Introduction
Mental health is among the most significant concerns of the modern society. The issues of mental disorders have been a topic of discussion for an extended period. Most people within the community are of the belief that mental disorders are rare and only happen to specific people within the community. Contrary to these opinions, mental disorders are widespread and shared within the modern society. Depression is an example of a psychological disease that affects most individuals within the contemporary community. Depressed individuals within the society live a life that is seemingly different from others. In various instances, depressed individuals may harm themselves or other members of the community. This research paper looks into the issue of depression based on its assessment and diagnosis, historical influences and early schools of thought, and the physiological and psychological processes involved in behaviors related to depression.
Depression Disorder
According to Gilbert (2016), depression is considered as a common cold of psychopathology. It is responsible for various suicidal deaths within the modern society. Most individuals who are vulnerable to suicide become depressed and hopeless. In many developed countries around the world, suicide has been established to be among the most common cause of death, both for the youth and the adults. Biological correlates of depression have been found to cause adverse effects on the functionality of the immune systems of many patients. Curtis and Kelley (2017) argue that mental illnesses such as depression cause abnormalities in victims. The four F’s of anomaly namely the frequency, function, feeling pain and fatal determines the level to which a mental disorder harms an individual. In most cases, depression affects an individual in a usual manner. The mind of a depressed individual may function in different ways by altering part of the brain that is responsible for regulating appetite, sleep, thinking, mood and behavior. Depressed individuals often feel pain, and in various instances, the pain may lead to fatal incidences like death as a result of severe abnormalities within the brains of the victim.
Multicultural theory of abnormality, according to Curtis and Kelley (2018), states that the occurrence of all psychology takes place within the societal or cultural framework. This theory suggests that the origin of all psychological problems such as depression is the society and not the inner being of an individual.
Assessment and Diagnosis
Reluctance to seek help by most victims of depression is one of the reasons for the continued under-treatment of depression (Curtis & Kelley, 2018). The first step in conducting diagnosis is the recognition of signs and symptoms. Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-IV) is the most widely used system of diagnosing depression. In various instances, patients under primary care settings may exhibit atypical, mixed or transient syndromes which do not fit neatly into the DSM-IV (Curtis & Kelley, 2018). Such patients are often referred to the Sutherland Depression Management Program for diagnosis. For significant depression through the DSM-IV criteria, patients are found to be in a depressed mood, loss of pleasure or interest while for substantial depression with Melancholia, the level of sadness or loss of happiness in the patient is often severe and sustained. Most hidden medical illnesses are known to produce symptoms of depression, or in other instances, a full depressive syndrome that is clinically indistinguishable from other miseries may be discovered. When assessing the causes of depression, scientists and other medical practitioners have often established the nature of the causes of depression to be a malignancy, infections, neurological, cardiac, hematological, and endocrine or related to medication and substance abuse (Curtis & Kelley, 2018).
Historical Influences and Early Schools of Thought
There has been a lot of historical influences on the causes of mental disorders such as depression. From the spiritual tradition, much of recorded history links the origins of deviant behaviors and mental disorders to the reflection between evil and good. On the other hand, the psychological tradition states that psychiatric disorders such as depression are as a result of cultural, mental and social cultures within the society (Curtis & Kelley, 2017). Structuralism and Functionalism are regarded to be the first psychological school of thought. According to Curtis and Kelley (2017), this school of thinking breaks down mental progressions into most fundamental mechanisms. Structuralists such as Wilhelm Wundt and Edward Titchener applied techniques such as introspection to analyze the processes that take part in the human mind.
The study and treatment of mental health involve the use of diverse approaches and perspectives. Both the qualitative and quantitative approaches play a significant role in the research and treatment of mental illnesses such as depression. Curtis and Kelley (2017) posit that capturing the interaction between the individual agency and social structures is an ideal way of determining the causative factors of mental disorders. A physical examination by a physician forms the fundamental part of the treatment for depression after which. Lab tests and interviews are used to rule out the symptoms of thyroid disorder or other viral infections in an attempt to determine the possibility of mental illness in an individual.
Research findings, as noted by Curtis and Kelley (2017), indicate that frequency, function, the feeling of pain and fatal eventualities play an essential role in enlightening the conceptual differences between abnormal behaviors and the normative behavior within individual suffering from depression. The same concept is crucial in the determination of the possibly existing difference between having a mental disorder and being eccentric.
Physiological and Psychological Processes Involved in Behaviors related to Depression
Over the years, abnormalities such as depression were considered to be a source of mystical custody. To date, it is still believed that individuals with a display of psychopathology are possessed with spirits. In this regard, trephination is considered to be one of the processes that help to release spirits that possess individuals by drilling a hole into their heads. The brain has been viewed as the source of abnormality since the 19th century where phrenology was used as a way of treating psychopathology. Currently, the bio-psychological model is widely used to help patients suffering from depression whereby medical practitioners establish a proper understanding of the patient’s biology through the use of genetics, neurotransmitters, relationships and relationship patterns (Curtis & Kelley, 2017).
Individual and social responsibilities play a crucial role in the health of individuals suffering from mental illnesses such as depression (Li et al., 2016). Providing care for an individual with a psychological disease has always been the endeavor of the respective family, both in developing and developed countries. The changing demographics and healthcare standards have shifted the care locus for the mentally disabled to communities as opposed to institutions. Under ordinary circumstances, the amount of caregiving provides by family members exceeds that offered by institutions. Individuals suffering from depression should cooperate well with family members to facilitate their recovery and ease of treatment
Hypothesis Development
i. Depression as a mental illness interferes with the typical behavior of an individual. In cause pain and extreme circumstances, may lead to the death of an individual.
ii. It is the responsibility of healthcare institutions, family member and individuals to provide better care to ailing members of the society.
Research methodology
In this study, mixed methods approach to research has been employed to answer the research question efficiently. This method involves the use of quantitative and qualitative research aspects that is ideal for obtaining a fuller picture of the topic and gain a comprehensive understanding of the subject
Recommendations for Data Collection
Data collection for this research has been done through a variety of ways such as gathering data from college-related statistics, concepts and models, and the use of findings from the previous study. These methods are ideal for acquiring relevant information for this research topic and help exhaust all the possible concepts related to mental illness, especially depression.
Conclusion
This research has adequately covered the concept of mental illness. Depression as a mental disorder has been explicitly discussed in this research paper to help students, researchers and other practitioners within the field of psychological health understand the issue of depression. Family members of individuals suffering from depression, healthcare institution and the society at large have the moral obligation to take care of such patients and avoid the eventualities of pain and death.
References
- Curtis, D., & Kelley, L. (2017). Abnormal Psychology: Myths of Crazy (2nd Ed.)
- Gilbert, P. (2016). Depression: The Evolution of Powerlessness. Routledge.
- Li, M. Y., Yang, Y. L., Liu, L., & Wang, L. (2016). Effects of Social Support, Hope, and Resilience on Quality Of Life among Chinese Bladder Cancer Patients: A Cross-Sectional Study. Health and Quality of Life Outcomes, 14(1), 73.
- Palinkas, L. A., Horwitz, S. M., Chamberlain, P., Hurlburt, M. S., & Landsverk, J. (2011). Mixed-Methods Designs in Mental Health Services Research: A Review. Psychiatric Services, 62(3), 255-263.