Depression; Symptoms, Types and Causes

Depression; Symptoms, Types and Causes

Depression – Both depression and mania is a type of psychoses which are caused by interpersonal traumas or child hood experiences. To know whether to bring somebody from mania depression or from depression to mania both disorders have to be discussed as follows:

Severe Depression

This is a condition which makes the suffer to show an over-whelming feeling of melancholy.

Feature/ Symptoms of Depression.

– Feels profoundly said and he feels that his past is filled with failure and that his present and future are hopeless.

– Worthless and guilty

– loses interest in his usual activities

– He eats poorly

– Has less interest in sexuality and sleeps poorly.

– He may sit in silent despair for a long periods of time or pace the floor in agitation.

– May cry at times without any reason.

– Feels chronic tired and physical movement are often slow

– Manifestation of hypochondrias

– Frequent constipation

– Stooped posture

– Shirred speech

– Delusions of inadequacy

– Suicidal tendencies

– Auditary hallucinations

– Unresponsive with drawn

Types of Severe Depression

(1) Manic depressive disorders this category of patients also have a history of manic disorders.

(2) Severe depression: These patients have no history of manic disorders most depressive patients fall in this group.

(3) Involutionary depression this occur in women in the menopausal period.

Causes of Depression

The person who develops a severe depression underwent marked emotional traumas in child hood which have been re- awakened by emotional stresses in adulthood.

The combination of emotional trauma both in childhood and in adulthood produces the depression illness.

For example;

• During childhood and early adolescence the patient suffers emotional rejection from both parents.
• Development of low self esteem
• In adulthood the person undergoes emotional stress which re-awaken his old traumas.
• Emotional rejection which may occur in marital crises or conflicts at work.

Treatment of Severe Depression

The total treatment plan for severely depressed patient includes:

1.)        Psychiatric Hospitalization to prevent suicide and to allow treatment under careful supervision.

2.)        A therapeutic hospital environment, in which the hospital professional carry out programs to diminish patients inner turmoil and feeling of rejection, worthlessness and guiltiness.

3.)        Anticidepressant medications are given

4.)        Psychotherapy- which helps to explore the roots of the patients depression, though not usually possible in the early stages of treatment.

5.)        Rehabilitation.

Mania

The condition may be termed opposite of depression with a major features of flight of ideas and hyperactivity.

Features/Symptoms of Mania

• Hyperactive especially at work.
• Excessive high sexual urge
• Talkativeness marked by rapid incoherent speech with a high unmodulated voice.
• He is buoyantly optimistic and has delusions of grandiose
• Some has grandiose of religious delusions.
• Often makes jokes, puns and laughs hilariously about trivial things
• They lose weight because of overactivity and poor eating.
• He is prone to injuries in
• Exaggerated salt automobile accidents and household mishaps.

Divisions of Manic Disorders.

It is customary divided into three groups in order of increasing severity:

1. Euphoria: Here the manic disorder is mild.
2. Hypomania : – it is moderate
3. Mania – Here it is marked

A manic disorder may remain at the level of euphoria or hypomania for few days or couple of weeks before it passes into mania.

Causes of Mania

• A manic disorders is a defense against depressiveness.
• An unhealthy attempt to blot on depressive feelings which threaten to gurge up in the person.
• Forced gaiety, exaggerated optimism and frantic overactivity of a manic reaction.

However the depressed patient is melancholy while the manic patient is hilarious, the depressed patient feels guilty and worthless while manic patient is exaggeratedly self confident.

Depressed patient is sits silently and inactive but manic patient fits rapidly from one uncompleted task to another.

This flight into mania to escape depression is unconscious. The interpersonal cause of manic disorders are basically the same as that of depression discussed above.

In adulthood the following precipitate manic disorders:

Emotional traumas, Loss of close relations, Rejection by close persons in marital crises, Loss of self-esteem because of job setback, Major financial loses, unresolved childhood traumas.

Treatment of Mania

1. Psychiatric hospitalization
2. A therapeutic hospital environments in which a calming environment is coupled with moderate outlets for the patients hyperactivity
3. Phenothiazine medications with chloropramazine or tri-fluorperazine or some others which decreases manic symptoms.
4. Psychotherapy
5. Lithium Medications.

Rehabilitation of the Client.

To answer the question of this topic, the explanations of what mania and depression, their causes treatment and symptoms.

I strongly prefer to bring somebody from depression to mania especially to reduce their suicidal tendencies. Reason being that many researchers like Beck (1967) found that 12% of his non depressed patients expressed suicidal wishes while 74% of depressed patient has been found to have suicidal attempt.

So it is better to bring somebody from depression to Mania to avoid suicidal tendencies.

References

Interpersonal Basis of Psychiatric Nursing.

Lecture Notes on Abnormal Psychology