ETIOLOGY OF BIPOLAR AND DEPRESSIVE DISORDER-THEORETICAL APPROACH
Name of Student
Institutional Affiliation
ETIOLOGY OF BIPOLAR AND DEPRESSIVE DISORDER-THEORETICAL APPROACH
Introduction
Bipolar disorder refers to a disorder associated with mood swings that range from depressive lows to manic highs caused by a range of genetics, environments, and altered brain structure and chemistry. A depressive disorder isn’t far from this; it refers to a disorder characterized by a persistently depressed mood and loss of interest in activities that may cause impairment. These two health disorders and their causes have been explained over time using theories. The theories have a range of similarities and differences in explaining the disorders’ etiology and effect concerning other people and the environment around those suffering from the disorders (Meurs, J. A., & Perrewé, P. L. 2011).
Psychodynamic theory, to begin with, associates these disorders with one’s upbringing as a child. The theory states that your childhood events have a considerable influence on your adult lives, shaping personalities through events that mostly happen unconsciously (Meurs, J. A., & Perrewé, P. L. 2011). In this case, bipolar and depressive disorder’s etiology arises from the development of behavior throughout childhood until it gets into a severe condition. It views these disorders to be a result of rejection, for instance, by a parent (Paulus, M. P., & Angela, J. Y. 2012). A child who was rejected by friends and even parents while growing up. The child is likely to experience episodes as they lack the attention that every other child needs growing to depressive disorder. These episodes would sometimes lead to mood swings that get to depressive low and manic high fast hence bipolar disorder. This theory’s tenets align to forgotten events in early childhood rather than inherited traits alone(Baum, A. E., et al.,2008).
On the other hand, the attachment theory has that these conditions would arise due to the child-parent relationship. The deep and emotional bond between the two is responsive so that if the response turns out not right, it might lead to depression or bipolar condition. A child’s caregiver is supposed to offer security and safety, leading to anxiety (Luyten, P., & Fonagy, P. 2018). The levels of attachment include secure attachment where the infant is comfortable. There is also anxious attachment, dismissive-avoidant attachment as well as fearful-avoidant attachment. If an infant grows up afraid of the caregiver or specific individuals who scare them, this might lead to depressive conditions. Sometimes the depressive conditions might go to the higher extreme of bipolar disorder(Baum, A. E., et al.,2008). In this, mania is associated with the preoccupied attachment and depression with the dismissing attachment. Unlike the psychodynamic theory, attachment theory is entirely dependent on the affection relation of the caregiver and the child (Jope, R. S. 2011).
There is also the possibility of these two disorders arising as a response to the environment. The behavioral theory states that all behavior is learned from interaction with the environment through conditioning. When one goes through a situation one too many times, it grows into a behavior, just like the dog, the bell, and feeding in classical conditioning (Baum, A. E., et al.,2008). This also happens with the perception of the mind. When one experiences adverse live events and forms negativity’s perception of those negative happenings, it might develop depressive tendencies (Luyten, P., & Fonagy, P. 2018). When one makes adverse events personal and associates them with the past and or the future, it will affect their minds, causing anxiety. Unlike the two above, these theories suggest that these bipolar and depressive disorders are created by the environment and their response to it rather than born or caused by relations. The study entails looking at observable and measurable behaviors over time. For instance, classical conditioning proposes that depression is learned by associating certain stimuli with negative emotional states (Jope, R. S. 2011).
There is a set of theories under learning theory concerning bipolar and depressive disorders. It suggests that these tendencies result from behaviors that one receives and retains through learning (Paulus, M. P., & Angela, J. Y. 2012). There is an aid of emotional, cognitive, and environmental influences. These include cognitive, behaviorism constructivism, humanism, and connectivism learning theories. The mind is one part that stores all learned experiences and the effects of this learning (Luyten, P., & Fonagy, P. 2018).
The cognitive theory is an example of learning theory. The ability to perceive, interpret, and generate responses to intentions as communicated or lack thereof is due to the state of mind. The lack of usually interpreting information could be impairment due to depressive or maniac tendencies from depressive disorder bipolar disorder (Jope, R. S. 2011). Unlike other theories, learning theories describe the state of mind and its ability to respond to the environment and behavior. This can be used as a basis for determining the state of mind as to whether it has depressive or bipolar tendencies (Paulus, M. P., & Angela, J. Y. 2012).
Conclusion
The etiology of bipolar and depressive disorders for a long time had been associated with biological reasons. However, the theoretical explanation has been able to link them to the environment one lives in; the theories place the situation one goes through and how they can respond as a pivotal player to these conditions. Their theories have similarities and differences in how they define the causes of these disorders just as discussed, that is, as some base on the environment, others base on the immediate relations or the ability of the mind to respond to situations in a particular way as like in the learning theory.
References
Baum, A. E., Akula, N., Cabanero, M., Cardona, I., Corona, W., Klemens, B., … & Georgi, A. (2008). A genome-wide association study implicates diacylglycerol kinase eta (DGKH) and several other genes in bipolar disorder’s etiology. Molecular psychiatry, 13(2), 197-207.
Jope, R. S. (2011). Glycogen synthase kinase-3 in the etiology and treatment of mood disorders. Frontiers in molecular neuroscience, 4, 16.
Luyten, P., & Fonagy, P. (2018). The stress–reward–the mentalizing model of depression: An integrative developmental cascade approach to child and adolescent depressive disorder based on the Research Domain Criteria (RDoC) approach. Clinical psychology review, 64, 87-98.
Meurs, J. A., & Perrewé, P. L. (2011). Cognitive activation theory of stress: An integrative theoretical approach to work stress. Journal of Management, 37(4), 1043-1068.
Paulus, M. P., & Angela, J. Y. (2012). Emotion and decision-making: affect-driven belief systems in anxiety and depression. Trends in cognitive sciences, 16(9), 476-483.