Depression in the light of the Transactional Analysis theory – social media Big Data analysis

Abstract

The analysis of epidemiological studies shows an increase in the number of people suffering from depression. One should also take into account those on the brink of depression and those who, for various reasons, will never be diagnosed but are ill. Depression has a detrimental effect on patients’ quality of life and poses a threat to one’s health. Additionally, it is a serious social issue that is linked with psychological consequences for a given patient’s environment and growing costs of depression treatment. The description of depression is complex and regards psycho-social factors. There are many models of depression and ways of dealing with it. The growth of knowledge about depression might contribute to early diagnosing and, in particular situations, it might prevent the illness. The model of depression presented in the theory of transactional analysis is useful in describing and understanding issues concerning depression. The specific language of transactional analysis is useful in the educational process, it also allows for analysing the phenomenon by identifying particular behaviour and utterances. This language can be used for the analysis of social media which have been reflecting real-life problems for some time.