A. Briefly, describe the symptoms of Major Depressive Disorder and explore its link to suicide
Major depressive disorder (MDD) remains one of the most prevalent psychiatric diseases and conditions, with recent studies showing that it serves as a key contributor to the current burden of disease worldwide. The burden in question results to the increasing suicidal incidences, as well as declining physical health. According to recent empirical researches, MDD presents diverse symptom clusters; given it remains characterized by depressed mood, the gradual loss of pleasure and interest in almost any given activity (Li et al., 2017). According to Kennedy (2008), physicians and other health care providers should pay close attention to a variety of symptoms when tasked with the responsibility of diagnosing, managing, and treating MDD, including anxiety, fatigue, sexual dysfunction, sleep disturbance, and neurocognitive dysfunction. In their study, Li et al. (2017) agree with previous studies by arguing that somatic complaints remain the MDD’s presenting symptoms, especially among the outpatient patients.
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In addition to the identified symptoms, scientific surveys have shown that MDD and suicide remain inextricably linked. In essence, studies have so far established a strong connection between MDD and the ever-increasing suicidal rates in women, children, and men from across the globe. The study by Li et al. (2017) revealed that the various risk factors for MDD serve as the major determinants or causes of suicide. For instance, people who are anxious and lead a lonely life tend to plan, attempt, or commit suicide. At the same time, the researchers found a strong connection between insomnia, anxiety disorders, as well as self-reported anxiety to suicidal ideation. In reference to WHO, Li et al. (2017) report that approximately 15% of people suffering from recurrent MDD often contemplate and commit suicide. Additionally, suicidality, which comprises ideating, planning, and attempting serves as a significant risk factor for different forms of injuries and mortality, ranking as the world’s 14 th cause of deaths.
B. Discuss the socio-cultural and other factors which have prevented many of the drivers from seeking help from mental health professionals
In her recent articles published in the New York Times (NYT), Fitzsimmons (2018) has an identified a variety of factors, which play a central role undermining many of the taxi drivers from both seeking and accessing the much-needed mental health services from professionals. The first socio-cultural barrier involves the fear of stigmatization. According to Fitzsimmons (2018), the taxi job often attracts independent-minded individuals, who typically lack the necessary courage to talk openly about their life-threatening emotions. Moreover, Kennedy (2008) asserts that the present-day society remains characterized a culture that encourages people to continue suffering in silence, as everyone tends to take the individualistic approach to the complicated and multifaceted issues affecting their lives. Additionally, Fitzsimmons (2018) identifies false belief as another reason why drivers do not seek professional medical and therapeutic help from professional counselors and other health care providers. In essence, many taxi drivers firmly believe that nothing can ever change or make their situations better. With this misleading but widely held worldview, MDD patients have remained or failed altogether to make any effort toward improving their current situations by seeking medication.
Apart from the identified social factors, poverty among taxi drivers is another contributor to their failure to seek medical help. In this sense, Fitzsimmons (2018) proceeds to single out the ever-increasing cost of care as a major barrier between professional mental health providers and individual taxi drivers. Although different stakeholders in collaboration with these drivers have and continue to formulate policies aimed at improving their economic status, such regulations have proved ineffective. For instance, most drivers have inadequate insurance and associated health coverage, making the costs of psychotherapy and effective prescription drugs increasingly prohibitive. Concisely, poverty plays a pivotal role in doubling or worsening the likelihood of a taxi driver experiencing more depression.
C. Evaluate the efficacy of traditional methods of treating depression (drug therapy and talk therapy) and suggest possible alternative approaches for working with this population.
Many health facilities and professionals often use traditional methods to treat depression, especially talk and drug therapies. According to Li et al. (2017), failure to treat any form of depression early plays a central role in raising the risk of more complex illnesses and conditions, such as stroke, heart disease, drug and alcohol misuse, and abuse, and diabetes. In response to these complications, physicians prefer drug therapy, which revolves around utilizing different medications with the sole purpose of relieving depression symptoms. Drug therapy reverses brain chemistry imbalances.
Despite its success in many depression cases, drug therapy has not been effective; given antidepressants tend to worsen symptoms of MDD (Kennedy, 2008). This means that relying on medication does not serve as an effective treatment method for depression. Talk therapy involves different types of psychotherapy, which comprise the patient talking their conditions out with mental health professionals to ease symptoms by making the desired changes both in behaviors and thoughts (Kennedy, 2008). Unfortunately, studies have established that talk therapy often results in improved patient outcomes when undertaken alongside drug therapy. Therefore, health practitioners should consider employing advanced approaches to treatment, including Electroconvulsive Therapy (ECT) (Çakir & Çağlar, 2017). The method in question uses short electrical impulses, causing seizures, which repair faulty wiring in a patient’s brain.
References
Çakir, S. & Çağlar, N. (2017). Electroconvulsive therapy in the treatment of mood disorders: One-year follow-up. Archives of Neuropsychiatry, 54 (3): 196-201.
Fitzsimmons, E. (2018). Suicides get taxi drivers talking: I’m going to be one of them. The New York Times . Retrieved Feb. 9, 2019 from https://www.nytimes.com/2018/10/02/nyregion/suicides-taxi-drivers-nyc.html
Kennedy, S. (2008). Core symptoms of major depressive disorder: Relevance to diagnosis and treatment. Dialogues in Clinical Neuroscience, 10 (3): 271-277.
Li, H., et al. (2017). Major depressive disorder and suicide risk among adult outpatients at several general hospitals in a Chinese Han population. PLoS ONE, 12 (10): e0186143.
