Depression

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About Depression

If you have suffered from depression, then you know how debilitating it can be. Just like diabetes or hypertension, depression is a real medical illness. It is not something that you can "just get over." I have suffered from depression all of my life and know how much someone can struggle from it.

I have recently created a blog about depression, called Depression Hurts. Feel free to visit my blog frequently. I will be updating it frequently with new information about depression, treatments, articles, etc.

http://about-depression.blogspot.com/

Depression 

What is depression?

There is a tendency to use the word depression to describe periods or episodes of sadness that each of us experience from time to time. And for many of us, during these periods it is not always easy to discern where normal sorrow ends and clinical depression begins. Yet, anyone who has ever experienced an episode of major depression knows - at least after the depression has lifted - that what they feel is more than just ongoing or persistent sadness.

Clinical depression is an illness characterized by a cluster of feelings, thoughts and behaviors that are remarkably distinct from a person's normal range of feelings and functioning. Caused by a complex interaction of biologic, psychological and social factors, a major depressive disorder can make a person extremely sensitive to life circumstances, the least of which can throw him/her into total loss of hope.

During a major depression, someone can become surrounded by feelings of sadness, hopelessness, helplessness, and emptiness, and these feelings can distort every thought and experience, making life seem hopeless and unworthy. Feelings of being deeply and continually deprived, unworthy, insignificant, and guilt-ridden build on feelings of sadness. At the same time, a person may feel chronically irritable, often exploding into anger and frustration.

While a major depression may be triggered by some life event or circumstance, a person's mood reaction may seem greatly exaggerated. However, depression has less to do with life's events than with an individual's existing vulnerability to the condition.

In some cases, someone may experience a major depression as a single episode, but in most cases, clinical depression tends to recur periodically, reactively or cyclically. A major depressive episode could possibly last up to 2 or more years.

When someone experiences milder depressive episodes, this is called dysthymia. For someone suffering from dysthymia, certain life circumstances, such as loss of a job, divorce, or relocating to a new environment, may provoke a much deeper depression.

Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD) 

For some individuals, there is a seasonal component to their depression called Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD). This is a form of reactive depression that is more prevalent in northern parts of the country where climatic extreme changes are greater. SAD usually affects people in the fall or winter and is characterized by fatigue, carbohydrate cravings, overeating, lack of energy or motivation to do activities normally enjoyed, and oversleeping. While the exact etiology or cause of SAD is not certain, it is possible that it may be related to the way in which the light responsive pineal gland in the brain functions.

Defining Depression 

The difficulty with many mental disorders, it is hard to tell when you need more than just a positive attitude to manage your feelings. Depression is a common problem that many people simply think they need to live with, something they need to 'tough out' in order to come out better for it. But this is not necessarily the best treatment plan for this mental illness. Here's what you should know.

What's difficult about dealing with depression is that it can manifest itself in a number of different ways. For some people, depression is merely a short bout of sadness that resolves on its own. But for others, it's a long running presence that makes them feel ineffective, as well as hopeless. Some of the more common symptoms of depression include:

Feeling sad

Feeling hopeless

Becoming irritated for no reason

Anger and frustration

Loss of interest in favorite activities

Change in eating habits

Change in sleeping habits

Thoughts about suicide

Diagnosing depression is tricky because it requires that you have these symptoms for extended periods of time - normally for at least two weeks continuously. And while some people can easily identify their down times, others might not recognize symptoms like anger as being consistent with depression.

When to Seek Treatment for Depression 

If you are in a major bout of depression, you may feel like you are beyond help. However, depression can be treated and managed. If your state of gloom persists more than two weeks, you feel that you cannot get out of bed, you are increasingly isolated from family and friends, and you have lost any sense of enjoyment or interest in your usual activities, call your doctor right away. Also, if you find yourself ruminating about death and the meaninglessness of life and you are considering suicide, SEEK HELP IMMEDIATELY.

Treatment of Depression 

Mild depression can be treated effective through psychotherapy. Even short-term therapy can help you understand your natural inclination towards more negative and low moods. Also, you can learn to cope better with life's disappointments and triumphs. When depression is triggered by a seasonal change, light therapy, which extends exposure to bright light for measurable periods of time, may work to relieve symptoms.

In cases of more severe depression, medication will provide the main avenue for treatment. At the same time, psychotherapy is usually an important complement to medication. By restoring chemical balances within the brain, psychotropic medications will help lift the "veil of sorrow." The most commonly used anti-depressant medications are SSRIs (selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors), which include fluoxetine, sertraline, paroxetine and fluvoxamine, and TCAs (tricyclic anti-depressants), which include imipramine, nortriptyline, amitriptyline, and desipramine. Although general practitioners can usually prescribe these types of medications, it is usually best to consult with a psychiatrist or psychopharmacologist, who is specially trained to evaluate and monitor the need for and use of anti-depressant medicines.

