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The signs and symptoms of depression essay
Depression in children and adolescents essay
What are the signs and symptoms of depression essay
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Depression in Children and Adolescents
What is depression?
Depression is the most common mental disorder, not only for adults, but for children and teenagers as well. The DSM-IV classifies depression as a mood disorder. It states that an individual has suffered a “major depressive episode” if certain symptoms persist for at least two weeks, including a loss of enjoyment in previously pleasurable activities, a sad or irritable mood, a significant change in weight or appetite, problems sleeping or concentrating, and feelings of worthlessness. These symptoms of depression fall into four categories: mood, cognitive, behavioral, and physical. Depression affects how individuals feel, think, behave, and how their bodies work. People with depression may experience symptoms in any or all of the categories, depending on personal characteristics and the severity of the depression (Ainsworth 2000).
Victims of depression often describe feelings of emptiness, hopelessness, unreasonable guilt, and profound apathy. Their self-esteem is usually low, and they may feel overwhelmed, restless, and irritable. The changes occurring with depression understandably result in alterations in behavior. Most individuals with moderate-to-severe depression will experience decreased activity levels and appear withdrawn and less talkative, although some severely depressed individuals show agitation and restless behavior, such as pacing the floor. “Depression is more than a mental illness. It is a total body illness (Curtis, p. 132)”.
Major depressive disorder, also know as clinical depression, is the serious and often disabling for of depression that can occur as a single episode or as a series of depressive episodes over a lifetime. A single episode may last as little as two weeks or as long as months to years (Mondimore, 1990). Some people will have only one episode with full recovery. Others recover from the initial episode only to experience another episode months to years later. There may also be clusters of episodes followed by years of remission.
Depression in Children
How do we determine whether children are depressed? All children feel unhappy from time to time. Sadness is a normal, natural response to many life events, from losing a soccer game or moving away from old friends to a death in the family. “Although when that sadness runs too deep, l...
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...Empfield, Maureen, & Bakalar, Nicholas. (2001). Understanding Teenage Depression.
New York: Henry Holt and Company, LLC.
Fassler, David, & Dumas, Lynne. (1997). Help Me I’m Sad.
New York: The Penguin Group.
McKnew, Donald, & Cytryn, Leon (1996). Growing Up Sad.
New York: W.W. Norton & Company, Inc.
McKnew, Donald, Cytryn, Leon, & Yahraes, Herbert (1983). Why Isn’t Johnny Crying?
New York: W.W. Norton & Company, Inc.
Journals
Egger, Helen (2003, March). Recognizing and Treating Depression in Young Children.
The Brown University Child and Adolescent Behavior Letter, 1-3.
Hazell, Phillip (2003, February). Depression in Children and Adolescents.
American Family Physician. 577-579.
Weisz, John; & Hawley, Kristen. (2001) Child, Parent, and therapist Agreement on
Target Problems in Outpatient Therapy. University of California. 62-70.
Wingert, Pat; & Kantrowitz, Barbara. (2002, October) Young And Depressed.
Newsweek, 52-61.
Other Media
Films For the Humanities & Sciences (1991). Teen and Child Depression
[Videotape]. Princeton, NJ: Films For the Humanities & Sciences, Inc.
http://www.psychologynet.org/major.html
Depression is considered a mental disorder that can lead an individual to commit suicide, experiment fatal risk that can injure his or her life. Furthermore, an individual feeling depressed lacks motivation to do anything progressive with his or her life. With that said, these individuals sometime gives up interest in activities that were once enjoyable, gets in a phase were he or she loses appetite, begins to overeat, loses concentration on what he or she is trying to complete, and becomes indecisiveness. Moreover, depression is a condition that makes an individual feel miserable, have no motivation to any activity that can influence his or her views, actions, welfare. Furthermore, depressed individuals at times may feel sad, apprehensive, desperate, destitute, useless, awkward, short-tempered, and agitated. In addition, the melancholy of depression is categorized by a greater concentration and length that is attached to severe symptoms. According to Wedding & Corsini (2014) states, “Physical disease, severe and acute stress, and chronic stress area also precipitating factors” (Pp. 240) of an individu...
