2. Mood Disorders (Ch 5)

For exam 2

Mood disorders involve…

profound disturbances in emotion (pos. & neg.)

How many types of mood disorders are recognized by the DSM-5 and what are they?

Two types: unipolar depressive disorders & bipolar disorders

What symptoms is associated with unipolar depressive disorders?

Depressive symptoms

What symptoms is associated with bipolar disorders?

Manic symptoms

The inability to experience pleasure is called…

Anhedonia

In order to be considered depression, what two factors must be considered (concerning a person’s feelings of sadness)?

The intensity and duration of the sadness

What word described the symptom of thoughts and movement slowing down?

Psychomotor retardation

What word described the symptom of inability to be still (pacing, fidgeting, etc).

Psychomotor agitation

What two symptoms must be present for major depressive disorder?

Need to have sad mood and anhedonia

List symptoms of major depressive disorder (7) minus the two main ones that must always be present.

1.) too much/ too little sleep

2.) psychomotor retardation or agitation

3.) weight loss or change in appetite

4.) loss of energy

5.) feelings of worthlessness or excessive guilt

6.) difficulty concentrating, thinking, or making decisions

7.) recurrent thoughts of death or suicide

What is an episodic disorder?

A disorder where symptoms tend to be present for a period and then clear.

T or F: MDD is an episodic disorder?

True

List the symptoms for persistent depressive disorder (6)

1.) Sleeping too much or too little

2.) Poor appetite or overeating

3.) Low energy

4.) Trouble concentrating or making decision

5.) Feelings of hopelessness

6.) Poor self esteem

What separates PDD from MDD?

PDD’s symptoms are chronic → patients must experience frequent depressive symptoms for at least 2 years

MDD only requires symptoms for at least 2 weeks

____ out of every ____ women will experience depression in their lifetime.

1 out 5 women

Which is more common in the US population, MDD or PDD?

MDD is more common

Are men or women more likely to have MDD or PDD?

Women are twice as more likely than men to have MDD or PDD

MDD is 3x as common among people that are _____ vs those that are not.

MDD is 3x as common for impoverished people

According to research, how impactful are hormone differences between men & women in explaining why women experience depressive disorders more often?

Hormone findings are mixed.

Hormones explain very little on this gender difference.

Name three ways social influences explain why women are more likely to experience depression.

1.) Twice as many girls as boys are exposed to childhood sexual abuse

2.) Women are more likely to be exposed to chronic stressors in adulthood (poverty, caretaker responsibilities, etc)

3.) “The cost of caring” → women are more likely to provide support to others facing stress

Do women have different HPA axis?

Women have the same HPA axis, but exposure to childhood and chronic stressors + hormones could change its reactivity

What kind of life events push more men than women to become depressed? What about the opposite?

Men are more likely (than women) to develop depression after financial/ occupational stress

Women are more likely (than men) to develop depression after interpersonal life events

How do men and women cope with depression?

Women are more likely to use emotion-focused coping (they spend time pondering their sad moods and unhappy life events)

Men are more likely to use action-focused coping (doing something else, like sports, to distract from sad mood)

What kinds of disorders are men more likely to demonstrate than women (3)?

Substance use disorder, alcohol use disorder, and antisocial personality disorder

What are some facts to explain why rates of MDD vary greatly between countries?

1.) Proximity to equator (seasonal depression)

2.) Inequality levels in individual countries

3.) Cultural influences (family cohesion, mental health stigma, etc)

What term describes the phenomenon of seasonal depression?

Seasonal Affective Disorder

What are some holes in our current data on seasonal affective disorder?

Depressive symptoms as a result of seasonal shifts are less common when patients are actually tracked over a period of time (longitudinal studies) instead of being asked to just recall their mood from over the years

Some of the main symptoms of depression (low energy, loss of appetite, excess sleeping) are similar to what animals experience in hibernation.

→ The current longitudinal studies on seasonal affective disorder do not ask about hibernation-like symptoms.