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Signs and Symptoms
Signs and symptoms can be defined as being the noticeable change in a person with regards to their behaviour, interaction with daily life, and the effect that it has on them. The diagnosis of an individual is recognised and analysed through these signs and symptoms and helpThe mental illness of depression can be identified with different signs and symptoms. Signs and symptoms of depression can include:
Stigmas and Behaviour
Stigmas and behaviour can be identified as being a remark of disgrace associated with a particular circumstance, quality, or person, which is highly evident towards the situation of mental disorders. It is the disapproval of the diagnosed which furthermore results in the individual being rejected, discriminated against, and excluded from different areas of society, or the complete society itself. The way in which an individual may act or conduct oneself, especially towards others those who are suffering from depression can be seen as the stigmatised behaviour against them. Basically, stigmas are the profound labels used against those who belong to that certain category, regarding mental health disorders, which are often stereotyped. Furthermore, this brings about negative attitudes and discrimination towards the diagnosed. When stigmatised, it brings feelings and experiences of shame, blame, hopelessness, worthlessness, distress, misconceptions and the hesitance to seek professional help for recovery.
The usual stigmas and stigmatised behaviours associated with the mental disorder of depression include:
Signs and symptoms can be defined as being the noticeable change in a person with regards to their behaviour, interaction with daily life, and the effect that it has on them. The diagnosis of an individual is recognised and analysed through these signs and symptoms and helpThe mental illness of depression can be identified with different signs and symptoms. Signs and symptoms of depression can include:
- The lack of or getting too much sleep- Can become noticeable through the appearance of the person or the behaviours they display that regard the lack of sleep or having too much. This is usually the outcome of the patient finding a temporary refuge for happiness, away from the effects of depression. This can include the prolonged addiction towards video games or any other hobbies which then prevents the individual from receiving sufficient sleep to cope with.
- No matter how much the individual can persist, they are unable to stop their negative thoughts- This effect is the ramification of being a diagnosed patient suffering from severe depression. Furthermore, by having this pessimistic perspective and outlook on life, their response, behaviours and actions towards a specific situation that has emerged varied compared to those who are mentally stable. Not only will this have an effect towards the patient themselves, but it will also have an effect on those who are in the presence of the diagnosed person, as they are unaware of the current state the person is in and due to the fact that the mindset of negative feelings and thoughts are contagious.
- Feeling as if everything accomplished towards a certain situation is wrong or not worthy - This type of attitude and response is correlative to the previous point of the depressed having a pessimistic perspective and interpretation on the situations of life. In addition, this is where the feelings of unworthiness, uselessness, hopelessness and shame are associated into depression.
- Easily irritable or angered- This can be recognised in the scenario where the individual has spontaneously become short-tempered or responds to a problem in a negative and pessimistic point-of-view due their tolerance level being low as a result of an influential bipolar mood effect.
- Reckless behaviour- Depending on the severity and the effectiveness of depression may bring upon a person, it can also inflict reckless behaviour such as substance abuse, compulsive gambling, reckless driving, and dangerous activities. Yet, this reckless behaviour transverses itself towards self-inflicting behaviour through the emotional thoughts they experience, where the diagnosed would then partake in self-harming activities such as cutting, and even to the drastic extent of suicide.
- Being "slowed down"- Having depression can also have the effect of being "slowed down" or fatigued, meaning not only will your mind move slower but also your reactions and movements. In addition, this hinders and prevents the person suffering from depression from the ability to fully concentrate, comprehend or respond to any situations.
- Putting themselves and others around them in harms way by reacting bad or acting out of place to a certain situation is a common behaviour when overcoming or going through depression. It is common for people suffering from depression to find or expect the worst outcome in a situation they may come across, resulting in negatively and affecting the the
Stigmas and Behaviour
Stigmas and behaviour can be identified as being a remark of disgrace associated with a particular circumstance, quality, or person, which is highly evident towards the situation of mental disorders. It is the disapproval of the diagnosed which furthermore results in the individual being rejected, discriminated against, and excluded from different areas of society, or the complete society itself. The way in which an individual may act or conduct oneself, especially towards others those who are suffering from depression can be seen as the stigmatised behaviour against them. Basically, stigmas are the profound labels used against those who belong to that certain category, regarding mental health disorders, which are often stereotyped. Furthermore, this brings about negative attitudes and discrimination towards the diagnosed. When stigmatised, it brings feelings and experiences of shame, blame, hopelessness, worthlessness, distress, misconceptions and the hesitance to seek professional help for recovery.
The usual stigmas and stigmatised behaviours associated with the mental disorder of depression include:
- Perceiving the individual as "weak". This a very common stigma used when addressing the serious matter of depression that a diagnosed person is experiencing. In some cases, people suffering from depression can be perceived as being weak by others for the reason being that they are incapable to handle or cope with the impacts of their mental illness. This is in association with the personal, physical and social factors in which they have been affected the most by.
- Perceiving the individual as "crazy" and "dangerous". As mentioned before, those who are diagnosed with depression partake in reckless behaviour, which for example, could possibly be associated with drugs and substance abuse. The reason as to why this is the case is due to the fact that the individual recognises this habit of consuming drugs and substances as a place of refuge away from depression. Furthermore, as mentioned previously as well, those we are depressed can also be seen as irritable or angry. This is due to the reason being that they have developed a pessimistic and short-tempered tolerance as a result of a bipolar attitude. In saying that, people who are diagnosed with depression can have sudden and spontaneous episodes for the need of exhilaration from drugs and the outbreak of rage.
- Perceiving the individual to be "emo". The term emo is a nickname or stigma labelled against those suffering from depression or a severe case of sadness. The way in which this stigma developed and came about to society was due to that fact that emo- is the prefix used to describe a term that is associated with emotions and feelings. As stated before, people who are depressed exhibit attitudes revolving significantly around their feelings and emotions, such as being short-tempered, angered, sad, thinking pessimistically and partaking in reckless activities. The most popular context that the stigma emo is used is in the scenario where a person is known to inflict self-harm by engaging into the activity of cutting. As a result, emo is used to describe a person who demonstrates their emotions through their appearance and actions.
- Perceiving the individual as being an "attention seeking" person and is "responsible "for all their actions. These qualities are stigmatised attitudes that society has put on to those who are depressed. This is also correlative towards all the current stigmas listed above. The way in which this is achieved is through the reckless activity of cutting, a profound activity amongst those who are depressed. To elaborate, when a person engages in cutting themselves for self-harm, society usually disregards any background information or experiences, which has driven the person to partake in this dangerous activity in the first place, and automatically labels this person as someone who is attention seeking and therefore is responsible for their actions. However, this is partly false. The reason as to why this is true is because having depression affects and limits the ability for the patient to psychologically think properly to act or feel about any given situation. In saying that, the diagnosed person can not help but have the urge and need to cut themselves. On the other hand, the person can be responsible for their actions of cutting themselves but only to the extent that they are doing this in purpose to alert the society the individual is in desperate need of support.