Major depressive disorder is a mood disorder characterized by the DSM-5 of depressed mood and markedly diminished interest or pleasure in nearly all activities occurring nearly every day, for most of the day, as indicated by a subjective self-report or an observational report from others. Individuals who have depression also tend to experience significant weight loss, insomnia or hypersomnia, psychomotor agitation, fatigue and loss of energy, feelings of worthlessness or excessive guilt, diminished ability to concentrate, and recurrent thoughts of death. Most people who suffer from depression usually experience major depressive episodes in unipolar major depression, while some others experience both depressive and manic episodes in bipolar
According to National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH), depression is a mood disorder that impairs both social and occupational functioning. Depression affects the way you feel, think, and executes the daily task, such as eating, working or sleeping. For an individual to be diagnosed with depression, the symptoms must be present for at least two weeks.
Why do we become happy, sad, mad, or upset? Why are some days good while others are bad? We smile, cry, laugh, frown and this is a continuous cycle throughout life. Individuals describe depression as a state of sadness and confusion that humans face, but in reality depression impacts much more than one’s mood or behavior. I strongly believe depression is a mental health disorder, one in which people of society need to take more serious. I have been struggling with depression for quite a few years, as well as, witnessing close family members and friends who also face the daily challenges depression brings alone. It is hard to read the news headlines, of the traumatic stories of suicide. These individuals cannot handle the overwhelming problems and stress life. Often, they have no one to explain how valuable life is, ways to help them through difficult situations, or most importantly, getting individuals professional counseling. In most cases it is not that others do not want to help those in need, but that they are unaware of what actions to take in order to provide that help. I plan to become a counselor, so I can be educated on the different emotional, physical, and social problems individuals deal with. The questions I propose are valuable for me to research, so I can inform society the importance of understanding depression. What are the different types of depression? How can depression affect an individual's appetite, sleep pattern, and health conditions? When is therapy counseling and medication needed for treating depression? What are the main experiences individuals face that trigger depression? How are ages affected by depression? What are coping skills for depression? I believe the information I gain from these sources wi...
People of all ages, backgrounds, and walks of life have felt depressed and unhappy at some time in their lives. These periods of sadness usually pass after a short time, but for some people, this feeling can remain for weeks, months, and even years. (1) This prolonged state of unhappiness is called major (or clinical) depression and is characterized by a persistent sad or "empty" mood, loss of interest in favorite activities, difficulty concentrating, and many other symptoms. It is not simply a mental state but an illness that interferes with the way people feel, function, and think.(2)
Depression in school-age children may be one of the most overlooked and under treated psychological disorders of childhood, presenting a serious mental health problem. Depression in children has become an important issue in research due to its many emotional forms, and its relationship to self-destructive behaviors. Depressive disorders are of particular importance to school psychologists, who are often placed in the best position to identify, refer, and treat depressed children. Procedures need to be developed to identify depression in students to avoid allowing those children struggling with depression to go undetected. Depression is one of the most treatable forms of disorders, with an 80-90% chance of improvement if individuals receive treatment (Dubuque, 1998). On the other hand, if untreated, serious cases of depression in childhood can be severe, long, and interfere with all aspects of development, relationships, school progress, and family life (Janzen, & Saklofske, 1991).
Major depressive disorder is more than just sadness; it is a mood disorder, which is characterized by feelings of hopelessness, depressed mood, and a reduced ability to enjoy life. The symptoms of depression fall into five categories: affective, motivational, cognitive, behavioral, and physical. People suffering from depression may experience several symptoms, for at least two weeks, in any or all of the above categories, depending on personal characteristics and the severity and type of depression. They generally have feelings of sadness, emptiness, pessimism, hopelessness, worthlessness or unreasonable guilt; lack of interest and pleasure in daily activities, reduced energy and vitality. The cognitive ability of the brain is also affected; thinking becomes slower, concentration becomes more difficult, memory lapses and problems with decision making become obvious. Individuals , may have difficulty going to sleep or experience early morning awakenings. Some other patients may feel an excessive need for sleep, and some may be troubled by dreams that carry the depressive tone into sleeping hours, causing abrupt awakening due to distress. Appetite changes are very frequent; a total loss of appetite is common and it is associated with weight loss. The same individuals who oversleep when depressed also tend to overeat. Finally, physical complaints are common and may or may not have a physical basis. Physical symptoms can occur in any part of the body and can include pain (headache, backache), gastrointestinal problems (nausea, stomach pain, diarrhea, and constipation), and neurologic complaints (dizziness, numbness, memory problems) as well as recurrent thoughts of death and contemplation of suicide.
