Depression: A Glossary of Terms Eleven key terms to help you understand depression and its common causes. Anxiety Feelings of fear and dread when circumstances don't warrant it; includes phobias, panic attacks, obsessive-compulsive disorder and post-traumatic stress disorder.
Behavioral Therapy Deals directly with immediate problems. Destructive behaviors are identified and discouraged; rewarding behaviors are encouraged.
Bipolar Disorder (Manic-Depressive Disorder) In most patients, manic episodes alternate with depression. The mania can range from euphoria to irritability. Thinking seems to be at warp speed; ideas are grandiose, even paranoid. Judgment is compromised; behavior is reckless.
Clinical (Major) Depression exists if the patient exhibits daily, for more than two weeks, five of the nine DSM-IV symptoms, which include lack of interest in usual activities, depressed moods, insomnia or hypersomnia, weight changes, inability to concentrate, restlessness or lethargy, loss of energy, feelings of worthlessness or guilt, and thoughts of suicide. cognitive therapy trains the patient to compare distorted thoughts to demonstrable facts in the outside world. "I am worthless" is an idea that can probably be disputed by gathering objective evidence. |
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