Description of Depression
- Some people may experience sadness and loneliness on occasions, which is considered the blues. Clinical depression is a disorder that affects a person’s ability to perform activities of daily living. Most people struggling with depression experience changes in behaviors, thoughts, and emotions. Examples:
- Loss of appetite
- Lack of energy and racing thoughts
- Hopelessness, loneliness
- Worthlessness, indecisiveness, isolation and anger
Thoughts of a depressed person
Nevid, Rathus., S & Green, B. (2011) described the thoughts of a depressed person on pages 260-261 as the following:
- Overgeneralization
- All or Nothing Thinking
- Magnification
- Labeling and Mislabeling
- Mind Reader
- Mental Filter
- Negative Focusing/Minimization/Disqualifying the positive
- Jumping to conclusions
- Emotional Reasoning
- Fortune Teller error
- Personalization
- Should Statements
Factors that can lead to depression
Chemical imbalance in the brain
Hormonal changes: Postpartum depression
Sexual or physical abuse
Loss of job or love one
Life threatening illness
There are different types of depression such as; major depression, bipolar, postpartum, and severe depression. Each type has it’s own symptoms and duration. For additional information on the different types of depression, please click on this link: http://www.depressedtest.com/
References
National Alliance on Mental Illness. (1996-2013).What is Depression. Retrieved from http://www.nami.org/Template.cfm?Section=depression
Nevid, J., Rathus., S & Green, B. (2011). AbnormalPsychology in a changing World (8th ed). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall, Pearson.
Smith, M., Saisan, J., & Segal, J. (2013). Depression Symptoms & Warning Signs. Helpguide.org. Retrieved from http://www.helpguide.org/mental/depression_signs_types_diagnosis_treatment.htm#faces