Free Essay on The Mistreatment of Major Depressive Disorder

The term depression applies to the shared mental disorder that presents itself with dejected dispositions, loss of interest, decreased vigor, high levels of guilt, or low self-esteem, among others. It is essential to value the fact that sadness is a normal human emotion. The notion of sadness can take various forms from the loss of a loved one to the various challenges of life, such as unemployment. Nevertheless, sadness is a short-lived emotion; when the emotional experience persists and intensifies for a period, then it results in MDD (major depressive disorder). In the medical field, MDD is also referred to as a clinical depression. A medical condition that can affect the behavior, attitudes, and some physical attributes. For decades, the medical community has consistently made modifications to the current categories of mental disorders in the DSM-V (Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders) (Gogolla et al., 2018). Though descriptive psychiatry is useful in experimental studies, it fails to account for the mechanisms behind mental illness. The notion in mind, the pharmaceutical industry encourages and expands the medicalizing of regular anguish in the name of MDD. People must understand the difference between emotional distress and MDD.

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

Order now

According to WHO (the World Health Organization), in 2019, MDD as the 11th chief cause of mortality and disability in the world. The comparison was against over 290 causes of disease and harm (Emon et al., 2020). The research study conducted by Paris (2014) identified that in the medical field, less than 40% of all patients diagnosed with MDD have the condition (Paris, 2014). The activity brings about the thought of diagnosis-driven psychopharmacology leading the field of Psychiatry (Paris, 2014). The notion is supported by the empirical material available. For example, MDD was introduced under the DSM-III and remained unchanged until the current version of the medical manual. The DSM manual views depression as a single entity; moreover, clinical demonstrations bring differentiation depending on the severity (Gogolla et al., 2018). From the identified perception of the industry's appreciation of MDD, it is excessively broad with varied diagnoses. The classification of the condition further limits practitioners from appreciating its diversity.

The current situation in the medical field is that most psychiatrists provide diagnoses based on the condition's patterns while others on the symptoms they present. The identified problem affects all psychiatric branches (Gogolla et al., 2018). Additionally, from the inclusion of MDD in the DSM, barely any biological developments that could provide scientific reasoning to mental disorders have been discovered. Practitioners, therefore, rely on clinical observations, which has its limitations. The study by Paris (2014), is a clear indication of the required changes in the field of psychiatry (Paris, 2014). There are currently numerous inconsistencies when it comes to patient medication. It is critical to note that depression is a single symptom that accompanies many other diagnoses.

Conclusion

The medical community needs to change its approach to handling mental disorders according to the information collected. Depression is a mental disorder whereby that lowers the self-esteem of patients, among other symptoms. The current strategy applied by practitioners today relies on clinical observation. For the achievement of change in the field of psychiatry to be attained, the concept of depression must be changed. The approach will provide a more dynamic approach to mental disorders, eventually providing the needed scientific data to identify its cause and overall treatment.

References

Emon, M., Das, R., Nishuty, N., Shalahuddin Qusar, M., Bhuiyan, M., & Islam, M. (2020). Reduced serum BDNF levels are associated with the increased risk for developing MDD: a case-control study with or without antidepressant therapy. BMC Research Notes, 13(1). https://doi.org/10.1186/s13104-020-04952-3

Gogolla, M., Hilken, F., & Kastner, A. (2018). Some Narrow and Broad Challenges in MDD. Software Technologies: Applications And Foundations, 172-177. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-74730-9_15

Paris, J. (2014). The Mistreatment of Major Depressive Disorder. The Canadian Journal Of Psychiatry, 59(3), 148-151. doi: 10.1177/070674371405900306