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Flores, Roma Blaise G.

3BES1 Abnormal Psychology


BBC Documentary about The Truth about Depression by Stephen Nolan
1. The causes and treatments of the depression of the four people in The truth
about depression.
The documentary made by BBC entitled The truth about depression
2013 introduced and interview 4 still on treatment and recovering people with
depression and discussed the cause and how they were cured through time. The
documentary also discussed how depression can be found in the brain,
specifically in the hippocampus and the amygdala and how the brains of the
depressed people differ from the normal brains. The different treatments such as
the ETC (Electroconvulsive therapy) and VNS (Vagus nerve stimulation therapy)
are also introduced and discussed further.
The first to be interviewed is Cathal Hagan who is a successful
businessman. Despite his successful background and lifestyle, for the past 20
years he, battles with chronic depression. His depression started when he was a
student, going home from Belfast in a bus. Inside he experienced some panic
and anxiety attacks which made him shout Stop! to the bus driver for him to be
picked-up by his father, from this struggle, his depression starts. He was said to
have an incurable illness, but as time pass by with the help of prescribed tablets
and self-acceptance, he was about the cope up with depression. When he
thought that his depression is controllable, while expanding his business, he
suffered from another mental breakdown which made him jump outside of his
two-story building through the window. From there, he always checks himself and
makes sure he always has his tablets to anywhere he is going. Today, he plans to
build the first center of excellence in mental health which will assist people who
are suffering from it knowing that psychological help is greatly needed in Norther
Ireland.
Heather Keough was a mother and a nurse at a summer camp, happy and
satisfied. She has no history or genes of depression, but a traumatic event leads
her to have depression. It happened in the summer camp where one young boy
suddenly suffers from a severe asthma attack where they need to do CPR but it
did not help the boy until he died in Heathers presence. She was pregnant
during that incident, and it was traumatic that it lead her to have a twist in her life
instantly. It started with panic and anxiety attacks, hard to breath and mind filled
with thoughts and hard to sleep, during those times she did not want other to
know what she was suffering, she always put a big smile but behind this was a
hard suffering mother. She does not want others to look down on her and
misunderstand her as a needy one but when she is at her limit that she could not
take it, anyone, she asked for help. She was diagnosed to have post-traumatic
stress disorder which also leads to her post-natal depression. Her psychiatrists
provided a cognitive behavioral therapy which is also called the talking therapy
where her church paid for it to help them. The result of her recovery is a living
proof that depression can be cured.
The next person is Anne Lennon, 61 years old. At the early age of 19, she
attempted to have suicide because of her feeling of being a nuisance to others.
She is suffering from a serious mental illness for the past 40 years and not to
forget her having depression made her lonelier, lazy and tired most of the time.
Hearing the phase Pull yourself together, get yourself on makes her feel worst
because no matter what other people will tell her, they will not understand what
she is suffering from. She received ECT (electroconvulsive therapy) and
prescribed medications to help her cope up with her depression and to top that,
she is also engaged to boxercise from the Mind-Wise in Belfast Northern Ireland,
a non-profit organization that supports to those at risk and affected by severe
mental illness and mental health.
Denise Welch, the last person that was interviewed was an actress, the
star of the Coronation Street and Loose women, a television series and a TV
show in Britain. Despite her happy and blooming image in front of the tele
viewers, she is identified to be experiencing post-natal depression. She shows
the sign of depression such as having no appetite, loss of much weight within 3
weeks, collapsing inside her dressing room and some facial changes. At first, she
explained the depression in a ways that it avoids her have feelings and emotions.
After her birth to her son Matthew, depression started. This lead her to the
diagnosis of post-natal depression. She tried to self-medicated and use any sort
of drugs and alcohol just to avoid and let her feel insensitive towards those ugly
feelings. Every time she is experiencing panic and anxiety attacks, she uses
cocaine to numb herself from it. She believes that her hormone is imbalance that
this results from her having post-natal depression, due this she received a
hormone treatment and from this she felt better and less of a depressed person.
She is not afraid today that other people will know that she is suffering from
depression, she wants them to know what is depression and kill the stigma they
know about them.
To conclude the 4 statements of Cathal, Heather, Anne, and Denise, that
depression can hit us at any time and in any stage/event/activity in our lives. To
avoid this, it is said that people must practice a proper and well-balanced
lifestyle. Exercise, eat healthy food which must be well balanced, have enough
sleep and water, make sure to relax and give time to yourself and avoid drugs
and alcohol. When one is suffering from a mental illness, one must stop
stigmatizing them and give more understanding and patience to them, learn and
read more about mental illness to help them.
