however and pharmacological companies have seen the potential industry and aim to take full advantage. Advertisements and other media factors utilized by these companies have made people of today feel the urgency to quickly seek treatment for just temporary bad moods as they have been brainwashed with the thought of depression. This has been widely analyzed by various individuals including academic professionals and psychologists. An example is Dr. Greenberg, the psychotherapist himself, has suffered from episodes of depression (Greenberg, 22-30).Therefore, this gives him a broader perspective both as a doctor and a patient to critically analyze this industry in a very accurate way. He wrote a book entitled Manufacturing Depression which illustrates the role patients, drug companies and doctors have played in exaggerating depression to the extent of it becoming as common as a common cold. The debate lies in the fact that only 20 years after antidepressants were manufactured, doctors have created the illusion that sadness which is common in every individual is best explained by an illness known as depression. 14 million American citizens have been diagnosed with major depression annually whilst 3 million are diagnosed with the minor form in the same timeframe. In addition, it is estimated that approximately 30,000,000 Americans are prescribed antidepressants annually which sums up to a cost of approximately $10 billion. Greenberg has argued against and depicted it as a scam by doctors and pharmaceutical companies. He based this argument on the fact that he himself had been part of a clinical trial and also researched extensively on trials elsewhere (Greenberg, 22-30). He discovered that the antidepressant treatment and very little effect and in fact had similar results to the placebo. He does not undermine the devastating effects of depression but opposes the approach which doctors and pharmaceutical companies have taken towards the condition (Greenberg, 22-30). Other medical practitioners also share the same viewpoint, for example Gordon Parker believes that the only thing current depression diagnostic criteria do is medicalise sadness (Parker, 328). He argued this point against Ian Hicke, who has an opposite opinion and believes that individuals are actually under diagnosed and missing out on treatment that could potentially save their lives (Hicke, 329). Through a study carried out among 242 teaches utilizing the 1978 baseline questionnaire which defined depression it was found that a positive diagnosis was present for 95% of the teachers (Parker, 328). This further testifies that depressive feelings such as guilt, helplessness and hopelessness which are used to diagnose individuals are in fact a part of nature and similar to other mood states such as happiness. Therefore, this low threshold for clinical diagnostic criteria for depression puts physiological human emotional states at the risk of being misdiagnosed as illnesses (Parker, 328). In fact, when the first antidepressant was introduced, the manufacturer Geigy had some doubts in marketing it due to the belief that they were not enough individuals suffering from depression to make this a profitable product. However, despite this reluctantly numerous individuals have now been diagnosed with depression and the drugs have a dominant market share in the medical sector. One of the main reasons why this occurred is that the diagnostic method and model is unreliable and product marketed beyond their true potential, therefore heightening people’s expectations. Hicke acknowledges the usefulness of antidepressants and believes that the disorder is still under diagnosed (Hicke, 329). He emphasizes on the dangers associated with the diagnosis. This also further testifies the current problem whereby a large number of individuals suffering from depression are still not diagnosed (Hicke, 329). He also believes that it is better for people to be over diagnosed as more people will seek help and become available for clinical assessment. Hicke compared this to breast cancer screening programs which often results in otherwise undetected malignancies being diagnosed (Hicke, 329). However, there is a large difference between the side effects of false-positive breast cancer diagnosis and that of depression. Individuals who are falsely diagnosed with depression and prescribed certain treatment are often given false hope. The failure of these treatments in an individual who possesses not so severe symptoms can lead to a more severe depressive state as he or she may believe that she is not getting better. A study was also carried out by John Hopkins Bloomberg school of Public health and it established that depression was currently over diagnosed in America (Aragones et al., 363-368). The study was carried out with a population sample which had been diagnosed with depression by a physician. In addition, the individuals who were observed had experienced a depressive episode within the past year. When these individuals were further assessed for major depressive disorder, the study showed that only 38% met the criteria for depression (Aragones et al., 363-368). However, all these individuals were currently on one or more antidepressant medications. Furthermore, a study was done on individuals above 65 years old on antidepressants and it was discovered that six out of seven did not meet the criteria for major depressive disorder (van Weel-Baumgarten, 25). Studies carried out by the United States National Survey of Drug Use and Health discovered that there is also under diagnosis of depression (van Weel-Baumgarten, 25). In summation, there are numerous cases of over diagnosis of depression as well as under diagnosis. These factors can be attributed to the fact that there is no efficient diagnostic model for depression. In addition, doctors and pharmaceutical companies aim to profit from this condition, hence there have been numerous misrepresentations of drug effects. Depression to a certain extent is a physiological condition and is similar to other emotional states such as happiness. Individuals should not aim to attribute their sadness to an illness and rather strive to alleviate the cause of the problems. Depending on antidepressants and other forms of psychiatric treatment for sadness could lead to more adverse psychological impacts. Works Cited Aragones, Enric, Josep Lluis Pinol, and Antonio Labad. "The overdiagnosis of depression in non-depressed patients in primary care." Family practice 23.3 (2006): 363-368. Greenberg, Gary. Manufacturing depression: The secret history of a modern disease. Simon & Schuster, 2010. 22-30 Hickie, Ian. "Head to head: Is depression overdiagnosed? No." BMJ: British Medical Journal 335.7615 (2007): 329. Parker, Gordon. "Head to head: Is depression overdiagnosed? Yes." BMJ: British Medical Journal 335.7615 (2007): 328. van Weel-Baumgarten, Evelyn, et al. "A different way of looking at depression."International journal of clinical practice 64.11 (2010). 25 Read More