Diagnosis and Treatment

Assignment: Diagnosis and Treatment

Bob Johnson

BEH/225

A mood can best be described as the way an individual feels emotionally at any given time and can range on a wide spectrum; from happy to sad, excited to discouraged, euphoric to miserable, resolved to anger, moods are generally affected by the circumstances we encounter in our day to day lives. Individuals with mood disorders however find themselves limited to one end of this emotional spectrum regardless of the circumstances they find themselves in. What are some of the different forms mood disorders can manifest themselves as, and what are the current trends in both diagnosing and treating them?

Depression

The vast majority of people experience feelings of depression throughout their lifetimes. Family arguments, the loss of a loved one, losing employment, all can contribute to the emotions of sadness that are typical for most individuals to experience, most of the time lasting for short durations. However, with clinical depression the emotions continue well past the time frame often associated for the normal and regular feelings of depressed moods, lasting for months, and in some cases, years.

The depression can manifest itself in individuals in various ways: the lack of interest in activities they once enjoyed; a constant feeling of being drained and dispassionate; trouble with daily routine tasks and concentration; insomnia; extremes in either weight loss or gain; and even thoughts of suicide (Charles G. Morris and Albert A. Maisto, 2005). The individual experiencing clinical depression is in an almost constant emotional state of sadness, making living a normal lifestyle next to impossible. Doctors and psychologists look for these symptoms in determining, and being able to correctly diagnose, whether or not someone is clinically depressed; but they also must attempt to recognize the possible contributing factor to the depression (including an intense reaction a grieving event in the patient’s...