Question

Joe works as a volunteer on a depression hotline. What type of depression is experienced by each of the following anonymous callers? a. Caller A says he has no particular reason to feel down, but he's feeling really depressed anyway. He says he gets down-and-out a lot, but it doesn't usually get quite this bad. He wonders if there's any kind of treatment or drug for how he feels, b. Caller B says she's usually a happy-go-lucky sort of person, but she's been feeling depressed since her mother died last month. She thinks she should be over the worst of her grief by now and wonders if she should get counseling. 13 lanet has just been prescnbed lithium for her manic states. What should be included in her medication counseling?

Answer 1

The first case can be of major depression as he reports of feeling low commonly. Plus, the reason of his state is not defined even to himself.

The second case seems to be of situational depression. As she has lost her mother, this has led to a depressive state which may totally fade away.

Janet seems to be a patient of bipolar depression; this disorder is characterized by episodes of mania followed by episodes of depression. Lithium is a good mood stabilizer for mania. Psychotherapy should be considered for the depressive episodes.