Mood Disorders - Free Essay in Psychology

A mood disorder, also known as bipolar disorder, is a psychological disorder that is caused by the change of a persons mood. This change can be either an elevation or lowering. Depression is the negative change of a persons mood where the person feels that he/she is severely dejected. Indeed, depression is a mood disorder is very common in the American population. The Atlantic Article titled- Social Media is Redefining Depression, is an article that discusses about a girl named Laura who was using the social media to display her beautiful suffering. Additionally, according to Bine (2013), it talks about how teenagers are using the social media and specifically Tumbrl to spread horrific images to others. In this regard, the article shows how clinical depression has been confused with the common daily challenges that are happening to teenagers. In the article, fake depressions are being displayed in social media attracting a lot of sympathy and pity. People are using the word depression when they are upset or demoralized about something without understanding the true meaning of the word.

Is your time best spent reading someone else’s essay? Get a 100% original essay FROM A CERTIFIED WRITER!

Order now

I completely believe that it is true that the social media has changed how clinical depression is understood. Nowadays, people are posting many choreographed photos on social media about how depressed they are. However, in real sense, they are just upset about the happenings of the society. Additionally, they are influencing others on social media to believe in their wannabe depressions which are just some form of distresses. The true definition of depression has been ignored and replaced with everyday challenges. For instance, when one loses his/her keys today, they post on social media that they are depressed about the same. In actual circumstances, they are just upset by the fact that they have misplaced them. Additionally, those teenagers doing exams post their photos on social media claiming that they are depressed because they did not think that they did well in the exam. However, in actual sense, they are just demoralized because they did not prepare well for the exams.

Talk therapy is a form of psychotherapy that is used to treat maniac depression. Previously, I was not comfortable with talk therapy because of several reasons. First, opening up about my problems and challenges to people was a bit hard. In this regard, I only gave 20% of what I was experiencing because I was not ready to reveal my problems. I thought that talk therapy was a way of sharing information, which to me was confidential. The other thought that I had about talk therapy was that it was a way of bringing back bad memories of the past. As such, sharing those memories was not something that I was comfortable doing. As such, I ended up ignoring the importance of talk therapy as I deemed that it was a waste of time. Additionally, I viewed it as a way of revealing my challenges so that people can ridicule me.

According to African American Depression Stereotypes by Dr. Jeff Gardere, African Americans do not share their depression challenges with their peers (YouTube, 2015). This is contrasted with white American who almost shares what they are undergoing even in social occasions. However, African Americas take depression as a weakness. As such, they are afraid to share it with their peers. Additionally, others believe too much in the power of prayer. As such, they do not seek psychological therapies but indulge themselves in prayers. There are also other stereotypes of African Americans who have depression as a biological problem. In this regard, they do not have the necessary proteins that can reduce their depression levels. From this video, I learnt that African Americas are likely to be more affected by depression since they do not seek therapeutic help.

In the National Guard & Reserve Suicide Rates Climbing, most members of the military are committing suicide at a very high rate. Although the military department has taken measures to curb suicides in the military, the cases have continued to increase. Additionally, the military administrators have given counseling services to their members. However, that seems not to be sufficient. From this, it is clear that the psychological trauma that the military go through is intense. As such, the only solution that they have is to take away their lives. Additionally, I have learnt that the military is not doing enough in terms of talk therapy to help their soldiers recover. The same case applies to the video Researchers Explore High Suicide rate in U.S. Military. In this research, it was found that enlisted officers in the US military are likely to commit suicides more than the normal soldiers (YouTube, 2015). In the same research, women soldiers had more cases of attempted suicide than men did. From this, it is clear that women soldiers are more affected by depression than male soldiers are. Additionally, female soldiers are more affected by the events of the military than men are.

Treating depression without medication involves a form of therapy that is psychological. Indeed, talk therapy is one form of treating depression without medication. In the video on Treating Depression without Drugs, a Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (TMS) machine is used to stimulate the nerves of the depressed individual. This machine has a magnetic field that stimulates the part of the brain that is hyperactive. This method is very suitable because it provides a long-term solution to depression problems. Additionally, the side effects of using the machine are very low. Notably, I have learnt that the use of drugs does not offer a permanent solution to depression, however, the TMS machine is very effective and has few, if any side effects. The TMS machine is very suitable as it stimulates the nerves because of the magnetic field that it creates.

