PSYC 2240 Chapter Notes - Chapter 15: Electroconvulsive Therapy, Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation, Monoamine Oxidase
24 Jul 2015
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People with a major depression feel sad and helpless every day for weeks at a time. They have little energy, feel worthless, contemplate suicide, have trouble sleeping, cannot concentrate, find little pleasure, and can hardly even imagine being happy again. Childhood depression is about equally common for boys and girls, but beyond about age 14, depression is more common in females. Although some people suffer from long-term depression it is more common to have episodes of depression separated by periods of normal mood. The first episode is special in certain regards: The first episode is generally longer than most of the later ones, and most patients can identify a highly stressful event that triggered the first episode. For later episodes, people are less and less likely to identify a triggering event. It is as if the brain learns how to be depressed and gets better at it.
