Discuss Two Explanations Of Depression

Improved Essays
There are a number of explanations for the causes of depression. This essay will focus on the cognitive and the behavioural explanations, look at research to support each theory and then evaluate them both based on this. Depression is a mood disorder, it is characterised by low mood and many other symptoms that will vary from one person to the next. The signs of depression are; sadness and feeling weepy, lethargy and a loss of interest in things you used to enjoy, wanting to hide away from people, constant tiredness and problems sleeping, loss of appetite or eating to excess for the comfort you feel when doing it, stress and frustration, irritability and aggression, feelings of not being able to cope and asking yourself what the point of living is (Anon., 2014). There are two types of treatments for depression, medication and talking treatments. Often a combination of the two will be used to effectively treat somebody. Cognitive behavioural theorists put forward that depression is the result of maladaptive, faulty or irrational …show more content…
Banduras suggested that the depressed person’s concept of ones-self is different to that of a non-depressed person. A depressed person will have the tendency to blame themselves for any negative events that occur in their lives but any positives will be attributed to external forces, he also believed that a depressed person did not believe that they were capable of influencing their own personal situation. As a result, depressed people have flawed judgmental process and tended to set any goals too high clearly being unable to meet them. This leads to the whole process being repeated again and again ultimately leading to depression (Nemade, et al.,

Related Documents

  • Improved Essays

    Depression is an illness that affects the body, mood and your thoughts that causes persistent feelings of sadness and loss of interest. Some of the symptoms of having depression are that your feelings start to become overwhelming, involve in physical symptoms, and last for long periods of time, they can keep you from living a normal, active life. The effects of having depression are more likely to cause loss of your appetite, weight loss, you can also begin to develop insomnia or hypersomnia (sleeping too much), then you will be likely to be fatigued (extreme tiredness, typically resulting from mental…

    • 734 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Superior Essays

    Using anecdotes of people he interviewed, he uses their stories to support his arguments. He realizes that people with depression have insight, and focus on existential questions that barely bother non-depressives. And using those arguments, he concluded that depression is not the loss of happiness, but…

    • 1459 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Superior Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Depression can be explained at the Four Levels of Explanation. The biological level relates to the chemical processes underlying behaviour. The major effects that depression has at the biological level are headaches, insomnia, change in appetite and an imbalance of neurotransmitters. Basic process refers to the processes underlying behaviour; physiological effects can take place such as thoughts of death and suicide, feeling unhappy and a sense of helplessness. The Person level of explanation shows symptoms of lack of concentration, motivation and introversion.…

    • 1512 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    There are many symptoms for this illness, but it affects everyone in a different way. The most common symptoms would be: Having trouble sleeping, sadness, hopelessness, the feeling of being unimportant, not interested in eating, and not having the energy to do everyday normal activities. Depression deprives a person from living life to the fullest. There can be many reasons as to why a person has depression. Life events such as a close relative or friend passing away or maybe the fact that nothing seems to be going right.…

    • 1245 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Decent Essays

    Depression can feel those cartoon scenes that are black in white everything is dull no life no happiness to it. You question whether living is an opinion to you anymore you tell yourself “If i were to leave this world right now no one would miss me no one would care.” There's people who feel this every single day of their life and there's some who will never feel it .The narrator in “the raven” by edgar allan poe lost his wife and everything in life to him felt duller there was no meaning it was a very dark place. “Deep into that darkness peering long i stood there wondering fearing doubting dreaming” Depression is considered to be a mental illness it can be very chronic but most don't thing it's that serious.…

    • 269 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Decent Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Serotonin Vs Serotonine

    • 307 Words
    • 2 Pages

    How is depression different due to low levels of serotonin vs. noradrenaline? Depression is defined as “a mood disorder that causes a persistent feeling of sadness and lost of interest” (Mayo Clinic). This disorder affects the way you feel, think and behave. Some symptoms of depression include difficulty concentrating and making decisions, feelings of guilt, worthlessness, hopelessness and pessimism, helplessness, irritability, loss of interest in activities once pleasurable such as sex and appetite. Serotonin, a neurotransmitter involved in the transmission of nerve impulses, is believed to be related to depression.…

