Essay Example on Depression & Anxiety: Different Conditions, Common Symptoms

Introduction

Depression and anxiety describe different conditions, although they often occur together in an individual. Having blues or feeling down now and then is a normal situation. Any individual usually feels anxious from one time to another. It is a typical response in the event of stressful circumstances. Nevertheless, severe or continued depression feelings or anxiety potentially depict a sign of an underlying health issue or disorder. Anxiety is likely to occur as a symptom of clinical or major depression. Besides, it is common to have depression as a result of any anxiety disorder, including panic disorder, generalized anxiety disorder, or separation anxiety disorder. Psychotherapy or psychological counseling is applied to reduce symptoms of anxiety and depression. An individual experiences anxiety and depression when parenting can also undergo a psychosocial assessment approach to help address the disorder.

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Client

The client selected in this assessment process is a parent experiencing depression challenges and complaints of feeling anxious in the parent process. The client feels that her mother was not a good mother. She also states that her father was not involved in her life as she grew up. As a result, the lack of a good upbringing has affected her and how she feels about her daughter. She feels that she did not raise her daughter in the right manner. Poor parenting is likely to lead to poor outcomes on the children. The children are perceived as being at risk of being neglected by their parents. It is established that children rejected or overprotected by parents with anxiety or depression are more likely to develop depression disorder than kids under good parenting.

Assessment integrating biopsychosocial approach elements

The biopsychosocial interview describes question assessments that determine biological, psychological, and social aspects that potentially contribute to the problems a person experiences. The biopsychosocial model integrates three elements, including biological, psychological, and social factors that contribute to a particular outcome (Polatin et al., 2017). Every element in the model individual is found to be insufficient to contribute definitively to illness or health. The biopsychosocial model perceives illness and health conduct as products of biological features, behavioral aspects, and social conditions. Health psychologists work with patients and healthcare professionals to assist individuals in addressing the emotional and psychological aspects of illness and health (Lumley et al., 2017). It may also require the creation of treatment protocols to encourage adherence to medications, smoking cessation, and weight loss programs, alongside other aspects.

The biopsychosocial framework encourages clinicians to describe conditions, including depression, through the examination of overall relevant elements. They involve the mind, body, and social elements that are likely to contribute to the development of the condition or its continuation. The model proposes that its three constituents, including biological psychological, and social factors, are related together. They are essential due to health promotion. The body and mind are separate and independent things. Instead, they are dependent and connected. When the mind is affected, the body is also affected. Illness or wellness includes both the physical, social and psychological status of an individual.

With bodily or biological factors, it is understood that individuals with depressive disorders are, in most cases, considerably impacted by their immune, endocrine hormone, and neurotransmitter systems (Cuijpers, et al., 2016). Depression has the potential to make an individual more likely to develop other physical conditions. Studies suggest that genes have the potential to influence depression transmission from one generation to another. It shows that depression is likely to run in families.

Assessment process

Problem description: the initial state is to create a description as a problem description. The aim is to establish a clear picture of the true nature of the issue at the level of particular patterns of behavior, and thought, among other aspects (Cohn et al., 2018). The process requires being more specific and breaking the presenting problems of the patient into four systems that are made up of the following:

Problem description includes the cognitions, which involve words that go through the mind of the client when he or she experiences the problem. The question to ask in this case is, "What goes through your mind when you feel anxious? Or what goes through your mind when you feel low?." Besides, it is crucial to explore shifts in emotions during a task or a session (Lumley et al., 2017). One can ask the patient what just went through her mind since such thoughts that are assessed while one is generating strong emotions are, in most cases, more informative than during calm moments. The client may be assigned homework of thought record which is useful for the assessment.

The next system for problem description is emotions or affect. It defines the emotion a client experiences. Clients have the challenge of distinguishing between emotions and thoughts (Lumley et al., 2017). Emotion is described by one word including anxious, depressed, angry, etc. If the client starts with statements such as "I felt that..." such a description should be perceived as a thought.

Problem description also includes behavior as a system that defines what the particular client does. The actions should those established as outwardly visible. In such a case, the questions will include; "what did you stop doing due to the problem? For instance, avoiding provoking situations or fear. The last system under problem description involves psychological shifts or bodily symptoms such as automatic arousal in anxiety symptoms. They include sweating, increased heart rate, pains, and aches, etc. the patient may also depict a loss of appetite for food in depression.