According to the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fourth Edition (DSM-IV); A person who suffers from this disorder must have a depressed mood, or have lost interest in things that would have normally brought them pleasure; for a minimum of two weeks. This must be different then the person’s normal behaviors, and it may not be caused by a general medical condition. (American Psychiatric Association, 1994)
Depression is a mental illness, which affects millions of Americans each year. Currently there are many prescription drugs, called anti-depressants that have been proven to successfully treat it. The causes of depression are somewhat of a medical enigma, however, it is known that depression is associated with a change in the brains chemistry involving the function of neurotransmitters (Reichert). This chemical change occurs in healthy brain’s, which experience sadness, but ends after the unpleasant stimulus is removed. In people suffering from depression this chemical change does not correspond to any particular stimulus. Symptoms of depression are often incapacitating and include severe and extended sadness, feelings of worthlessness, feelings of emptiness, irritability and anxiety (Reichert, Spake).
Depression is a mental illness in which a person experiences deep, stable sadness and discontinued interest in nearly all activities. People also use the term depression to describe the temporary sadness, loneliness, or blues that everyone feels from time to time. In contrast to normal sadness, severe depression, also called major depression, can dramatically lessen a person’s ability to function in social situations and at work. People with major depression often have feelings of despair, hopelessness, and worthlessness, as well as thoughts of committing suicide.
Depression is well known for its mental or emotional symptoms. Symptoms for depression include: persistently sad or unhappy mood, loss of interest or pleasure in previously enjoyable activities, difficulty concentrating, remembering, making decisions, anxiety, feelings of guilt, worthlessness, helplessness, and thoughts of death or dying. “People who have endured a major depressive episode describe the experience as a descent into t...
Major depressive disorder, also known as clinical depression, major depression, unipolar depression or depression is a mental disorder characterized by a consistent low mood accompanied with low self esteem and a low interest or enjoyment in regular fun activities. Depression will affect one 's family life, work, schooling, sleeping habits, eating habits and all around health. No one is immune to depression, it has even affected some of the world 's most famous athletes and movie stars like Olympic gold medalist Clara Hughes or actor Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson. Chances are you or someone you know will be affected by depression in their lifetime.
Conclusively, teenage depression is a chronic problem in the life of teenagers, which should be properly handled. When signs of this are seen in teenagers, adequate steps should be taken, in order to ensure their safety and restore their mental strength.
Depression isn’t just a state of being, or someone’s mood. There are different types of depression, and each of those types have their own lists of symptoms and treatments, all similar but they have some differences.
Young children, up to age five or six, are the most confused and the most disoriented by their parents’ separation. They often fear they are going to be abandoned by their parents, which causes great anxiety. The loss of a parent is extremely sad to a child of this age because they feel that their needs are not going to be attended to as well as they had before, when their needs are not going to be attended to as well as they had before, when their family was together. Many of the children in this group are worried that they will be left without a family or their parents might have money troubles and they will be deprived of food and toys. These thoughts that children of this age have cause them to have feelings of guilt, being unloved and fear of being alone. Some children will be extremely sad and show signs of depression and even sleeplessness. They might feel rejected by the parent who left and think that it is all their fault, that they weren’t good children and their parents stopped loving them. They also sometimes have increased tantrums, or may cry more easily than usual. Children at this age may develop physical complaints, like headaches, or stomachaches due to this depressing situation and time they are going thr...