The video of Mark Williams talks about Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy and Depression talks about how meditation can help people with depression recover. Additionally, Williamss states that being aware of the state that an individual is in can be very important in helping them live with the depressive events (YouTube, 2015). In fact, Williams alludes that a depressed person does not need to do anything to wash away the depressive challenges. All one needs is to be aware that they are depressed. From then on, they can be able to smile at the depressive events and finally, the events will go away from their minds. Food and Mood: How Diet Affects Depression (Mental Health Guru) is a video that shows how the change in diet can affect the moods of an individual. From the video, I have learnt that I need to eat a balanced diet so that I increase the neurotransmitters in the body. Additionally, I have learnt about the foods that I should eat and others that I should avoid.

The other video titled Anxiety and Depression Alleviated by Acupuncture presents a model of treating depression and anxiety by realizing the symptoms. In this regard, mood swings, fatigue, sad mood and appetite are some of the symptoms that are associated with anxiety and depression (YouTube, 2015). From the video, I have seen a demonstration of how to treat depression in the comfort of my home. On depression and spirituality, research say that people with high levels of religious involvement have low levels of depression. Additionally, children (10 years of age) of depressive parents are likely to be more depressed after ten years of living with them. The same case applies to people of over sixty years who have low levels of religiosity. In this regard, they are likely to be more depressed.

Interpersonal Therapy is a form of talk therapy that focuses on the hardships that one has in a relationship (YouTube, 2015). This might be because of marital conflicts or the loss of a lover. The therapy involves sharing the pain with the therapists and talking over the issues. Although the therapists do not actually tell the depressed persons what they should do, they nevertheless, guide them on how they are going to overcome their relationship challenges. I have learnt that this method is very good in solving problems, which exist between our relations and us. Judith Beck talks about how peoples perceptions are distorted and dysfunctional in those times when they are depressed. In her theory of cognitive therapy, she states that individuals with such thoughts can evaluate them and correct their mentality so that it becomes the truth. This way, according to Beck (2005), the distresses that they have are likely to reduce I have learnt that the techniques that are used to solve such issues are cognitive or behavioral. Cognitive therapy is effective in treating depression and related disorders.

My previous beliefs on depression in the military were a bit different from what is discussed in the lecture. For instance, I thought that the militants were hardcore people who were not affected by depression or related psychological disorders. This is because of the face they wear almost all the time. There were some key points that were mentioned by Dr. Schuyler Webb that I dint know. For instance, the fact that depression might occur from exposure to a single traumatic event was new to me. This is because, I used to believe that militants had experienced a lot of trauma such that they almost got used to them. Additionally, the fact that soldiers are afraid of injury and death was another issue that I was not aware of before the talk. Specifically, the emotional suffering that they get from wars is something that was a bit surprising.

The greatest issue that Mr. Webb talked about, which contributes to depression among the military, is the fact that they have to leave their families in the course of duty. Specifically, a militant has to leave the other spouse and children. This hits very hard on them as they struggle to balance between the military responsibilities and the family issues. Additionally, they might be forced to work for 24 hours, which leaves them with no time for their families. This causes a lot of depression. Besides, this depressive condition affects both male as well as the female soldiers. However, the condition affects women more than men because of the fact that they might have little children who require their everyday attendance. Additionally, the trauma that is experienced is more depressive to the female soldiers than they are to their male counterparts.

To conclude, depression is a form of mood disorder where the victim feels severely dejected. There are several ways that depression can be treated. In this regard, it can be either through drugs or by psychotherapy. Besides, this talk therapy involves discussing about the causes of the depressive disorder. The social media has changed the way depression is viewed in the current society. In this regard, people have posted their frustrations on social media claiming that they are depressed. As such, the meaning of clinical depression has been watered down. However, cognitive therapy has been important in treating this condition. Treating depression without medication has been used as the best method. This is because it has no side effects and is sustainable. Besides, people in the military also suffer from depression. This is because of the traumatic events that are the order of the day in the military. Additionally, the fact that militants have to leave their families is a cause for more depression.

References

All About Depression. (2001). Psychiatric Bulletin, 25(2), 79-79. http://dx.doi.org/10.1192/pb.25.2.79

Appolonio, K., & Fingerhut, R. (2008). Postpartum Depression in a Military Sample. Military Medicine, 173(11), 1085-1091. http://dx.doi.org/10.7205/milmed.173.11.1085

Beck, J. S. (2005). Cognitive therapy for challenging problems: What to do when the basic don't work. New York: Guilford Press

Bine, A. (20...