In this article I present the latest diagnostic forms of depressive disorders. In addition, I refer to recent research changing the perspective on depression as a whole. In current psychiatry, there is a move towards thinking more about multiple depressive disorders, which will most likely lead to an indi vidualised treatment of both pharmacological and therapeutic disorders.
Table of contents:
Introduction
Depression is one of the most prevalent mental disorders in the world. Through its course, it often makes full social functioning impossible. In the last century, there has been a 36 % increase in incomplete functioning due to depression.
In Poland, the prevalence of depression is estimated at around 6% of adults, of which 4% are women and 2% men, It is also the third most common disorder in Poland (after alcoholism and panic attacks)
Diagnosis of depression
Depressive disorders are part of mood disorders. Before a diagnosis of depression can be made, the patient must have 5 of the 9 listed axial disorders persisting for two weeks. The axial symptoms are:
- Decreased mood
- Apathy and anhedonia
- Changes in appetite and weight
- Problems sleeping every day
- Psychomotor slowing down or agitation
- Fatigue or loss of energy
- Feelings of guilt or worthlessness
- Problems concentrating
- Recurring thoughts of death.
If anhedonia or feelings of depression and a minimum of four of the other symptoms are present for at least two weeks, this may indicate the presence of depression.
Questions around the diagnosis of depression
Depression is a diverse, heterogeneous disorder and each patient experiences their own individualised distress. Contemporary research shows that differences in symptom patterns lead to multiple combinations of depressive pictures that qualify for a single diagnosis of depressive disorder, with the possibility that two patients may not share a single symptom with each other. Fried and Nesse (2015a) have shown how diverse depression is. Taking into account the nine diagnostic criteria, we can create 227 symptom profiles.
The high diversity in the course of depression could mean that depression is one disorder with numerous symptoms. An alternative approach to understanding depression in this way is that patients struggle with a variety of symptoms that differ from each other in aetiology, course, and biological basis, which in turn may prompt a search for multiple causes of the disorder and individualised treatment.
Summary
Spreading knowledge about the diagnosis of depression seems to be the key to increasing the quality of life in the modern world. Depression can and should be treated. A likely future direction for treatment is individualised therapy, tailored to the patient. Importantly, an important protective function against depression is maintaining positive and benevolent relationships with other people.
