Cognitive etiologies

Disorder: MDD intro

Major depressive disorder (MDD) is a mood disorder, it is displayed by affective, Behavioural, Cognitive, and somatic symptoms, according to the which is the DSM-5 it is characterized by the following symptoms: lowered mood most days, reduced interest or pleasure in most activities, significant weight changes, daily insomnia or hypersomnia, reducedor agitated motor activity, fatigue or loss of energy, feelings of worthlessness or inappropriate guilt, diminished concentration and cognition, recurrent thoughts of death, suicidal ideation, and suicidal plan.

The severity of depression ma vary depending on the amount of symptoms experienced, the frequency of symptoms and severity of symptoms, from mild to moderate to severe major depressive disorder.

Why is this a discussion

It is important to discuss the explanations of major depressive disorder (MDD), as it allows for better understanding of the causes of it. The treatment of a disorder like MDD should match its cause, therefore making it important to fully understand the etiologies of MDD to be able to effectively treat it. It is generally thought that the interaction of multiple etiologies is necessary to explain MDD effectively due to the combination of factors and symptoms which are related to it.

Holism

It is generally accepted that depression isn’t caused by solely biological, cognitive or sociocultural factors, but rather a combination of all three. When discussing the etiologies if a mental illness a holistic approach is necessary, and a focus on how the different explanations work together and interact. This can be seen in the widely accepted diathesis stress model of mental illnesses which suggests that individuals have a biological predisposition to a disorder, but it only manifests itself as the disorder when it is triggered by cognitive and sociocultural factors.

Beck’s cognitive theory of depression

Beck’s cognitive theory of depression is one of the cognotve explanations for depression. Aaron Beck claims that irrational thought patterns and cognitive distortions are the root cause of depression. Beck identified numerous typoes of irrational thought processes including the following: Selective attention, when focus is only put on the negative aspects of an event, Magnification, the the importance of negative life events are exaggerated, Overgeneralization, when broad conclusions are drawn on a the basis of a a single negative life event, Absolute thinking, thinking in terms of extremes (such as black or white, good or bad)

Individuals who fall victim to these kinds of irrational thought patterns frequesntly experience an overwhelming wave of unfavourable feelings and ideas. Beck claims that cognitive distortions can lead to the negative triad- repeated, habitual, and seemingly uncontraikkable negative beliefs about oneself, the world, and the future.

According to the theory, depression is caused by negative thoughts about oneself, the world and the future. The cognitive triad’s elements can all flow into and effect one another.

According to Beck, these automatic thought processes function at the '“fringes of consciousness”, potentially giving incorrect meaning to life experiences and subsequently causing emotional problems linked to depression.

studies

Alloy et al. (1999)

Haeffel et al. (2008)

Evaluation of etiology

+ majority of depressed ppls perspectives of the world, themselves, and their future is well described by the cognitive triad.

+ suggests that CBT can treat depression by correcting distortions in thinking

- unclear what came first, as negative thoughts, feelings of worthlessness and inappropriate guilt are symptoms of depresssion

- unclear why negative thinking starts in the first place, what triggers the cognitive triad and distortions