University Assignment: A Reflection on Mood and Anxiety Disorders

This report provides a detailed reflection on mood and anxiety disorders, specifically major depressive disorder and panic disorder. It explores the symptoms, diagnostic criteria (including the use of DSM-5), and the impact of these conditions on individuals' lives. The report discusses various treatments, including pharmacological interventions like SSRIs and antidepressants, as well as non-pharmacological approaches such as cognitive behavioral therapy. The author shares personal reflections on the disorders, discussing potential experiences if they were suffering from these conditions. The paper also includes references to support the information presented, offering a comprehensive overview of the topics covered. The assignment fulfills the requirements of a reflection paper focusing on the student's understanding and personal connection to the disorders, while also providing an overview of the conditions and their treatments.

Running head: MOOD AND ANXIETY DISORDER
1
Mood and Anxiety Disorder
Name of the student
Name of the University
Author note

MOOD AND ANXIETY DISORDER 2
Major Depressive disorder
Major depression disorder or clinical depression is a medical condition that affects many
aspects of life. This condition affects both the physiological and psychological aspects of life,
such as defective daily activities. The most common symptoms of this state are anxiety,
hopelessness, mood swings and loss of interest in work. The common behavioural changes in life
are agitation, irritability, social isolation. The remarkable cognitive changes are suicidal
thoughts, slow activities, and loss of excessive weight. It also results in excessive energy lost and
severe headaches (Gohil & Shah, 2015).
The condition can happen due to inherited traits, hormonal imbalance and defective
secretion of neurotransmitters. The neurotransmitters are responsible for maintaining the
neurocircuits that are involved in controlling mood stability. The changes in the hormonal state
of the body also trigger depressive symptoms.
The condition can be diagnosed by laboratory testing, psychiatric evaluation and
diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders (DSM-5). In psychiatric evaluation, the test
is designed to diagnose the emotional, behavioural and development of the disorders. The DSM-
5 defines the patient in terms of mental inability and instability, along with its potential risk
factors (Sachdev et al., 2015).
The disease can be treated with the help of both pharmacological and non-
pharmacological interventions. The drugs that can be given are atypical antidepressants such as
bupropion, mirtazapine. Selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors such as citalopram, fluoxetine
(Clevenger et al., 2018). Apart from that, cognitive behavioural therapy is also helpful in treating
this condition.

MOOD AND ANXIETY DISORDER 3
I was suffering from depression from the past two weeks and referred to the psychiatric
by my general physician. The doctor diagnosed by state firstly with psychiatric evaluation test
and after the DSM-5. The doctor interacted with me, collected all information, current
medications, and tried to evaluate my symptoms. I was prescribed with SSRIs and
antidepressant’s drugs. This drug helped me in doing normal activities and promotes good sleep.
I hope it will be helpful in full recover of from this state soon.
Panic Disorder
Panic disorder is a type of panic attack, which is categorized by a rapid period of
powerful fear sensation that generates severe physical responses with no danger and cause. The
symptoms of this condition are rapid heartbeat, chest pain due to fear, breathing difficulty,
weakness, sweating and even numbness. It is caused due to major stress, the high temperature
that is more prone towards negative emotions and also changes in the brain part. The studies also
state that this condition results from excessive flight or fight response that occurs during a
sensible situation (Cackovic, Nazir & Marwaha, 2019).
The condition can be diagnosed by a blood test to check the thyroid hormone level. The
psychological evaluation test and DSM-5 are also used to identify and evaluate the state. The
evaluation test focuses upon the symptoms, stressful situations, patient history and fears of
concerns. DSM-5 defines the patient in terms of mental inability and instability, along with its
potential risk factors. There are certain criteria for diagnosis such as the patient must be a
frequent attack, the duration must be of at least one month, and the patient must not be having
this symptom due to side effect of the drug.

MOOD AND ANXIETY DISORDER 4
The condition can be treated by antidepressants such as serotonin and norepinephrine
reuptake inhibitors (SNRIs) example venlafaxine. The Benzodiazepines are also used in
controlling this symptom, as these drugs are effective in reducing the effect of the central
nervous system (Bounds & Nelson, 2018). Cognitive behavioural therapy helps control this
condition as well.
I had a symptom of panic attack due to major stress. The condition lasted for about two
months. The psychiatrists diagnosed psychiatric evaluation test which focused upon collecting all
information to identify the root cause of the condition. The DSM-5 test done to identify and
evaluate both physical and mental ability. I was advised to interact with people and socially
active. The antidepressant drugs helped in reducing the condition and reduced the panic attack to
some extent. Both the therapies helped in reducing the state and gave a better feeling.

MOOD AND ANXIETY DISORDER 5
References
Bounds, C. G., & Nelson, V. L. (2018). Benzodiazepines. In StatPearls [Internet]. StatPearls
Publishing. PMID: 29261973
Cackovic, C., Nazir, S., & Marwaha, R. (2019). Panic Disorder (Attack). In StatPearls
[Internet]. StatPearls Publishing. PMID: 28613692
Clevenger, S. S., Malhotra, D., Dang, J., Vanle, B., & IsHak, W. W. (2018). The role of selective
serotonin reuptake inhibitors in preventing relapse of major depressive
disorder. Therapeutic advances in psychopharmacology, 8(1), 49–58.
https://doi.org/10.1177/2045125317737264
Gohil, K., & Shah, P. (2015). Major Depressive Disorder: New Products Are Facing a Saturated
Market. Pharmacy and Therapeutics, 40(3), 215–217. PMCID: PMC4357355
Sachdev, P. S., Mohan, A., Taylor, L., & Jeste, D. V. (2015). DSM-5 and Mental Disorders in
Older Individuals: An Overview. Harvard review of psychiatry, 23(5), 320–328.
https://doi.org/10.1097/HRP.0000000000000090