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psyclass
Biological Perspective:
Overview:
The biological aspect of Depression can be a weighty subject therefore I have broken it into 3 parts: Neurochemical/Neuroanatomical, common chemicals used to treat depression, and genetic vulnerability. These 3 major areas all deal specifically with the biological perspective of depression. There are also links on the bottom to get help with depression.
The three major neurochemicals that effect behavior are serotonin, norepinephrine, and dopamine. A connection has been found linking abnormal levels of these three chemicals to abnormal behavior and mood. Aside from the change in mood there is the fact that most individuals that experience these weird brain chemical levels also have a reduced hippocampus. So to treat this problem serotonin is introduced in the body to initiate Neurogenesis, or the process by which serotonin causes the hippocampus to expand. This is a technique used in some drugs that aid depression.
There are many drugs used to treat this disorder here the 3 major drugs and the uptake it blocks:
Genetic vulnerability:
There is even further evidence that genetics plays a crucial role in the development of a healthy mood cycle. Twin studies have evidenced a large correlation between depressive disorders developed by identical twins, whereas fraternal twins saw no such high correlation. These results show that there is a disposition on the genetic level responsible for depressive disorders.
Where to find help: National Alliance for Research on Schizophrenia and Depression
National Foundation for Depressive Illness, Inc.
Postpartum Support International
Webmd.com http://DepressionResources.webmd.com
Postpartum Resource Center of New York, Inc. 109 Udall Road West Islip, NY 11795 Phone: (631) 422-2255
P.O. Box 2257 New York, NY 10116 Toll-free: (800) 239-1265 http://www.depression.org 60 Cutter Mill Road, Suite 404 Great Neck, NY 11021 Toll-free: (800) 829-8289
Learning Perspective: Through my research of the article"Second Nature" in the March/April 2008 edition of Psychology Today, I have come to realize taht the author is telling us that we can learn to be happy. I should say that we can teach ourselves to be happy. Kathy Mc Gowen states "To bring more joy and passion into your life, you must paradoxically be more open to experiencing sadness, anxiety, and fear." I feel that she is trying to tell us that human emotions are very complex and that we must learn to deal with all aspects of them. She gives an example of a professor that was introverted. He did not like to be the center of attention. The class room was a stimulus causing his anxiety. He had however taught himself to over come his introverted personality by being extroverted during class which is expossure therapy based on classical conditioning. If the class responds well to his class, this will be the positive reinforement that he needs to continue.
Cognitive Perspective:
Depression occurs in many individuals around the world and there are many causes and types of treatment due to the act of depression. When an individual is depression prone, they tend to remember situations in which they have failed before as a result of their negative sense of leading to depression. A theory proposed by Martin Seligman called the "learned helplessness" theory was used to build on the pessimistic explanatory style, which made it vunlerable to depression to think about their personal flaws instead of situational factors (Weiten). Many other psychologists gave summaries to the Harvard mental health letter stating evidence due to the process of depresssion. They used this by enrolling 327 patients from the ages of 12-17 diagnosed with depression and randomly assigned them with treatment with the drug fluoxetine, or CBT also known as cognitive behavorial therapy, or both. Cognitive behavioral therapy teaches patients to recognize and overcome ingrained patterns of negative thoguhts and behaviors. This took 12-36 weeks to asses short and long term effectiveness. On the final weeks, drug therapy alone was more effective than CBT but the combination of them both were higher in percentage with 73%.
References
McGinn, Lata(2000), Cognitive Behavioral Therapy of Depression http://www.aafp.org/afp/20060101/83_f1.qif
Social Perspective:
There are many different social aspects that cause depression in all ages, especially adolescents. A big cause of depression for teenagers is the transition from middle school to high school. Other factors of depression are environmental and interpersonal. According to a study done by Barbara Newman of The University of Rhode Island on the relationship between the transition to high school and depression she found there is an increase in depression during this time for 8th graders moving up to 9th grade. Her studies found that the transition is accompanied by a decline in sense of school belonging which increased depression (Newman 2007). When 8th graders make the transition from being the top of the school, or the oldest class in their building go to being on the bottom and the lowest of all in the building this can increase depression because they feel they are no longer on top. This study also found that there was a decline support from parents and peers during this transition (Newman 2007). There are other environmental factors that can cause depression in adolescents. Many teenagers deal with a lot of stress during middle and high school when struggling in class and feeling like there is no way they will understand the things they are supposed to be learning. Failing a class can be very hard when you are dealing with pressure from authority figures to do your best and can often cause depression in teens when they feel that they will just never be good enough to achieve those standards. Interpersonal relationships are also a huge factor in depression in teenagers. A huge factor that can cause depression in teenagers is drifting apart from friends you have had most of your life when you hit high school. In high school there are different cliques that form throughout the school and if you are not “cool” enough you could be excluded but that does not mean your friends will be, if they become part of the “in crowd” you feel beneath them and this can hurt very badly causing depression. Another way cliques in high school can be risk factors for depression is when you are let into the “in crowd” but only because they can use you to their advantage and take advantage of you, whether it be through using you for better grades or something else, that can also cause major problems for the person being taken advantage of when they realize it is happening.
References
Newman, B.M (2007).The relationship of social support to depressive symptoms during the transition to high school. Adolescence. 42, 441-459.
(2007, 4 10). Depression: What is it? What to do about it. Retrieved April 22, 2008, from
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