Depressive Disorders and Phobias: Social and Specific
Depressive Disorder and Anxiety Disorder
Based on a meta-analysis written in 2014, approximately one fifth of individuals experience symptoms of either an anxiety disorder or a depressive disorder (Steel et al., 2014). Within this population, “49% to 81% of persons with a depressive disorder have met diagnostic criteria for an anxiety disorder, and 47% to 88% of those with an anxiety disorder have met criteria for a depressive disorder (Steel et al., 2014).” It is easy to look at these statistics and make assumptions about their causation but individuals should be open to opposing evidence. Prior societal beliefs, have concluded that there is a link but some have sought to debunk this. …show more content…
They concluded that individuals diagnosed with a depressive disorder may be confused with a social anxiety diagnosis because their behavior may not become aroused, especially when compared to people not diagnosed with any mental illness, in such social situations. These findings led them further to establish that these people with a depressive disorder may be less inclined to seek out new experiences of foreign situations and thus creating a period of fear and avoidance. Then concluded that this cycle is what’s creating the dilemma that may seem like grounds for an anxiety disorder diagnosis but can be traced to symptoms of a depressive disorder (Kasch, Rottenberg, Arnow, & Gotlib, …show more content…
These theorists conclude that we can look at phobias and trace them back to an evolutionary origin (Jacobson, 2016; Coelho & Purkis, 2009). Jacobson stresses that humans have a history of using phobias for survival and increase their chances of reproduction. So, depressive disorder symptoms that lead to specific phobias can be traced back to our natural human instinct to want to live and not an anxiety disorder or abnormal behavior (Jacobson, 2016). Coelho & Purkis mirror this in saying that stimuli that is treating to our evolutionary instinct can be connected to learning via fear or an uneasy feeling. This is especially true when comparing threatening stimuli to a stimulus that considered non-threatening (Coelho & Purkis,
Depressive Disorder and Anxiety Disorder
Based on a meta-analysis written in 2014, approximately one fifth of individuals experience symptoms of either an anxiety disorder or a depressive disorder (Steel et al., 2014). Within this population, “49% to 81% of persons with a depressive disorder have met diagnostic criteria for an anxiety disorder, and 47% to 88% of those with an anxiety disorder have met criteria for a depressive disorder (Steel et al., 2014).” It is easy to look at these statistics and make assumptions about their causation but individuals should be open to opposing evidence. Prior societal beliefs, have concluded that there is a link but some have sought to debunk this. …show more content…
They concluded that individuals diagnosed with a depressive disorder may be confused with a social anxiety diagnosis because their behavior may not become aroused, especially when compared to people not diagnosed with any mental illness, in such social situations. These findings led them further to establish that these people with a depressive disorder may be less inclined to seek out new experiences of foreign situations and thus creating a period of fear and avoidance. Then concluded that this cycle is what’s creating the dilemma that may seem like grounds for an anxiety disorder diagnosis but can be traced to symptoms of a depressive disorder (Kasch, Rottenberg, Arnow, & Gotlib, …show more content…
These theorists conclude that we can look at phobias and trace them back to an evolutionary origin (Jacobson, 2016; Coelho & Purkis, 2009). Jacobson stresses that humans have a history of using phobias for survival and increase their chances of reproduction. So, depressive disorder symptoms that lead to specific phobias can be traced back to our natural human instinct to want to live and not an anxiety disorder or abnormal behavior (Jacobson, 2016). Coelho & Purkis mirror this in saying that stimuli that is treating to our evolutionary instinct can be connected to learning via fear or an uneasy feeling. This is especially true when comparing threatening stimuli to a stimulus that considered non-threatening (Coelho & Purkis,