Diagnostic Impression : Major Depressive Disorder

A major depressive episode is not a disorder in itself, but rather more of a description or symptoms of part of a disorder most often depressive disorder or bipolar. A person suffering from a major depressive episode must have a depressed mood or a loss of interest in daily activities consistently for a minimum of a two-week time span (Psych Central, 2013). In diagnosing the mood must reflect a change from the person’s normal mood. A person’s daily activities and functions, such as work, social routines and friends, education, family, and relationships must also have been negatively impacted by the change in their mood. A major depressive episode is also identified by presence of five or more of the following symptoms. The patient can show signs of significant weight loss or weight gain even not dieting or trying to lose or gain weight. The patient will also display a change in appetite almost everyday, either with an increase or a decrease in their normal eating habits. The weight change is typically set at an increase or decrease in weight of more than 5% per month. The patient will display a depressed mood almost the entire day and this sadness, emptiness, loneliness, crying, and distant is observed by others or indicted by the patient, is typically

Based on the DSM-V (2013) diagnostic criteria Keisha experiences Persistent Depressive Disorder 300.4 (F34.1), recurrent, moderate, with early onset. The client experiences the following symptoms: depressed mood for most of the day, for more days than not, as indicated by either subjective accounts (e.g., feels sad, worthless and hopeless) or observation by others (e.g. appears sad, cries), for at least one year (she is an adolescent). In addition, while depressed, there is a presence of the following symptoms: the client experiences poor appetite, she is eating one or two meals per day and lost ten pounds in one year. Keisha also experiences hypersomnia nearly every day by sleeping twelve or more hours per night. The client reports low energy/fatigue very often, even though she is sleeping well during the night. During the one year period of disturbance, the individual has never been without the symptoms in criteria A and B for more than two months at a time. In addition, the criteria for a major depressive disorder has been continuously present for one year. There has never been a manic episode or a hypomanic episode, and criteria have never been met for cyclothymic disorder. Furthermore, the disturbance is not better explained by a persistent schizoaffective disorder, schizophrenia, delusional disorder, or other specified or

Major depressive disorder is one of the most common mental disorders, with a 12-month prevalence of 6.7% of adults in the United States (NIMH). There is no definite etiology of depression, but several risk factors have been identified. Functional and structural changes in the brain have also been explored. The most common treatment for depression is the use of drugs that act on monoamine transmitters, including norepinephrine, dopamine, and serotonin. Decreases in these transmitters, especially serotonin, were hypothesized to play an important role in the cause of depression (Breedlove & Watson, 2013). The serotonin hypothesis led to the development of selective-serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs), which increase the amount of serotonin in the brain. Further research suggests that the serotonin hypothesis is not entirely accurate and the neurobiology of depression is much more complex. The “chemical imbalance” explanation of depression may not reflect the full range of causes and may be given greater credibility by patients and doctors than is supported by evidence based research.

Major depressive disorder, we all have probably heard of it, but do we really know what is it is ? Major depressive disorder is “a mood disorder that causes a persistent feeling of sadness and loss of interest… major depressive disorder or clinical depression, affects how you feel, think and behave and can lead to a variety of emotional and physical problems”(Mayo Clinic Staff). Having this disorder puts you in a very unstable position because you are constantly feeling depressed so it affects the way you think and feel and that can be very dangerous. Sometimes this happens to a person for one day, but put yourself in the shoes of someone who experiencing this for more than two weeks? When you have major depressive disorder, the signs of depression disorder can last for two weeks or more(myers646). This dis order must be treated immediately because “depression may make you feel as if life isn 't worth living”(Mayo Clinic Staff). Feeling this way can lead you to doing things that you can not take back such as committing suicide and sadly that can happen when you have major depressive disorder. Kiyohara and Yoshimasu conducted a research that showed that 90% of suicides have were dealing with major depressive disorder(qtd. in The World Health Organization). Throughout this paper I will be discussing the causes, symptoms and treatment when dealing with major depressive disorder.

Mental disorder is a common term to refer people’s mental health conditions in Canada and internationally. People who have studied Hamlet, a play that’s written by William Shakespeare, know that Ophelia is one of the characters who suffer from a mental disorder, which known as major depressive disorder. At the beginning of the play, Ophelia’s mental state is very healthy, she falls in love with her boyfriend Hamlet, yet their relationship is controlled by her father. During the play, Ophelia experiences a transformation of her mindset, which causes by Hamlet. As the play closer to the end, the death of Polonius, father of Ophelia, makes Ophelia’s mental becomes more unstable, which leads her to suicide at the end. Thus, due to all the unhappy events that happen to Ophelia’s life all at once, the psychological harms slowly turn Ophelia becomes insane and eventually brings her to death.

d. A nurse gives a PRN dose of an antipsychotic drug to a patient to prevent violent acting out because

In an attempt to better understand depression in today’s youth, I have chosen to explore the depths of Major Depressive Disorder and how it affects the young people in our society. Depression amongst school age children and adolescents are the primary focus. The prevalence, adversities, and treatment of the depression are discussed as well. After exploring these few facets of the disorder, I will talk briefly about the Ecological Model developed by Urie Bronfenbrenner and Morris in 1998 that is used by counselors to help evaluate and assess the children who are referred by teachers or medical

Depression is a clinical condition associated with the normal emotions of bereavement and sadness. However, this condition does not pass on when the external causes of these emotions dissolve and is usually inconsistent to their cause. In essence, the classic severe conditions of depression have not been attributed to external precipitating cause. One of the most common conditions of depression is Major Depressive Disorder (MDD), which is a psychiatric condition that impairs moods, behavioral patterns, and thoughts for a protracted duration. This psychiatric illness tends to impair the patient’s social functioning and quality of life due to its impacts on cognitive functioning. Some of the most common symptoms of the condition include difficulty in concentration, weight change, minimal interest in pleasure, high rate of suicide, and physical impairment. The severity of this disease was evident in the year 2000 when the World Health Organization ranked it as the fourth cause of disability and premature death across the globe.