2. Vagus Nerve Stimulation Therapy and ECT
Vagus Nerve Stimulation Therapy
The vagus nerve, also known as cranial nerve X, is one of the 12 cranial
nerves in the body. Being the longest cranial nerve which extends from the
brainstem to the abdomen. Vagus nerve is also a part the involuntary nervous
system and commands unconscious body movements such as controlling food
digestion and keeping the heart rate constant. It is also involved.
Vagus nerve stimulation therapy or the VNS therapy is a treatment used to
those with treatment-resistant depression. It is a surgical procedure just like a
pacemaker-like device that will be implanted in the body with a stimulating wire
which is attached to the vagus nerve. The device is a battery-operated,
computer-controlled device called a pulse generatorabout the size of a pocket
watchis surgically implanted in the upper chest, just below the collarbone. The
electrical impulse will travel up to the neck to the brain which is connected to
areas believed to be involved in regulating mood. The VNS therapy is used to
stimulate centers in the brain that regulate mood, sleep, appetite and motivation.
It has been approved by the FDA for treating chronic or reoccurring depression
and bipolar disorder (July 2005) and given to refractory epileptic patients since
July 1997. The impulses may affect the way nerve cell circuits transmit signals in
areas of the brain that affect mood. However, it usually takes several months
before you feel the effects.
Sources:
http://www.healthline.com/human-body-maps/vagus-nerve
http://www.webmd.com/depression/vagus-nerve-stimulation#1
http://www.psych.med.umich.edu/vns/
http://www.mayoclinic.org/tests-procedures/vagus-nerve-stimulation/home/ovc-
20167755
Electroconvulsive therapy
Also known as ECT is a procedure given to major depression patients that
medication seems to fail or not work for them. It may be the least treatment given
to them but this is the strongest treatment that can be given to them. It is a
procedure, done under general anesthesia, in which a small electric current is
passed through the brain to trigger a brief of a seizure it causes to change brain
chemistry that can quickly revere symptoms of certain mental illnesses.
The procedure starts with the general anesthesia, then a device that will
be placed on the patients left and right side scalp and electrodes will be released
with a finely controlled electric current. ECT is one of the fastest ways to relieve
symptoms severely depressed or suicidal patients, and for patients who suffer
from mania and other mental illnesses. It also works as a form of therapy which
means it is one of the treatments that may or may not work for everyone because
it is generally used for severe depression if they are unresponsive to other forms
of therapy such as the talk therapy.
Sources:
http://www.mayoclinic.org/tests-procedures/electroconvulsive-
therapy/basics/definition/prc-20014161
http://www.webmd.com/depression/guide/electroconvulsive-therapy#1
3. Answer the EQ test and compare with your depression and anxiety test. Discuss
if having a good EQ decreased your risk of depression and anxiety.
My Depression results: 5 out of 27 while my anxiety results: 5 out of 21.
My results signify that I may indicate some depression symptoms but the test told
me that it is pretty normal at the same time my anxiety results describes me
having some mild signs of anxiety. Both requires me to keep an eye to myself so
that I can avoid having a breakdown as to having this level of depression and
anxiety is normal during my age (19 years old) and college level (3rd year
college).
While my EQ results: 78/100 shows that I have a good level of Emotional
intelligence. Emotional Intelligence or what we call Emotional quotient (EQ) is the
ability to understand, use and manage our emotions in the most effective,
efficient and positive ways. Our EQ affects our lives due it influences how we
behave and react to our relationships. This also allow ourselves to make
decisions based on our circumstances as well as to recognize and understand
what others are experiences emotionally. Having a good or high EQ will help
individual to positively relieve stress and anxiety, communicate better and
effectively, feel better and understand other people. EQ differs to what we think
intellectually but EQ can be learned and not genetically acquired, it takes time in
everyones life through their emotional and social skills.
It was said that Emotionally intelligent people possess great levels in
these attributes: Self-awareness (recognition of own emotions and how it affects
you), Self-management (how you control impulsive feelings and behaviors and
how to take initiative and follow commitments), Social awareness (how you
understand the emotions, needs and concern of other people) and Relationship
management how you develop and maintain good relationship, communicate
clearly and influence your workmates).
Depression on the other side is common to college students, it is also
known as to be a serious mood disorder. It affects how one feel, think and do
daily activities such as eating, bathing, working and sleeping. Being physically
and emotionally tired can affect how one understand his/her emotions. The
feeling empty inside and suffering from anxiety and panic attacks affects the
persons communication and relationships.
Having a good EQ does decrease your risk of experiencing depression
because as a person having a good EQ gives you the ability to control,
understand and use your emotions positively which will help you avoid of having
panic and anxiety attacks.

Sources:
https://www.helpguide.org/articles/emotional-health/emotional-intelligence-eq.htm
https://psychcentral.com/blog/archives/2015/10/29/the-benefits-of-emotional-
intelligence/

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