I questioned her about this, Mrs. M stated that she was ashamed of feeling sad all the time and is frustrated with her poor work performance. She gets distracted very easily at work and her constant desire to go to sleep does not help. She wants to go away where she can be by herself and not be a negative influence or burden on anyone elses life. She is determined that she has ruined the lives of her children and her husband. Although she wants very much to return to her old self, she feels that this is impossible. To further prove my hypothesis I asked Mrs. M about her family history of mental illness since mood disorders greatly involves genetics. Mrs. M stated that her mother was often on antidepressants when she was a child. She often heard her parents talking about it. This is a very important piece of information. In families in which one parent has a mood disorder, approximately 30% of the children are at risk of developing a disorder. Mrs. M has been experiencing seven of the nine diagnostic features of a major depressive episode. Her symptoms are not part of a mixed episode and are not attributed to a medical condition, use of a substance, or bereavement. The symptoms are causing significant distress and impairment. Because of all of these symptoms, I feel confident that my hypothesis is correct in diagnosing Mrs. M with major depressive disorder. There are many etiologies for this disorder. The catecholamine hypothesis states that a relative shortage of norepinephrine causes depression. Clinical evidence suggested that people who take certain antihypertensive medications become depressed, presumably because the drug depletes the levels or norepinephrine and other catecholamines. Another hypothesis is the indolamine hypothesis, which states that a deficiency of serotonin contributes to the behavioral symptoms of depression. The processes that cause a deficiency of serotonin are thought to be similar to those t...