Rationale: Jennifer has been presenting with symptoms for unspecified amount of time. Jennifer meets six of the criteria for symptoms being present during the same 2-week period and represents a change from previous functioning. Jennifer is depressed most of the day, nearly every day, has diminished interest in all or almost all activities most of the days, nearly every day, has fatigue or loss of energy nearly every day, feelings of worthlessness, and diminished ability to think or concentrate, is having recurrent thoughts of death, recurrent suicidal ideation without a specific plan. The symptoms have cause clinically significant distress or impairment in social, occupational, and other functioning areas. There is no know substance or medical condition and occurrence is not better explained by Schizophrenia Spectrum or Psychotic Disorders. Jennifer has never had a manic episode or a hypomanic episode. Possible family history of depression - mother.

The typical description of a disease would be something that causes unwanted effects on the body; however, mental illnesses show few physical symptoms and cause problems that outsiders can rarely see. Major Depressive Disorder (MDD), to be specific, is a complex disorder that occurs when a person has five of the following symptoms: a depressed mood, diminished pleasure, weight loss or gain, insomnia, lethargy, problems with concentrating, fatigue, feeling worthless, or having thoughts of suicide (Myers 3). While MDD is chronic, depression is the infrequent counterpart. The official etiology of depression is important because it is widespread and is becoming increasingly more common. Knowing why an illness occurs, in theory, can help physicians

Jim is describing symptoms that meet criteria for persistent depressive disorder (PDD). In specific, he described symptoms that allow Criterion A, which requires the presence of a depressed mood for at least two years (American Psychiatric Association [APA], 2013), to be met. He reported that he is mildly depressed. Such depression, as described, started approximately five years ago when he “ran out of steam.” Since then, he has experienced various associated symptoms, such as irritability, hypersomnia, and weight gain, which allow Criterion B (i.e., the presence of two or more associated symptoms; APA, 2013) to be met.

“Major depressive disorder affects approximately five to eight percent of the U.S. population age eighteen and older annually” (Neeb’s, 181). Signs and symptoms of major depressive disorder are feelings of guilt or worthlessness, increased agitation, sad mood, increased fatigue, weight loss or gain, anhedonia, recurrent thoughts of death or suicide, and decreased ability to think (Neeb’s, 182). Five or more of these symptoms must appear in the patient for at least a two week

Based on the DSM-V (2013) diagnostic criteria Jose experiences Major Depressive Disorder 296.32 (F33.1), recurrent, moderate. The client experiences the following symptoms that have been present during the same 2-week period and represent a change from previous functioning; depressed mood most of the day, nearly every day, as indicated by either subjective report (e.g., feels sad, empty, and hopeless) or observations made by others (e.g. appears tearful). Feelings of worthlessness or excessive or inappropriate guilt (which may be delusional) nearly every day (not merely self-reproach or guilt about being sick). He is unable to cope with negative thoughts (i.e. worthlessness) and with depressive mood/symptoms (i.e. hopelessness, isolation, sadness) for about a year. Jose also experiences insomnia nearly every day by only sleeping 4-5 hours per night. He experiences fatigue or loss of energy nearly every day, having trouble getting up in the morning from bed. Diminished ability to think or concentrate, nearly every day since he entered high school. These symptoms cause clinically significant distress especially it impairs Jose’s academic performance, participation at religious activities and helping with house chores/homework. In addition, the episode is not attributable to the physiological effects of a substance or other medical condition. The

According to the The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (5th ed.; DSM–5; American Psychiatric Association [APA], 2013); Major Depressive Disorder (MDD) is a medical illness that affects how you feel, think and behave producing persistent feelings of sadness and loss of interest in formerly enjoyed activities. Depression can lead to a variety of emotional and physical problems. It is a chronic illness that is usually characterized by episodes of remission and episodes of relapses. (APA, 2013) Antidepressant medications are effective in treating depression, but not all people with MDD, can attain remission for long periods of time and fewer will completely recover with antidepressants alone. According to Hollon et al. (2014)

Jessica is a twenty-eight-year-old married female who works at a large hospital. She has high expectations for herself because she has graduated with honors at both college and medical school. For the past few weeks, she has been feeling tired and unhappy. She has had a demanding and high stressful job at a large hospital for two years. She feels that she is unable to perform well at her job and has trouble concentrating at work and at home. She is uninterested in her usual activities and has many negative thoughts that keep her awake at night. Two diagnoses that best fit this case study are Major Depressive Disorder and Generalized Anxiety Disorder.