Ψ HANDANALYSIS COURSE (23/33) - Psychiatry & Handanalysis: depression (1)

- PSYCHIATRY & HANDANALYSIS (11/12) -

handanalysis - handreading - palm-reading - palmistry - chirology

-- BACK -- Handanalysis MINI-COURSE: -- NEXT

INDEX:- 1- 2- 3- 4- 5- 6- 7- 8- 9- 10- 11- 12- 13- 14- 15- 16- 17- 18- 19- 20- 21- 22- 23- 24- 25- 26- 27- 28- 29- 30- 31- 32- 33

- Psychiatry & Handdiagnostics (11/12) -

What is 'DEPRESSION'?

- In daily language the word 'depression' is usually used to express certain feelings or symptoms. These feelings or symptoms can be the result of a certain state of mind, a response to a situation, or the characteristic behavior of a subject.

- In the DSM IV system of classification (used by the American Psychiatric Association) the phenomenon 'depression' is classified within the family of psychoses: see table C-9¹. These psychiatric disorders are always featured with abnormalities in the state of mind or the emotional response, not caused by other physical- or mental disorders. Genetics play a part in the onset of the feelings or symptoms frequently.

- Table C-9: types of mood disorders

- Depressive disorders:

- - Depression (type 1):
- Depressive episode + lack of joy during activities.
- - Dysthemia:
Long lasting episode of depression.

- Bipolair disorders:

- - Bipolair disorder:
- Manic episode + depressive episode.
- - Cyclothymia:
- Several hypo-manic episodes + depressive episodes.
- - Bipolar II:
- At least 1 hypo-manic episode and 1 depression episode, without a manic episode.

- Only a few research programs focussed on studying the relationship between hand features and depression. The following will present an overview of the most important insights which have been acquired from these scientific studies.

- LEVEL 1: the dermatoglyphics and depression.

- A few years ago three research programs were executed on studying the relationship between dermatoglyphics and the bipolar disorder. In a study presented by Gutiérrez² the hands of the patients were frequently featured with: broken skin ridges or an 'unusual' dermatoglyphic pattern.
Figure C-9 presents two examples of these 'unusual' dermatoglyphic patterns.
------- Figure C-9: Unusual dermatoglyphic patterns.

- Sources:

- 1 - Sarason, I.G. & Sarason, B.R. Abnormal psychology: The problem of maladaptive behavior. Pretence Hall, Englewood Cliffs, New Yersey, 1993.
- 2 - Gutierrez, B. et al. (1998). Congenital dermatoglyphic malformations in severe bipolar disorder. Psychiatric Research, 78: p.133-140.