THE DEPRESSION DISORDER

Running head: DEPRESSION DISORDER 1
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DEPRESSION DISORDER
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Depression disorder
Depression is associated with a mood disorder that creates a persistent feeling of sadness
and hopelessness that makes the affected lose interest in doing things that they used to enjoy
doing (Carek, Laibstain & Carek 2011). When this persists, the affected persons might develop
physical symptoms characterized by chronic pains and problems with digestive systems, when
these symptoms are present for more than two weeks, the affected person is diagnosed with
depression. As an adopted measure to make a diagnosis of depression, DSM-5 is used in
outlining the criterion that is used to make the diagnosis of depression (Friedman et al, .2011). In
this criterion, one must experience five or more symptoms in the two weeks observation period
and amongst the symptoms, depressed mood or loss of interest or lack of pleasure is to be
experienced.
Geriatric medication is associated with a focus on the healthcare of the elderly people to
promote healthy leaving by preventing and treating the diseases that are associated with the
elderly people (Chen et al, .2015). As a marriage and family therapist, I understand the dynamics
of relationships and I have noted that most families go through the menace of depression due to
long-term unsolved family disputes that leave the affected parties hopeless. Both young and old
couples should seek marriage counseling to fix problems affecting their homes. This paper will
outline the various list of assessment questions for depression disorder about the geriatric
population and how the DMS-5 diagnosis criteria are used to diagnose the depression disorder.

DEPRESSION DISORDER
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DSM-5 diagnosis criteria
This criterion requires that a diagnosis be made after a two weeks confirmation of
symptoms associated with depression and loss of interest. The criteria check the presence of
depressed mood in the two weeks observation period, it should be in most days or nearly every
day. This criterion also checks if there is a diminished interest in activities of the affected person
daily or most of the observation days, they check if the affected person has lost pleasure in the
same activities (Koukopoulos & Sani 2014). The criterion also observes if there is a loss or gain
in the weight of the affected person or either an increase or decrease in appetite of the affected
person nearly every day during the observation period. An observation is also made to see if
there is a slowdown of thoughts and a reduction in the physical movement as observed by others.
The criterion also observes if there is fatigue or a loss of energy nearly every day of the
observation period, they also observe if there is a feeling of worthlessness, excitement, or a pang
of inappropriate guilt nearly every day during the observation period. An observation is also
made to find out if there is a diminished in the ability of the affected person to think or
concentrate, they also observe if there is indecisiveness during the observation period (Murphy &
Byrne 2012). Lastly, the criterion observes if there is a recurrent thought of death or suicidal
ideation in the mind of the affected person, this also observes if there are any attempts made to
commit suicide.
Creating assessment questions
When creating assessment questions for the elderly depressed persons, one must be
careful to grasp the needed concepts in identifying and diagnosing depression. Most elderly are