INTRODUCTION

Everyone has a tendency to feel blue at some point in their life. Life has its ups and down, and it is not unusual to have a rollercoaster of emotions at times. The problem begins when this sadness lasts for several weeks or even months, and it proceeds to interfere with the ability to function properly at school, work, or home. If this occurs, it is very possible that you may be suffering from a medical condition called depression.

DEPRESSION is defined as an emotional state in which there are extreme feelings of sadness, dejection, lack of worth, and emptiness. It may also cause lack of self-esteem and lack of energy. Most depression occurs in response to an unhappy event such as a loss of a loved one, a serious health problem, a change in the job, a move, or any type of letdown. There are many types of depression and the causes of each case will vary.

Depression affects more than 20 milliom Americans each year. About twice as many women as men suffer from clinical depression. In most cases, depression occurs between the ages of 25-44, although it continues to affect young children, teenagers, as well as the elderly. Many people blame themselves for having this illness. They see themselves and their feelings as a personal weakness. This is not so, but there are a variety of treatments available. 80-90% of all people who are treated for depression have a positive response to the treatment given to them.

It is imortant for people recognize depression as an illness so that they are able to seek the proper treatment. Many people see their physical symptoms, such as fatigue, change of appetite, and sleep problems as a sign of another illness. Others strongly believe the problems are only in their head.

In fact, depression is an actual brain disorder that affects your whole body, behavior, mood, and the way you think and feel.You will learn much more about depression as you continue to use the available links and go through this webquest. Have fun and GOOD LUCK!!!

TASK

Here is your quest:

You are a psychologist. It is wintertime, a common time of year when depression sets in for many people. You have been given four cases of depression to deal with. You will carefully observe each case study and note the various behaviors and attitudes that each patient partakes in. With these notes, you will see why each person is classified as having depression. If possible, diagnosis each patient with the specific type of depression they may have. This may be difficult, but try your best and be creative. After diagnosing the problem, find what type of treatment and/or therapy would best suit each individual. Good luck, Dr.!

PROCESS

Meet your patients and relieve them of their suffering!

Portraits of Depression

CASE 1

Jim feels a black cloud envelop him. He reaches for his gun, and sticks it in his mouth. Jim is sobbing. It isnt the first time he has contemplated suicide in the past weeks, and each time he plays with the weapon, he comes closer to pulling the trigger. This time he almost does it.
Jim cannot see that he is no longer his old self. Until last year, Jim was called super dad by all who knew him. He seemed to juggle a demanding career as a fireman, husband, and father of three small children, with a cheery smile and a confident outlook. Jim was the coach of the local softball league, which made him a hero to the neighbor- hood kids. Friends and acquaintances often sought his advice and counsel.
But a startling change came over Jim one day. He described feeling as if a giant black cloud had suddenly boiled up within his brain, and he cried for three straight days. This feeling of anguish completely debilitated Jim, and though his family doctor said that nothing was physically wrong, he could barely make it out of bed in the mornings. Jims boss eventually put him on administrative leave, but as the months went by and he did not work, Jim was eventually fired. Now even the simplest household chores seem almost impossible to perform. He has become quiet and reclusive, and the routine forms of thinking and decision-making have become too hard for him to handle. He quit the softball league, a task he used to love, and has stopped enjoying sex with his wife. He barely talks to anyone, and even though he is exhausted, he finds it next to impossible to sleep. His children have noticed his withdrawal, and his wife has had to go back to work to support the family, a change she resents. Even though these feelings are intense, Jim refuses to talk to anyone about his despair. Rather, he has started to drink heavily, and takes out his gun almost every other day. No one understands what has happened to this talented fireman, and many of his friends have urged him to just snap out of it and behave like a man.


CASE 2

Sharon describes her life as an abandoned old house, painted gray. Unlike Jim, Sharon cannot ever remember time when she felt exhilarated or happy to be alive. Instead, unlike Jim, Sharon has always felt that her life was purposeless and without joy. Others notice her soft sadness, too, and she is always considered to be the down person in a social setting. Even in grade school her sad disposition was noticeable. This down- in-the-dumps attitude isolated her from her peers and even from her parents. Sharon became continuously alone an lonely; those friends she did have never liked to spend too much time with her. Her parents, though very loving, continually urged her to get out of the house and make some new friends.
Such a demoralized state left Sharon bereft of energy. The only feelings that regularly alternated with this dull, gray cache came as a despairing, at times even burning, sense of guilt. In this stat, she barely complete high school and did not finish college. In fact, Sharon has never held a steady job. Her husband eventually grew weary of this constant melancholy and left her, along with their two children, for a more up woman. Sharon cries a great deal now, and feels crushed by the weight of sadness and despair. She has begun to sleep as much as 14 hours a day, and has been overeating so much in the last few years, she gained more than 45 pounds. With two mouths to feed and little income, life seems to be what it has always been, an empty gray space, devoid of meaning, purpose, or joy.


CASE 3

Andre always had an artistic temperament. At least thats what his mother told him. As a child, Andre showed great promise in the creative arts. His teachers were continually astounded by the pictures he drew in school. His talent was so pronounced that his mother enrolled him in a private studio.
Andres consistent achievements in the performing arts were in stark contrast to his emotional moods, however. He would be emotionally pleasant and easy to get along with, and then, for no reason, became withdrawn and depressed.
As Andre grew older, this tendency became more pronounced. In college his peers called him moody. He would be functioning normally, and suddenly everything would change. Andre would withdraw. For weeks on end, he would cry every day, feeling that all of life was pointless an meaningless. He had virtually no energy at those times, and began failing his classes. He complained of various physical ailments, which only occurred during these episodes, and which no physician could detect. Andres hopelessness was so extreme that in the middle of the episode, he often contemplated suicide.
Just as suddenly, however, Andre would snap out of these blue down-in-the-depths experiences. He would become happy, and would quickly feel enough energy to continue his studies. His artistic creativity would flourish. At these times, he would welcome back his friends and do his best to resurrect his college career.
These up-and-down patterns continue to plague Andre as an adult. They have cost him dearly in terms of family relationships and career opportunities. Though he has been familiar with the up-and-down nature of his disposition for many years, he cannot predict when the bad feelings will come. Most frustrating, he is powerless to do anything about them once they do.


CASE 4

Everyone thought until about six months ago that Jennifer was a well-ajusted person. She had just broken up with her boyfriend, going through the normal pain and grief of a signifcant loss. The problem was that she did not pull out of her feelings of abandonment and rejection. Instead, several weeks after the breakup, she tried to commit suicide. Her friendstook her to the hospital, and after several days of observation and evaluation, she was released.
But she did not return to her normal pre-breakup personality. After the release, Jennifers behavior actually turned bizarre. She became obsessed with writing a book. At first, the topic was to be about broken relationships, especially divorce. She started sleeping less and less and to her friends, seemed unusually distractible and flighty. She went to the library and accumulated hundreds of bibliographic index cards on marriage and divorce. She also began collecting cards on other topics, such as automotive racing and saltwater aquariums. Soon Jennifers apartment was filled with thousands of index cards on hundreds of topics. She began staying up all night, writing furiously about a hodgepodge of disconnected subjects. Jennifer felt that the ideas were coming so quickly she could barely write them down. She started calling her friends in the middle of the night just to read to them something she had written. And the text often made no sense. She called one friend to say that glass staining is like eating a bowl of fruit. Eventually, her parents readmitted Jennifer to the hospital. Soon after, she abandoned her book ideas, and sunk into another deep depression.