The Qatari Forum for Authors continued its Ramadan activities by presenting the third episode of the psychological agenda initiative of Dr. Khaled Abdul-Jabbar, through the Microsoft Teams program, where he discussed a topic entitled “Major Depressive Disorder and the Coronavirus Emerging Crisis,” and explained the causes and effects of that type of depression and presented a set of solutions and advice to bypass it.

Dr. Khaled Abdul-Jabbar started the session speaking in general about depression, its forms and types, explaining that depressive disorders according to the new classification, which is the reference for diagnostic criteria in mental disorders, are divided into: confused mood disorder, major depressive disorder (the topic of the episode), continuous depressive disorder, and bad mood disorder Premenstrual, drug-induced depressive disorder, as well as a depressive disorder due to another medical condition, or other specific depressive disorder, and a non-specific depressive disorder.

He explained the differences between all of these types, stressing that not everyone who feels depressed necessarily suffers from depression, noting that there are many criteria and methods of evaluation to reach the correct diagnosis, and he also presented percentages through some video slides, explaining that women are more exposed to depression than men, with a rate of 2 to 1. He also monitored three ages of which the incidence of depression increased: the first from the age of 15 to 19 years, the second from 25 to 29 years, and the third during the forties stage.

Dr. Abdul-Jabbar illustrated the symptoms that exist in a patient with major depressive disorder explaining that they consist of 9 symptoms, that 5 of them must be available in the patient in order for the diagnosis to be made properly, provided that this diagnosis is two weeks after their availability, and that these symptoms are not the result of other diseases or taking medications, and identify these symptoms in the following:  hypersomnia, loss of energy and feeling tired, increased or decreased appetite and weight, feelings of guilt, psychomotor agitation or lethargy, decreased focus, and decreased interest or enjoyment of activities. He also touched upon the cases that may suffer from suicidal thoughts, noting that these cases often suffer from low mood and lack of interest in activities.

Regarding the consequences that may occur as a result of going through that crisis, he stressed that the person suffering from “major depressive disorder” suffers from a defect in social, academic and professional functions, as well as the inability to carry out any activities that he was used to doing in the past, emphasizing that depression does not, at all, mean a feeling of depression and distress, and he identified the causes of depression in: the moral and religious axis and its treatment, strengthening values, the broken family and marital disputes, which needs social initiatives, as well as psychological pressures and needing psychological treatment, and the biological and genetic axis, noting that each of them may have an effect on the other, and stressed that drugs can only be used in the case of the organic axis.

At the end of his speech, Dr. Khaled Abdul-Jabbar presented a piece of advice for psychotherapists regarding cognitive and behavioral therapy methods, stressing the need to identify cognitive skills and behavioral skills and use a schedule of activities during the treatment phase, as well as giving examples that illustrate everything he talked about.