Diagnosis and Treatment Essays - Abnormal Psychology,

Mood disorders are characterized by disturbances in a person?s mood or their prolonged emotional state. Most people have a wide emotional range, they are capable of being happy or sad, animated or quiet, cheerful or discouraged, overjoyed or miserable, and it just depends on the circumstances. People with mood disorders, their range are greatly restricted. They will seem stuck at one or the other end of the emotional spectrum, either constantly happy and excited or constantly sad no matter what the circumstances. Depression is a well known mood disorder and very common. A person who is depressed will experience a state in which they feel overwhelmed with sadness, they lose interest in activities, and they will display other symptoms such as excessive guilt or feelings of worthlessness. How does one know when feelings of sadness and hopelessness are just normal feelings and reactions to a person?s circumstances or are they experiencing a form of depression.Clinicians look for some significant impairment of distress in social, occupational, or other important areas of functioning. Doctors also look for other explanations of the symptoms; could they be due to substance abuse or the side effects of medication that the person may be taking. Could it be a result of a medical condition, such as hypothyroidism which is the inability of the thyroid gland to produce an adequate amount of its hormones? Could the hormones be due to an intense grief reaction? If the symptoms cannot be explained by any of the above causes then the clinician uses a test called the DSM-IV-RT to help make a diagnosis of depression. DSM-IV-RT notes at least five of the fallowing symptoms and at least one of the first two must be present within the patient: 1.Depressed Mood- Feel sad or empty for most of the day, almost every day, or have others observed these symptoms? 2.Loss of interest in pleasure- lost interest in performing normal activities, such as working or going to social events? Does the person seem to just be going through the motions of everyday life and not receiving any pleasure from it? 3.Significant weight loss or gain- Has the person gained or lost more than five percent of body weight in a month? Has the person lost interest in eating or is complaining that food has lost its taste? 4.Sleep disturbance- Is the person having trouble sleeping? Or is the person sleeping too much? 5.Disturbance in motor activities- Is there a change in activity level? Does the person just sit around? Or does the behavior reflect agitation or unusual restlessness? 6.Fatigue- Does the person complain about constantly being tired and having no energy? 7.Feeling worthlessness or excessive guilt- Does the person express feeling like; ?You are better off without me? or ?I ruin everything for everyone I love.? 8.Unable to concentrate- Complain of memory problems or they are unable to focus their attention on simple tasks. 9.Thoughts of death- Does the person talk about committing suicide or wish that they were dead. Appropriate diagnosis is the first step in effective treatment. Second step is therapeutic help for the individual. Behavioral therapies would be most effective since its therapeutic approaches that are based on the belief that all behavior, normal and abnormal, is learned, and that the objective of therapy is to teach people new, more satisfying ways of behaving. Insight therapy would be affective also. Insight therapy is to give people a better awareness and understanding of their feelings, motivations, and actions in hope that this will lead to better adjustment. Family therapy would also be necessary for those who are experiencing depression who have a family. Family therapists believe that it is a mistake to treat a client in a vacuum, making no attempt to meet the person?s parents, spouse, and children, for if one person in the family is having problems, it is often a signal that the entire family needs assistance. I would also recommend couples therapy for those who are in a relationship. Couples therapy is designed to assist partners who are having difficulties within their relationship. While a person who is diagnosed with depression may not directly be aware that their depression is affecting their loved ones, therapy is necessary so that they are aware of how their behavior