Characteristics of Clinical Depression (AQA GCSE Psychology)

Sadness

• Feeling sad is part of the human experience; it is a normal aspect of what it means to be human

• Sadness is not something that is in itself ‘abnormal’, in fact, it should be embraced as evidence that you are indeed human

• People feel sad for several reasons such as:

  • the loss of a loved one

  • children growing up and leaving home

  • leaving a job you have enjoyed

  • falling out with a friend

• Sadness tends to be a temporary state (although it may not feel like it at the time): the feelings pass, time moves on and people start to feel better

• When sadness does not go away, when someone starts to feel sad every day and about everything then this may be clinical depression i.e. a doctor would likely reach this diagnosis if presented with these symptoms

• Depression (although widely experienced by many people) is classified as abnormal behaviour as it is not usual - or mentally healthy - to feel sad all the time

• Depression is sometimes known as the ‘black dog’ which stalks the sufferer: 

  • unlike sadness, depression is unpredictable

  • it may creep up on someone during good times or when nothing particularly sad or difficult has happened

• Depression is a disorder because it intrudes upon every aspect of a person’s life and prevents them from functioning properly

Unipolar depression

• Unipolar depression is the most common form of depression and (according to WHO statistics) 280 million people worldwide suffer from depression at any given time

• The characteristics of unipolar depression - according to the International Classification of Diseases - include:

  • Reduced energy levels: this could lead to someone being unable/unwilling to go to work, to socialise, even to be able to get out of bed

  • Sleep dysfunction: this could be manifest as an increase in the need to sleep, insomnia or premature waking

  • Irregular appetite: overeating for comfort person or being unable to eat

  • Low mood (dysphoria): overwhelming sadness, possible anger, feelings of hopelessness and despair

  • Loss of interest in activities or hobbies that once brought joy

  • Negative views of the world and the self: the belief that everything will turn out badly and there is no hope

  • Loss of self-esteem and self-confidence

  • Lack of motivation and the inability to achieve even very simple goals or tasks

  • Difficulty making decisions

Bipolar depression

• Bipolar depression is so-called because it involves the sufferer swinging between two extreme states of emotion and activity

• Bipolar depression used to be known as ‘manic depression’: when the sufferer is in the ‘manic’ phase they are likely to:

  • Experience hugely ‘high’ feelings of euphoria

  • Engage in high levels of activity: creatively, energetically, in a frenzy

  • Display a delusional feeling of self-importance

  • Show changes in levels of sleep and appetite

  • Have racing thoughts and speech, often talking over others, possibly seeming incoherent

• The manic phase may last weeks or months; when it is over the depressive phase follows, bringing with it the behaviours common to unipolar depression outlined above (e.g. ‘flat’ mood, feelings of hopelessness, low energy, feeling tired all the time)

• Bipolar depression is highly heritable (unlike unipolar depression which may either be inherited or a result of external factors)

• There is no known cure for bipolar depression although sufferers can manage their illness via CBT and drugs therapy