During a severe episode of depression, there may be severe paranoid persecutory delusions or even hallucinations. There may even be suicidal behavior. When these occur, hospitalization, antipsychotic medication or electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) may be necessary. After the acute phase has subsided, psychopharmacologic treatment should be continued to decrease the likelihood of relapse or future recurrence.

Unlike medications for physical illness, psychotropic medicines do not work to cure the depressive illness; rather, they work to relieve acute episodes and prevent recurrences. For many people, medications work most effective in conjunction with psychotherapy. Insight-oriented therapy can allow you to consider how such contributing factors as early experiences of loss and cumulative negative life circumstances and disappointments have colored your disposition. Cognitive techniques can also provide significant relief insofar as they address the negative and distorted thinking that typically characterizes depression.

Treatment cont. 

For lots of different reasons, treatment with anti-depressants takes time to work. Because every person and his depression differ, finding the most effective medication is often a process of trial and error. While the process may be frustrating, you and your doctor will eventually find the right treatment.

Prognosis for Depression 

Prognosis is good. Recent progress in the development of new medicines that act directly on specific parts of the brain make the treatment of depression even more positive. SAD responds well to light therapy.

In some instances, one course of treatment is sufficient to manage or remedy major depressive illness. However, for many others, depression is a chronic lifelong condition that requires continued or episodic intervention. Ever after a successful round of treatment, it is important that you remain sensitive to stresses that are likely to trigger a depression. If you are able to recognize early signs, you will be able to contact your physician or clinician before you find yourself deep into another depressive episode. Learning to manage depression through therapy, medications and lifestyle will lessen the likelihood that it will take over your life.

My Depression Blog 

Please visit my depression blog as I will be updating it frequently with new information on treatments, articles, book recommendations, etc.

http://about-depression.blogspot.com/

Interesting E-books for depression 

I have found a couple of very interesting e-books that discuss depression and ways to get relief.

This first e-book is actually written by a retired clinical counselor and discusses ways to deal with depression.

Stop Your Depression Now

This e-book discusses ways to get rid of anxiety, stress and depression via natural means. A lot of people are against using antidepressants or other medications for their disorders and would prefer to try natural methods to get relief.

Conquer Stress, Depression and Anxiety Naturally in Just 90 Days

Light Therapy for Depression 

Light therapy is a standard treatment for seasonal affective disorder.

In the dark days of fall and winter, you may turn your face to the afternoon sun, seeking out what little light filters through fading gray skies. You may throw open the blinds, leave lights on throughout your home or even head south for a vacation - anything for a little more light. Or you may even be unable to crawl out of bed in the morning.

For people with a type of depression called seasonal affective disorder (SAD), this need for light takes on greater significance. Treatment with light therapy may offer a chance to regain the happier mood and brighter outlook that you lose to seasonal affective disorder.

Apollo Health GoLite P1 Blue Spectrum Light Therapy Device

NatureBright SunTouch Plus Light and Ion Therapy Lamp

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Lensmaster

Diana_Ketchen wrote...

I too have suffered from depression and have conquered it through natural remedies. Your content is very informative and re-enforces the content I have on my Natural Health and Herbal Remedies website

ReplyPosted December 04, 2007

Lensmaster

Muna wa Wanjiru wrote

My mother was severely depressed all the years we were growing up. I carried on the tradition, feeling chronically, clinically depressed and seeking a cure for my depression for over twenty-five years. I was, oddly enough, one of the ?lucky? ones: my depression was partner to an equally common disorder called Attention Deficit Disorder. So though I was at first treated only for the cure for depression alone, with Prozac, which saved me from offing myself but added a hundred pounds to my already hefty frame, I was eventually (in my early forties) treated for ADD with medication that took away the depression for the most part. Some days I can hear it coming, can feel in my gut the angst churning and brewing, but can embrace it for what it is, climb in bed with books and toys and whatever other comfort items I choose, and ride that bitch of a malady out. For it does pass. And as to a ?cure? for depression, I still say really good drugs help.

Muna wa Wanjiru has been researching and reporting on Internet Marketing for years. If You Have Any Comments Or Views That You Would Wish To Share With Our Readers on Cure for Depression, Post Them On His Blog HERE

Reply Posted November 23, 2007

Lensmaster

http://merpetsales.com/?p=120 wrote

You'd think Aristotle and Sophocles bandied the question about, it has been such a plaguing question, one that has been asked for decades, for centuries, even: what is the cure for depression? A consideration of the symptoms, the causes, and the studies to find that all elusive cure for depression might at least set your mind at ease enough to realize you are not alone. A couple of examples might help to realize the search for a cure for depression is an insidious struggle, a desperate measure, a do-or-die imperative shared by millions.

Reply Posted November 23, 2007

Lensmaster

wrote

excellent lens, keep up the hard work.
Anti Depression Medication

Reply Posted October 19, 2007

Lensmaster

isaachun wrote...

Dear Michelledo,

Very informative lens. Why mot put some pictures in tho make it more attractive.
Rated it 5* for good contents anyway.

Isaac

ReplyPosted September 20, 2007

 
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