Documentary Analysis: Depression: Out of the Shadows

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Depression: Out of the Shadows

Depression: Out of the Shadows (2008), is a PBS documentary addressing depression, its effects on the human psyche, and treatment options. Depression affects people differently, depending on the severity and type of depression experienced. There are several different types of depression, ranging from mild depression, which is only experienced over short periods of time, teen depression, experienced during adolescence, hidden depression, when the depression is hidden from others, postpartum depression, experienced after giving birth, and clinical depression, a continued depression lasting several weeks or more. The video also discusses the related illness called Bipolar disorder, which is characterized by extreme mood swings. The symptoms experienced with depression range in severity and vary with each diagnosis. Symptoms may include loss of memory, mood swings, and feelings of anguish, despair, guilt, isolation, and thoughts of suicide. People with depression may experience physiological symptoms such as, heaviness in the bones or chest pain. Depression, in all its forms, has a high hereditary link, but can be triggered by environmental factors such as a death of a loved one or childhood trauma. The treatment for depression is a trial and error process. Some sufferers respond to outpatient therapy, while others may need additional treatment with anti-depressants, in-patient treatment centers, or long-term residential facilities. Recent studies by Neuroscientists, Dr. J. Giedd and Dr. B.J. Casey, have found the frontal lobe of the brain, which controls emotions, does not mature until a person reaches their mid-twenties. This, combined with higher activity in the Amygdala, may contribute to the highe...

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...e suffering from schizophrenia. Often time’s, people with schizophrenia are surrounded with such powerfully negative stigmas; they are not able to overcome them to be able to succeed in life. Educating people about this disease so they can better understand people who have it is the most salient aspect of Saks presentation (Saks).

References

Mclean, M. 2011. Anxiety Disorders, Films On Demand. Films Media Group. Retrieved from http://digital.films.com/PortalPlaylists.aspx?aid=4064&xtid=48958

PBS Distribution. 2008. Depression:Out of the Shadows, Films On Demand. Films Media Group. Retrieved from http://digital.films.com/PortalPlaylists.aspx?aid=4064&xtid=41085

Saks, E. 2008. TedTalks: Elyn Saks—a Tale of Mental Illness…from the inside, Films On Demand. Films Media Group. Retrieved from http://digital.films.com/PortalPlaylists. aspx?aid=4064&xtid=53006

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