Psy 270 Depression Paper

Week 4 Assignment Depression Paper Axia College of University of capital of Arizona Situational clinical falling off is a normal recurrence for many of us during our lifetimes. We fork over life events that trigger depression, stress and anxiety to acknowledge the death of a loved unrivalled, the unwanted change in our work status and perchance a divorce. Such changes in emotions atomic number 18 temporary and directly link to ad hoc events atomic number 18 part of the way in which we respond to these changes. exterior these normal, healthy mood changes exists a world in which a low-toned percentage of U.S. adults experience clinical depression. Clinical depression is a amiable illness that is extreme enough that a someone brush offnot function headspring in their daily lives. It may even cause the unmarried to be suicidal. Unipolar depression is the term ascribed to this condition (Comer, 2011). Symptoms of this illness are convertible to those of mood rowdyism. The mood disorder is called bipolar disorder. In this assignment, I bequeath compare causes, symptoms and treatments of these two illnesses.The American Psychiatric Associations symptomatic and Statistical Manual describes unipolar depression as a epochal depressive period that lasts more than two weeks during which the tolerant role exhibits at least louvre depressive symptoms (Comer, 2011). Symptoms of depression include insomnia, daily bouts of depression, inability to concentrate on the lying-in on hand, loss of appetite and a loss of interest in previously pleasurable activities and thoughts of suicide (Comer, 2011). Unipolar depression is thought to be caused by a compounding of factors rather than being developed from one source or exposure.Depression is in part, a genetic biochemical dissymmetry of the neurotransmitters serotonin, norepinephrine and dopamine in combination with stress. The institute details specific individualisedity traits correlated with depressio n. Their studies revealed that individuals who manoeuvre 1. High levels of anxiety, which can be go through as an internalized anxious worrying style or as a more externalized irritability. 2. Shyness, expressed as social avoidance or personal reserve. 3. Self? criticism or low self? worth. 4. Interpersonal sensitivity. 5.Perfectionism. 6. A self? focused style is at higher risk for growth depression. A variety of therapies are used to treat unipolar depression with varying degrees of success and effectiveness. One treatment which is biological in record that has proved very effective is to a fault controversial because of its nature. This is Electroconvulsive therapy (ECT). In ECT, the patient is subjected to induction of seizure through controlled electric shock, under anesthesia. The treatment dish out is not well understood and is, therefore, used only in disgusting cases.These cases may include delusion in extreme forms of the illness. ECT does persist to cause memory lo ss and is being used less much since the introduction of newer antidepressant drugs (Comer, 2011). The class of drugs used for antidepressant effects include triple types. These are monoamine oxidase (MAOI) inhibitors, tricyclics and selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (selective-serotonin reuptake inhibitors). All three types of antidepressants are effective for patients with depression, simply SSRIs are currently the preferred medical specialty due to the smaller body of side effects these drugs have.SSRIs function by balancing the brains neurotransmitters. They increase serotonin and norepinephrine levels (Comer, 2011). separate treatment modalities are available as well. Drug treatments are intimately effective when used in combination with other treatments. Unipolar depression treatments are currently dominated by cognitive model therapies. The cognitive models have gained favor over other therapies, such as psychodynamic and behavioural models (Comer, 2011). The effe ctiveness rate for cognitive therapies is between 50% and 60% (Comer, 2011).Cognitive therapy is knowing to re-educate patients to become aware of and alter their throw negative thought chemical formulas and dysfunctional behaviors. Four looks are employed in this model. The first step is when the individual is instructed to create a log of their daily schedule so that they can begin to become active again. This is intended to sustain them also regain their self-confidence. In the second step, the individual is told to write down the mechanical negative thoughts they experience.In the third step, they can then look back on this list and learn to recognize that most, if not all, of these thoughts are unfounded and that this pattern of negative thinking becomes self fulfilling. The goal here is to refocus the person and to give them a new perspective that is self fulfilling in a positive way. The fourth and last step is when the clinician assists the individual in do changes t o their maladaptive attitudes and behaviors that contributed to their depression (Comer, 2011). Bipolar disorder is the term applied to an individuals condition when their mood swings drastically from mania to depression.The DSM indicates that there are two different types of bipolar disorders. In Type one an individual experiences daily severe depression for an extended period with these periods being by full blown manic episodes. In Type two bipolar disorder, the individual experiences the same depression as in Type one, but the subsequent manic phase is less severe (Comer, 2011). Research studies show that bipolar disorder is developed in the same way as depression. The treatments for bipolar disorder, however, vary greatly from those used to treat depression.In bipolar patients, antidepressants can trigger mania, so other drugs, singly or in combination are used for mania. Some of these drugs are lithium, carbamazepine and valporate (Comer, 2011) in combination with SSRI antidep ressants, since SSRIs do not trigger mania as often. Research shows that psychotherapeutics alone will not effectively treat biopolar disorders. Lithium on is also not effective. Lithium dosages are difficult to regulate in actual use and patients often discontinue the medication on their own (Comer, 2011).Adjunctive psychotherapy is used in conjunction with medications, in part to help the patient understand the value of their medication. The clinician will also work with the patient to help them cope with family, work and social issues that arise when bipolar disorder is experienced (Comer, 2011). These two types of disorders are caused in similar ways, but their treatments are quite different. References Comer, R. J. (2011). Fundamentals of abnormal psychology (6th ed. ). New York, NY Worth.