A good approach involves asking the client to go via the most recent period she can remember experiencing the symptoms of the problem. The next area to question to find the factors that currently affect the presenting problem includes the triggers and modifying factors. Under triggers, the questions to ask include, what factors make depression or anxiety more or less likely to happen? Under the modifiers, the focus area includes the contextual factors that distinguish how serious the depression or anxiety is when it happens. The client may develop phobia due to certain situations, although it may be modified y other factors. It is essential to understand that several factors potentially operate as modifiers or triggers.

They may include physiological variables where the problem may be affected by taking drugs or alcohol. The problem may be influenced by whether the person is hungry, tired, or tense. The variables can also include the influence of a woman's menstrual cycle to depression or anxiety. Social or interpersonal variables include whether certain individuals make a difference or the particular kinds of individuals. Behavioral variables may include whether the problem occurs when the client or other individuals are doing certain activities. Triggers focus on cognitive variables include certain topics or particular kinds of thought that trigger the problem.

Consequences: the last main is for the presenting problems includes exploring what happens due to depression or anxiety. The focus includes four primary aspects to consider. First, one needs to consider the impact that depression and anxiety have had on the client's life. It includes looking at how her life has changed as a result of the problem. The second aspect includes looking at how crucial others, such as family, friends, work colleagues, etc. have responded to the problem. Third, it is important to look at the coping strategies that the client has attempted and how she has been successful. The last aspect includes looking at whether she is using either medication prescribed by a doctor or any other substances that help her to cope with depression.

Treatment plan

In most cases, anxiety and depression disorders can be treated similarly. In numerous situations, therapy is potentially tailored to a person to ensure it works to reduce depression or anxiety symptoms. Several psychotherapy forms are effective. Among the several theories, cognitive behavioral therapy is found to work, especially in replacing unproductive and negative thought patterns with more useful and realistic ones—the treatment focuses on taking particular steps that help overcome depression and anxiety.

Cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT)

Cognitive Behavioral Therapy is described as a psychotherapeutic treatment that assists individuals in learning how to identify and take measures to change disturbing or destructive thought patterns that depict a negative impact on emotions and behavior (David et al., 2018). CBT focuses on shifting the automatic negative thoughts that potentially lead to and contribute to the worsening of the depression, emotional difficulties, and anxiety. The spontaneous negative thoughts are found to have a negative impact on the mood. Through CBT, the thoughts are typically identified, challenged, and replaced with more objective and realistic thoughts. CBT is considered to be highly focused and goal-oriented. The therapists take very active responsibility. The client needs to work with the therapists toward attaining mutual goals.

CBT treatment strategy

Individuals in most cases experience feelings or thoughts that compound or reinforce faulty beliefs; the beliefs potentially contribute to problematic conduct that can potentially influence several life areas. The areas of life include romantic relationships, family, academics, and work. CBT requires carrying out the following steps to treat depression and anxiety:

Identify negative thoughts: it is essential to learn how feelings, thoughts, and situations potentially lead to maladaptive conduct (Carpenter et al., 2018). The process is likely to be challenging, especially if the individuals struggle with introspection. However, it can eventually contribute to self-discovery and the presentation of insights that are crucial for the process of treatment.

Practice new skills: It is crucial to begin practicing new skills that are likely to be an employee in real-world circumstances (Carpenter et al., 2018). For instance, if the individual experiences depression and anxiety, she needs to start practicing new coping skills and rehearse approaches to deal with or avoid social circumstances that are likely to trigger a relapse.

Set goals: Goal setting is an essential step during the recovery process of the patient from depression and anxiety. It helps the patient to make changes that allow enhancement of her life and health. During CBT, a therapist potentially helps the patient with skills in goal setting. The therapist teaches her ways of identifying her goal and differentiating between long-term and short-term goals. He or she will help the client set SMART goals and concentrate on the treatment process as much as the end result.

Problem-solve: The CBT treatment approach includes learning skills of problem-solving. They can assist the client in identifying and solving issues that emerge from the stressors, both small and big.