Depression

Main Features of Depression

Depression is a common disorder primarily characterized by either a low or depressed mood or a loss of interest or pleasure in nearly all activities. Many additional symptoms are often present in the disorder, such as changes in weight just as Mary lost 10 pounds of weight because of depression, appetite or sleep patterns, fatigue, difficulty with concentration or decision making, moving more slowly than usual or agitation, feelings of worthlessness or guilt, and suicidal thinking (Joiner, 20).

One of the most common features of depression is its impact on an individual's thoughts, and a persistent pattern of negative thoughts plays a prominent role in the disorder. The cognitive theories of depression describe how an individual's pattern of thoughts or interpretations may increase risk for depression as well as being a part of, and helping to maintain, an episode of depression after it has started (Abramson, 35).

Although depression is quite prevalent, its causes remain largely unknown. Various factors trigger depression, including Stressors, substance abuse, and biological components. The diathesis-stress model, also known as the biopsychosocial model, emphasizes an interplay between social, cognitive, and biological components that increase a person's vulnerability to depression (Lebowaitz, 86).

The interaction of social, cognitive, and biological factors that cause depression can increase negative cognition and poor coping strategies that in turn exacerbate depressive symptoms. Low self-esteem and poor-quality social support are two of many social factors predicting depression. Furthermore, the link between predictors and outcomes appears to be bidirectional. Indeed, depressed adolescents often experience future adjustment problems—for example, unemployment, substance abuse, and suicide (Bruce, 12).

During late adolescence, gender differences emerge. Poor eating, lack of energy, and feeling sad and worthless are predictive of boys' depression, but sleeping problems best predict girls' depression. Depressed mothers like Mary also demonstrate differences in social interactions by engaging in less eye contact and gazing when interacting than do non-depressed girls. For both boys and girls, depressive symptoms increase as they mature.

Cognitive Perspective of Depression

In cognitive explanations of depression, thoughts and beliefs are considered to have a major role in causing or influencing the emotional state. According to Beck, depression results from faulty schemata or belief systems about the self and world. These negative schemata are evident in a pattern of thinking called the negative triad, which involves a negative view of the self, the world, and the future. Negative schemata produce characteristic distortions in thinking, such as the tendency to magnify the potential consequences of a negative event. Later in life, individuals like Mary filter events through these cognitive distortions, which can lead to depression (Joiner, 21).

Major depression may be a prodrome of dementia or may develop after the onset of cognitive decline. Differentiation may be difficult because depression is commonly accompanied by symptoms of impaired concentration, indecisiveness, and apathy (also associated with dementia). An older person with depression but not dementia may complain of memory loss and poor concentration and may be unable to perform simple cognitive tests. Distinguishing depression from dementia requires evidence that the cognitive ...