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Just wanted to drop a quick note to say thank you to all of those who lent their support. I had a really tough time these past few months and I've been incredibly grateful for all of your wisdom and advice. I am feeling like I'm in a pretty good place right now and it's thanks in part to my family and friends, but this site played a huge role. It was wonderful to have a place where you could just bare your soul without anyone judging you.I will be back, but am taking some time to travel and move back home so will be offline for a while.Take care of yourselves and see you again soon. (-Volleygirl)
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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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Suicide Rate Increases In Hot Weather, UK
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The damp summer may have made us all miserable, but research suggests it is hot weather that poses a far more serious problem for vulnerable people.
A team from London's Institute of Psychiatry found that suicide rates go up during hot weather.
Analysis of more than 50,000 suicides in England and Wales between 1993 and 2003 showed the suicide rate rose when average daily temperatures topped 18C.
The study appears in the British Journal of Psychiatry.
The researchers found that once the daily average temperature rose above 18C each further degree increase was associated with a rise in suicides of almost 4%.
The rate in the rise of violent suicides was even higher, at 5% per degree rise in temperature.
Aggression and irritability
Researcher Dr Lisa Page said there were a number of possible reasons for the link between hot weather and suicide.
She said: "We felt overall that the most likely explanation was probably a psychological one where for some people you have an unusually high degree of irritability, aggression and impulsivity."
She said it was possible that the effect was linked to levels of the mood-controlling chemical serotonin in the brain, which have been shown to dip in the summer months.
Alternatively, the suicide rate may be linked to the tendency to consume higher levels of alcohol in hot weather.
However, she said the finding was unlikely to be down to people being made miserable by seeing others enjoying the good weather, as the effect was specific to unusually hot days, rather than summer days in general.
The researchers found that the suicide rate rose by 46.9% during the 1995 heat wave.
A similar run of hot weather in 2003 appeared to have little impact, possibly because high temperatures came in two distinct spells, giving people a chance to adapt.
During the 11-year period covered by the research, the average temperature in England topped 18C on 222 days.
There were 53,623 suicides - an average of 13.3 per day.
Three-quarters of all suicides were by men and this proportion remained constant over the study period.
The highest daily suicide count was recorded for 1 January.
The largest number of suicides took place on Mondays, with numbers declining as the week wore on.
Source: BBC News
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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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