Abnormal Psychology
- Mood Disorders, Bi-Polar Disorders & Suicide

Major Depressive Disorder - severe depression that lasts at least 2 weeks

Affect Symptoms:

• Depressed mood - sad, hopeless or empty
• anhedonia - can lead to social withdrawal

Behavioral & Physical Symptoms:

• Psychomotor agitation
• Psychomoror retardation
• Hypersomnia or insomnia
• Fatigue or loss of energy
• Weight loss or gain - increase or decrease of appetite

Emotional Symptoms:

• Individual feels worthless or guilt-ridden
• Feels responsible for negative events

Cognitive Symptoms:

• Diminished ability to think or concentrate
• Indecisiveness

The risk of developing MDD is higher for those born more recently

Depression & anxiety disorders co-occur about 50% of the time

Persistent Depressive Disorder (Dysthymia) - depressed mood for 2 years

PDD Symptoms (2 or more):

• Increase or decrease in appetite
• Insomnia or hypersomnia
• Low energy or fatigue
• Low self-esteem
• Poor concentration or trouble making decisions
• Feelings of hopelessness

Factors in Depression:

• Neurological
• Psychological
• Social

Psychological:

• Attentional biases
• Dysfunctional thoughts
• Rumination & attributional style
• Learned helplessness

Social:

• Stressful life events
• Social exclusion
• Social interactions
• Culture
• Gender difference

Treating Depressive Disorders:

• Medication
• Brain stimulation - ECT & TMS
• Therapy - Behavioral, Cognitive, Inter-personal & Systems

Bipolar Disorders - a person's mood is persistently & abnormally upbeat or shifts inappropriately from upbeat to very down

Manic Episode - a discrete period of at least 1 week of abnormally increased energy or activity & abnormally euphoric feelings, intense irritability or an expansive mood.

Three or more of the following symptoms must be present:

Inflated self-esteem or grandiosity

Decreased need for sleep
More talkative than usual
Flight of ideas
Distractibility
Increase in goal-directed activity or psychomotor agitation

Excessive involvement in pleasurable activities that have a high potential for painful consequences

Hypomanic Episode:

• Symptoms don't impair functioning, require hospitalization or have psychotic features
• Symptoms last a minimum of 4 consecutive days

2 Types of Bipolar Disorder:

• Bipolar 1 disorder - person must have at least 1 manic episode
• Bipolar II - person must alternate between hypomanic episodes and MDE's (less severe due to absence of manic episodes
• Both include rapid cycling of moods

Suicide - in US and Canada is ranked 10th among causes of death

Suicidal Ideation - thoughts of death or thoughts about committing suicide

Red flags for suicide:

• giving away possesions
• saying goodbye
• talking about death or suicide
• threatening to commit suicide
• rehearsing a plan for suicide

Risk factors for suicide:

• major depressive disorder
• personality disorder
• substance related disorder
• past suicide attempt(s)
• being gay or lesbian
• being in the military

The Rich Suicide Assessment

• Ask if they're suicidal
• Ask if they have a plan
• Ask if they have the means to carry out the plan
• Ask if they are going to carry out the plan