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Depression & Mental Health FAQs
US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) estimated 40 million Americans living today will suffer from major depressive illness during their lives. Seasonal affective disorder is major depression that appears in the fall or winter and goes away in spring, thought to be caused by lack of sunlight.
Postpartum depression occurs within four weeks of a women giving childbirth. Most new mothers suffer from some form of the �baby blues.� Postpartum depression, by contrast, is major depression, thought to be triggered by changes in hormonal flows associated with childbirth. Catatonic depression is a rare form of major depression characterized by (at least two): Stupor, excessive motor activity, extreme negativism, peculiarities in voluntary movement, and repetition of other people's words or actions. - mcmanweb.com
Psychotic depression is a rare form of depression characterized by delusions or hallucinations, such as believing you are someone you are not and hearing voices.
According to the National Institute of Mental Health, approximately 18.8 million American adults, or about 9.5 percent of the US population age 18 and older in a given year, have a depressive disorder. Depression is a chronic illness that exacts a significant toll on
America's health and productivity. It affects more than 21 million
American children and adults annually and is the leading cause of
disability in the United States for individuals ages 15 to 44.
Lost productive time among U.S. workers due to depression is estimated
to be in excess of $31 billion per year. Depression frequently
co-occurs with a variety of medical illnesses such as heart disease,
cancer, and chronic pain and is associated with poorer health status
and prognosis. It is also the principal cause of the 30,000 suicides
in the U.S. each year. In 2004, suicide was the 11 th leading cause of death in the United States, third among individuals 15-24.
According to the World Health Organization, depression is presently on track to becoming the world's second-most disabling disease (after heart disease) by the year 2020. Depression is responsible for some $87 billion a year in lost productivity in the US (a conservative estimate), and according to Bank One, is responsible for most lost work days in its employees after pregnancy and childbirth. Additionally, one million people worldwide die by their own hand, most as a result of a mood disorder. Finally, the linkage between depression and a host of physical illnesses makes it arguably the world's greatest killer.
Research presented at the 56th Annual Conference of the Canadian
Psychiatric Association shows a marked link between bipolar disorder
and migraines. The odds of migraine in persons with bipolar disorder were 40% higher than the general population. Data
obtained from 36,984 people aged 15 and over, who screened positive for
manic or depressive episodes with migraine, were compared against those
who screened positive for mania but who didn�t suffer from migraines. Amongst
males, 14.9% of those with manic episodes were also diagnosed with
migraines compared with 5.8% of the general population. Amongst
females, 34.7% had both migraines and bipolar disorder compared with
14.7% who only had migraines.unquote.gif While the research was
skewed towards persons who were already diagnosed with bipolar
disorders, what does it mean for people who suffer from migraines but
who may have an undiagnosed bipolar disorder?
Migraines and headaches aren�t fully understood but the manifestations are very real and debilitating for their sufferers: Throbbing pain Nausea Heightened sensitivity to light or sound Seeing dots, wavy lines, flashing lights, or blind spots Difficulty with speech, sensation, or movement
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Research into suppressed memories could help treatment for depression
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Fri Jul 13, 5:32 AM ET
US researchers have identified the parts of the brain that are involved with suppressing unpleasant memories, a finding that could have implications for treating depression or post traumatic stress disorder, according to a study released Thursday.
The concept of memory suppression has been a controversial one among psychologists for a century, but in this study neuroscientists used brain scans to show that volunteers who have been asked to banish disturbing memories show very specific patterns of brain activity.
The scans showed that two specific regions of the prefrontal cortex -- what neuroscientists call the seat of cognitive control -- appear to work in tandem to modulate posterior brain regions like the visual cortex, the hippocampus and amygdala. These areas are involved in tasks such as visual recall, memory encoding and retrieval and emotional expression.
"These results indicate memory suppression does occur, and, at least in nonpsychiatric populations, is under the control of the prefrontal cortex," the investigators reported in the journal Science.
For the purpose of the experiment, the 16 volunteers were given 40 pairs of photographs to study. In each case, an image of a neutral human face was paired with an emotionally disturbing image such as a car crash, a wounded soldier, an electric chair or a violent crime scene.
After memorizing each pair, the volunteers were placed in an MRI (magnetic resonance imaging) scanner. Once inside the machine, they were shown only the neutral face images and instructed to either actively recall the associated image or to actively suppress it.
The results of the scans or fMRIs (functional magnetic resonance imaging) indicated that the volunteers were able to "exert some control over their emotional memories," said Brendan Depue, a doctoral student in neuroscience at the University of Colorado at Boulder, and lead author of the study.
"By essentially shutting down specific portions of the brain, they were able to stop the retrieval process of particular memories," Depue said.
The authors of the paper said they hope that their work will promote further research into better therapies and possibly even drug treatments for people suffering from conditions such as PTSD, phobias, and obsessive-compulsive syndrome. The symptoms of these disorders include flashbacks to disturbing events, and intrusive or obsessive thoughts.
"The first step is to understand how memory suppression works in healthy individuals, and what neural mechanisms are at work," said Depue. "Then you need to look at those same mechanisms in a clinical population and figure out why they aren't functioning properly."
Source: Yahoo News
Copyright © 2007 Agence France Presse.
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Depression & Mental Health FAQs 2
What is Clinical Depression? Clinical
depression can affect your body, mood, thoughts, and behavior. It can
change your eating habits, how you feel and think about things, your
ability to work and study, and how you interact with people. Clinical
depression is not a passing mood, a sign of personal weakness or a
condition that can be willed away. Clinically depressed people cannot
"pull themselves together" and get better. Depression can be
successfully treated by a mental health professional or certain health
care providers. With the right treatment, 80 percent of those who seek
help get better. And many people begin to feel better in just a few
weeks.
Depression a Big Factor in Poor Health World Health Organization Finds Depression Often Goes Untreated By Salynn Boyles WebMD Medical News Reviewed by Louise Chang, MD Sept.
6, 2007 -- Depression has a greater impact on overall health than
arthritis, diabetes, angina, and asthma, but it all too often goes
unrecognized and untreated, a report from the World Health Organization
(WHO) suggests. more... Depression a Big Factor in Poor Health
For Additional Information About Depression Write To: The National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH)6001 Executive Boulevard, Room 8184, MSC 9663 Bethesda, MD 20892-9663
For free brochures on depression and its treatment call: 1-800-421-4211. or visit: http://www.nimh.nih.gov
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