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Psychological Disorders Part 7

Introduction

In Psychological Disorders Part 6, Disruptive Disorders were discussed. They are rare and chronic but can be controlled with the help of medication and therapy, so if you think you have any, you should consult a psychologist. This article will discuss Depressive and Substance-Related Disorders.

Depressive Disorders

Depression is a mood disorder that involves a persistent feeling of sadness and a loss of interest. It is also called a major depressive disorder or clinical depression. This can cause trouble in doing daily activities. It is also important to remember that you cannot just snap out of it and it takes time but medication and therapy can help with it. Symptoms for depression are:

  • Feeling of sadness, hopelessness, or emptiness
  • Frustration and angry outbursts
  • Loss of interest in normal activities
  • Sleep disturbance like insomnia or hyposomnia
  • Reduced appetite or increased appetite
  • Lack of energy
  • Slowed thinking
  • Anxiety or restlessness
  • Unexplained physical problems like headache and backache
  • Trouble concentrating and remembering things
  • Suicidal thoughts
  • Feeling worthless

Although there are different types of depressive disorders based on the duration and timing:

Disruptive mood dysregulation disorder is a childhood condition in which the child has extreme anger and irritability.

Major depressive disorder is when the person feels a loss of interest in activities.

Persistent depressive disorder (dysthymia) is chronic depression.

Unspecified depressive disorder is when the case cannot be categorized into one particular category.

Premenstrual dysphoric disorder is a type of premenstrual syndrome (PMS) wherein the person feels depression, anxiety, and irritability before a week or two of the menstruation date.

Substance depressive disorder is when the person experiences the symptoms of depression while using alcohol or any other such substance.

Depressive disorder due to medical condition is when the person is going through depression because of another medical condition.

The cause for this is firstly, biological, people with depression have physical changes in their brains, secondly, brain chemistry, difference in the functioning of neurotransmitters, thirdly, hormones, change in the level of hormones can also cause depression like after delivery which is known as postpartum, and lastly, inherited traits, you are more likely to have depression if someone in your family has or had it.

Substance-Related Disorders

These are the disorders that involve the use of alcohol and drugs. Examples of this disorder are:

Alcohol-related disorders involve consuming alcohol wherein the person has a problem controlling the alcohol consumption. Symptoms include being unable to limit alcohol consumption, wanting to cut down the consumption but being unable to, spending a lot of time drinking or recovering from the use of it, craving alcohol, failing to fulfill major obligations because of the consumption, continuing to drink knowing the problem it is causing, giving up on work and hobbies, developing a tolerance for alcohol resulting into consuming more, experiencing withdrawal symptoms like nausea and using alcohol in unsafe situations like driving.

Drug-related disorders involve the inability to control the use of legal or illegal drugs or medication which affect the person’s brain and behaviour. Symptoms are the same as alcohol-related disorders, the only difference is of the substance being used.

It is important to note that substance-related disorders negatively affect the health and immunity of the person.

Conclusion

Depressive and Substance-related disorders are very common and serious. The way to deal with both of them is to approach psychologists and doctors. It is important to note that these two disorders can often be related, meaning that a person starts abusing alcohol because of depression and a person suffering from depression because of alcohol-related disorder. Depression is a very serious disorder, please consult a psychologist immediately if you think you are suffering from it.

References

Note: this is just Part 7 of the Psychological Disorders series.

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