Depression

what type of disorder is depression?

mood disorder

what is depression called to distinguish it from other similar disorders?

major or unipolar depression

what percentage of the population experience depression

10%- more common mental illness

why is depression a serious condition?

- risk of suicide

- more sever. frequent, long-lasting feelings of low mood

behavioural characteristics of depression

1. Activity levels - reduced energy levels leading to withdrawal from work, education and social life

2. Psychomotor agitation

3. Disruption to sleep + eating - insomnia and hypersomnia, increase or decrease in appetite leading to weight gain/loss

4. Aggression and self harm - irritability, verbal aggression, physical aggression, can be directed at themself

cognitive characteristics of depression

1. Poor concentration - difficulty finishing tasks or making decisions that previously wouldn't have been an issue

2. Attending to/dwelling on the negative - ignoring the positives of a situation, biased recall of unhappy events over happy ones

3. Absolutist thinking - all good/all bad, see bad situations as an absolute disaster

emotional characteristics of depression

1. Lowered mood - feelings of worthlessness and emptiness

2. Anger - can be extreme, can lead to aggressive behaviour directed at the self or others

3. Lowered self-esteem - dislike of the self, self-loathing

what do cognitive explanations of depression assume?

the main cause is cognition: irrational or unhelpful thoughts, beliefs or perceptions create negative emotional states, leading to depression

what are the cognitive explanations of depression?

Beck's negative triad and Ellis' ABC Model

Beck's negative triad

found a negative triad of thoughts from research with patients, negative thoughts about:

- themselves

- the world

- the future

what did Beck suggest the negative thoughts are?

automatic, stem from faulty info processing, e.g. selective attention to negative aspects

influenced by negative schemas

those with cognitive biases more likely to experience depression

what is Ellis' ABC model?

cognitive framework that explains how irrational thoughts lead to depression- moving from a state of wellness to a state of illness

3 components of Ellis's ABC model

1. Activating event- occurrence which triggers a negative response

2. Beliefs- irrational thoughts about the event

3. Consequences- emotional and behavioural outcomes of these beliefs

what do irrational beliefs result in?

unhealthy consequences, e.g. depression

what do rational beliefs result in?

healthier emotional responses

what does Ellis's model emphasise?

the importance of challenging irrational beliefs to improve mental health- approach is essential to REBT

strength of cognitive explanations of depression- clear and effective application in therapy

- CBT assumes that changing faulty and irrational thinking patterns reduce depressive symptoms

- assumption direct from Beck's negative triad and Ellis's ABC model- both identify maladaptive thoughts as central to disorder

- March et al (2007)- 327 adolescents with depression, CBT as effective as antidepressants with 81% improvement

- cognitive explanation has theoretical value and provides solid foundation for highly effective treatment interventions for depression

weakness of cognitive explanations of depression- much of supporting research is correlational

- difficult to establish cause and effect

- many studies show an association between negative thinking and depression but don't confirm cognitive distortions cause depression

- Evans et al. (2005)- link between negative self schemas and post natal depression, doesn't clarify if schemas are the cause or result of depression

- limits explanatory power of cognitive theories- biological/environmental factors may initiate depression + negative thoughts come later

strength of cognitive explanations of depression- supported by a wide range of empirical research

- demonstrates strong link between negative thinking patterns + development of depression

- Beck- individuals have negative self schemas and cognitive triad of pessimistic views

- Temple-Wisconsin study- mesured student's thhinking styles every few months, 17% who scored high on tests of negative thinking became depressed compared to 1% of those with low scores

- negative thinking precedes onset of depression so plays a causal role as C.E claims

- strengthens validity and credibility of cognitive explanations in psychology

weakness of cognitive explanations of depression- reductionist

- focuses on internal mental processes

- ignores biological and social factors

- research shown low levels of seratonin and genetic vulneribility contribute to development of disorder

- McGuffin et al. (1996)- 46% concordance rate in MZ twins compared to 20% in DZ twins- highlight role of inherited biological factors

- sole focus on thoughts and beliefs oversimplifies a complex mental health condition

- diathesis-stress model- more comprehensive explanation may offer fuller understanding as looks as cognitive, biological and psychological factors