Descriptive Psychopathology: The Signs and Symptoms of ...

Appendix 5.1Questions for past illnessMelancholic depression“Was there ever a period in your life when you felt emotionally terrible ...overwhelmed,worried all the about the littlest of things and gloomy or crying all the time?”“Has there ever been a time in your life when for days or weeks you felt constantlyapprehensive and down in the dumps? . . . Were you feeling that way every day, all of thetime? . . . Was there any relief for you, anything that could make you forget your worriesand cheer up?”“Did this depression affect your general health . . . sleep . . . appetite . . . interest in sex(for women, menstrual cycle)?”“What sleep problems did you have . . . falling asleep/staying asleep? When you awakenedwas your heart beating fast . . . were you sweating? . . . Did you ever get a restful sleep?”“Did you lose your appetite and lose weight? Can you recall if you were constipated? Did youfeel like you were slowed down? Were there times when you could hardly move? Were you ableto concentrate? Were you able to get your work done OK?”“When people feel the way you describe yourself, it changes the way everything looks andfeels. Did this happen to you? Did you hear things that frightened you . . . household noise,or sounds in the street? Did you hear people whispering or talking about you in a frighteningway? Did you have ideas that somehow people were talking about you behind your back orplotting to harm you in some way?”“Did things get so bad that you just wanted it all to stop, even hoping you’d go to sleep andnever wake up?” Did you think about harming, killing yourself? Did you have a plan? Did youtry to kill yourself?” (If so, details are obtained.)Questions about the “psychological” features of depression are less defining ofsevere illness, 1 but are still asked”“When you were depressed, did you overly blame yourself for things that others thought wereminor or not your fault at all?”“Did you think many of your difficulties were due to other people not understanding youor them acting badly?”122