Major Depression

INTRODUCTION

Major depression is a serious disorder that affects each year approximately 5% of the population. Unlike a normal feeling of sadness or a passenger was in a bad mood, major depression is persistent and can interfere heavily on the thinking of an individual, its behavior, the conditions of mood, activity and physical well-being (Salzman, 2005).

A considerable portion, more than half of those who have been affected by a first episode of depression may present more depressive episodes during the rest of his life. Some people experience multiple episodes during the year, in which case we speak of Depression Appellant. If they are not cared for, depressive episodes can last from six months to one year. In this paper we have studied a case of William Anderson, my friend, who is a patient of Major Depression (Mitchell & Coyne, 2009).

DISCUSSION

Major depression, also known as unipolar depression, is only one of several forms of depressive disorder. Other forms of depression are the dysthymia (minor depression), and bipolar depression, which is then the depressive phase of bipolar disorder (Durand & Barlow, 2009).

Case Study

For this study, I have analyzed the depressive behavior of my Friend William Anderson. Anderson has a small family and he is the eldest son of his parents. He is going through major depression for several reasons. I have observed following symptoms of Major Depression in Anderson:

The Symptoms of Major Depression

Depressive disorders are accompanied by physical symptoms, called vital disorders, such as anorexia, insomnia, and weight loss, weight gain, often accompanied by pain across different regions of the body, most typically with a haunting sense of pressure on the chest. During a depressive episode the susceptibility to infection increases (Friedman & Anderson, 2010).

The symptoms of major depression are observed by significant changes in the habits of Anderson:

A persistent sad or irritable mood.

Significant changes in the habits of sleep, insomnia and other sleep disorders, appetite and movement.

Difficulty thinking, concentration, and memory.

Lack of interest or pleasure in activities that first interested instead.

Recurrent thoughts of death or suicide.

Moreover I observed persistent physical symptoms that do not respond to treatment, such as headaches, digestive problems, persistent pain and generalized.

The Causes of Depression

We deal with only some of the possible causes Dellea depression, as there is a large amount of data and studies of the genetic and biological factors that are beyond our interest (McIntyre & Nathanson, 2010). In case of Anderson, I came to know following causes of his Major depression:

Life Events and Environmental Stress

Anderson had been put through very stressful life events. His father died in a very young age and he had to share the responsibility of earning bread for his family with his mother. Clinical observation of long standing that has been repeated is that much more stressful life events often precede the first episodes of mood disorder compared to later episodes. This association has been reported for patients with both major depressive disorder and bipolar disorder I (Friedman & Anderson, 2010). One theory proposed to explain this observation ...