    • 307 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Abandoned and alone in a room swarming with people; that is what depression is. Despite the comfort of being around a sizable amount of people, the comfort is unfelt and the person can not escape the feeling of loneliness. Those whose lives have been overtaken by the caged in illness, feel as though they are hurtling aimlessly into a dark abyss. The devouring sickness causes a deprivation of a persons happiness, catastrophically ruining it. The depicted reason behind it is unknown and the definite cure unfound, leaving those affected stuck in their misery.…

    • 403 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Everyone occasionally feels down or sad, but these feelings are usually pass within a couple of days. Depression, on the other hand, is a mood disorder causing a persistent feeling of sadness and loss of interest. It is a common and serious mental illness. It interferes with daily life and causes pain for both the depressed person and those who care about them. Depressed individuals have higher risk of committing suicide and are also at a higher risk of developing other psychiatric illnesses.…

    • 335 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Method Design This experiment was a 3 x 2 mixed factorial design. The first independent variable had 3 levels representing participant training (psychiatry, psychology and no training) x the second independent variable, which had two levels representing conceptualization of depression (biological conceptualization and psychological conceptualization). The dependent variable of the study was participants’ rated likelihood of recovery from depression for affected individuals (described in vignettes), represented by scores on a measurement scale constructed specifically for this experiment.…

    • 666 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Decent Essays

    Diagnosing Clinical Depression can be hard especially if those being diagnosed are self conscious. Those who feel as if they might have depression need to consult a family doctor or a mental health professional such as a psychiatrist as soon as possible to be fully evaluated before their depression gets worse. It is difficult for family members and friends to tell the difference between sadness and Clinical Depression however signs of Clinical Depression include extreme sadness, helplessness, irritability, change in appetite, change in sleeping patterns, loss of interest and pleasure, fatigue, feelings of worthlessness or guilt, difficulty concentrating, and disturbed thought patterns. When family members or friends recognize these signs it…

    • 376 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Decent Essays
  • Improved Essays

    The cognitive theory is based on Beck’s cognitive theory of depression and it is a hypothesis from Beck’s theory that cognitive symptoms of depression lead to the affective and mood symptoms of depression. The main areas that leads to depressed individuals experience the cognitive symptoms are memory, concentration, physical and psychological actions, speed of thought (reduced brain processing) and decision-making. The theory suggests that when an individual has negative thoughts, this can lead to depression. It is based around the Negative Cognitive Triad which means there are three-part negative schema which…

    • 1053 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Decent Essays

    Cognitive Triad Analysis

    • 126 Words
    • 1 Pages

    The cognitive triad are three forms of negative (i.e. helpless and critical) thinking that are typical of individuals with depression: namely negative thoughts about the self, the world and the future. These thoughts tended to be automatic in depressed people as they occurred spontaneously. For example, depressed individuals tend to view themselves as helpless, worthless, and inadequate. They interpret events in the world in a unrealistically negative and defeatist way, and they see the world as posing obstacles that can’t be handled.…

    • 126 Words
    • 1 Pages
    Decent Essays
  • Superior Essays

    A lot of people tend to be affected by it. These are some symptoms of depression: persistent sad, anxious, or empty mood, feelings of hopelessness, guilt and helplessness, loss of interest or pleasure in hobbies or activities difficulty in sleeping, remembering and concentrating, along with so many more (NIMH).A person may experience every single symptom to few symptoms depending on the person and their individual concerns and psychological…

    • 951 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Superior Essays
  • Improved Essays

    We refer to this as the “cognitive triad of depression” (reading). These negative biases can lead to automatic thoughts, which precipitate depression. Depressed people often distort their interpretation of events in order to maintain the cognitive triad of depression. A depressed person is also more likely to have negative schema.…

    • 773 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    The Merriam-Webster Dictionary defines depression as “feelings of severe despondency and dejection”. Depression is just feeling sad, right? No, depression is much more than being sad or upset. Depression is misunderstood. Depression is a constant feeling of despair and hopelessness.…

    • 754 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays