Psychology Essay: Depression

Depression

            Depression is a serious mental health disorder that affects how one feels, thinks, and acts. The effects of depression can last for a long time or be repetitive and affect the ability of someone to function. In 2020, the world was struck by the COVID-19 virus which affected almost all sectors of the economy and aspects of life for many people. The Covid pandemic has had a big impact on mental health and caused an increase in depression, as stated in these two articles.

Description and Summary of Both Articles

            A peer-reviewed journal article from Globalization and Health analyzed the existing research works and findings on the prevalence of stress, anxiety, and depression in the general population during the COVID-19 pandemic (Salari et al., 2020). The journal article followed the appropriate methods of secondary data analysis for examining 17 related research works using cross-sectional articles. According to their analysis, the prevalence of stress, anxiety, and depression as a result of the pandemic in the general population is 29.6%, 31.9%, and 33.7%, respectively (Salari et al., 2020). The journal also discussed the conditions and people who were at risk of developing depression due to the pandemic, such as people with a high level of education, women, populations with poor health conditions, and people who followed COVID-19 news the most and suggested possible interventions that can be taken by the Governments and health officials in managing the situation (Salari et al., 2020).

            A news article from the World Health Organization also addressed how COVID-19 triggered a 25% increase in the prevalence of anxiety and depression worldwide (WHO, 2022). The article is a wake-up call to all countries to step up mental health services and support. The article addressed the unprecedented stress caused by the social isolation that resulted from the pandemic as a major cause of the increase in depression cases (WHO, 2022). It also states that the pandemic has greatly affected young people and women and that people with pre-existing health conditions are likely to develop mental health disorders. It also addressed major gaps in developing and deploying digital interventions in resource-limited countries (WHO, 2022). Finally, the article featured the efforts of WHO and partners in developing resources to help different groups cope with and respond to the mental health impacts of COVID-19 and its step-up investment.

Comparison and Contrast of Key Points, Style, and Purpose of the Research Article with that of the News Article

            Both articles discussed the high risk of depression in women as compared to men. Even though the journal mentioned that people with a high level of education, populations with poor health conditions, and people who follow Covid-19 News were also at risk of developing depression due to the pandemic (Salari et al., 2020). The journal included interventions that can be taken by Governments and health officials in managing the condition while the news article discussed interventions that the WHO and its partners have developed to manage the situation. The journal majorly focused on reports about the prevalence of depression, anxiety, and stress among the general population, while the news article only mentioned the percentage of people who have developed depression due to the pandemic.

            The journal used a systematic review and meta-analysis of articles searched in the Science Direct, Embase, Scopus, PubMed, Web of Science (ISI), and Google Scholar databases without a lower time limit until May 2020 (Salari et al., 2020). The journal was divided into sections that included an abstract, background, method, results, discussion, conclusion, and references. The news article used no particular style but was divided into paragraphs with sub-topics. The purpose of the journal was to analyze the existing research works and findings concerning the prevalence of stress, anxiety, and depression in the general population during the COVID-19 pandemic while the news article was a wake-up call to all countries to step up mental health services and support.

Which Source is More Objective and Less Biased?

            The news article is more objective and less biased because it has more than one viewpoint, which is detailed. It discussed the increase in the global prevalence of anxiety and depression in the first year; it also addressed the factors that led to the increase in depression, the huge gaps in mental health care as well as the steps of WHO and its partner to help manage the problem and its set up investment (WHO, 2022). This article was not biased, and it discussed various viewpoints similar to the news article from News Medical about how one’s diet affects depression since it discussed various viewpoints about diets and mental health (Ryding, 2020). It discussed the relationship between mental health and food as well as reasons why diet was an important factor (Ryding, 2020).

            The journal article was objective and not biased. It majorly focused on the systematic review and meta-analysis of the prevalence of stress, anxiety, and depression among the general population during the COVID-19 pandemic (Salari et al., 2020). It also discussed the people who were at a high risk of depression and the interventions that could be put in place to help reduce depression (Salari et al., 2020). An example of a biased peer-reviewed journal is the journal article from The Lancet, which purely focused on a systematic review of data reporting the global prevalence and burden of depressive and anxiety disorders in 204 countries due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and it did not discuss any other viewpoints (The Lancet, 2021).

            In conclusion, The Covid pandemic has had a big impact on mental health and caused an increase in depression, as stated in these two articles. A peer-reviewed journal article from Globalization and Health analyzed the existing research works and findings of the prevalence of stress, anxiety, and depression in the general population during the COVID-19 pandemic. A news article from the World Health Organization also addressed how COVID-19 triggered a 25% increase in the prevalence of anxiety and depression worldwide.

References

The Lancet (2021). Global prevalence and burden of depressive and anxiety disorders in 204 countries and territories in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Lancet Journal Vol.398. Issue 10312. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/S0140-6736(21)02143-7

Ryding, Sara. (2020). How Does Your Diet Affect Depression? News-Medical. Retrieved on March 17, 2022, from https://www.news-medical.net/health/How-Does-Your-Diet-Affect-Depression.aspx.

Salari, N., Hosseinian-Far, A., Jalali, R. et al. Prevalence of stress, anxiety, depression among the general population during the COVID-19 pandemic: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Global Health 16, 57 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1186/s12992-020-00589-w

World Health Organization (2022). The COVID-19 pandemic triggers a 25% increase in the prevalence of anxiety and depression worldwide. https://www.who.int/news/item/02-03-2022-covid-19-pandemic-triggers-25-increase-in-prevalence-of-anxiety-and-depression-worldwide