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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
An estimated 2.1 million
American adolescents have experienced major depression within the last
year, according to a new comprehensive government study. Researchers
surveyed more than 67,000 young people ages 12 to 17 and found that one
in 12 had suffered from serious depression in the previous year.Nearly
13 percent of girls had struggled with depression, compared to less
than 5 percent of boys. Odds of depression increased with age -- just 4
percent of 12-year-olds experienced depression but that climbed to 11
percent for older teens.
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Helping Parents Make Sense of ADHD Diagnosis and Treatment
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From Journal of Pediatric Health Care
Helping Parents Make Sense of ADHD Diagnosis and Treatment
Posted 05/16/2003
Mary Margaret Gottesman, PhD, RN, CPNP
Who Gets ADHD?
ADD/ADHD is the most common psychiatric condition diagnosed in children, affecting about 5-10% of all children, or approximately 1.5 million children (Barkley, 1998). It is more frequent in boys (9.2%) than girls (2.9%) (Baren, 2002). Many people are unaware that it affects adults as well, as many as 6 million (Ingram, 1999). Attention deficit with hyperactivity and impulsiveness affects boys more often than girls, but girls are more likely to have the attention deficit disorder without hyperactivity variant (Gaub & Carlson, 1997). Hence, many girls are not diagnosed until middle school or later when learning tasks become more complex.
What Causes ADHD?
No one gene or structural abnormality of the brain accounts for the diversity of the ADHD spectrum (Castellanos, 1997). Rather it is believed to result from the complex interaction of genetic, biological, and environmental risk factors (Conners, 2003).
About 25% of children with ADHD have a first degree relative with ADHD (Hunt, Paguin, & Payton, 2001). Other genetic risks include the presence of parental mood and conduct disorders, learning disabilities, and antisocial behavior. Parental substance abuse and smoking may also be markers for risk since many adults attempt to improve their sense of well-being via the effects of alcohol, nicotine, and drugs (Beiderman, et al, 1997).
Biological risks also increase the likelihood of ADHD. Among the known associations are maternal smoking and alcohol use during pregnancy, especially during the first trimester (Biederman, et al., 1998). Preterm labor, impaired placental functioning with resultant impairments in fetal nutrition and growth, as well as impaired oxygenation leading to fetal distress and low birth weight, infections of the central nervous system, seizures, and serious head injury are also associated with a higher incidence of ADHD (Saigal, 2000). Preterm infants, especially those with intraventricular hemorrhages, are at greater risk, as well (Seubert, Stelzer, Wolfe, & Treadwell, 1999).
Exposure to heavy metal toxins such as lead and mercury, as well as exposure to carbon monoxide fumes, are known environmental risks for behavior disorders (Conners, 2003). Poor childhood diet, family stress, and living in poverty further increase the risk (Jakovitz & Sroufe, 1987). Newborn illness and stress from the care environment of the NICU also increase vulnerability to the disorder (Gunnar & Barr, 1998). In addition, children with the extremes of easy and difficult temperament appear to be at greater risk for ADHD and a variety of mood disorders (Conners, 2003).
While ADHD is the result of the complex interaction of a variety of risk factors, each individual's outcome is difficult to predict because of the ability of protective factors to modify the negative effects of risk (Conners, 2003). Certainly, access to high quality health care, adequate family resources to access care, and parent investment in the child all ameliorate the negative impact of ADHD.
What Exactly is the Problem in ADHD?
Researchers characterize ADHD as a developmentally sensitive disorder characterized by a delay in maturation of the brain's ability to achieve mastery of self-regulation (Hunt, et al., 2001). The three hallmark impairments of ADHD are inattentiveness/distractibility, hyperactivity, and impulsivity (American Psychiatric Association, 1994). Individual children vary in the degree to which each impairment presents.
The behaviors peers and adults perceive as troublesome are the result of actual physiologic differences in brain functions related to learning, particularly in regard to filtering stimuli and selecting relevant information to which to attend, shifting and sustaining attention, as well as linking new and old information, known as working memory (Castellanos, 1997). Not only do children with ADHD have difficulty inhibiting attending to any and every stimulus and controlling inappropriate motor behavior, they also have difficulty modulating their feelings (Hunt, et al., 2001). Hence, they are also vulnerable to mood disorders as well as the social and academic problems of ADHD (Pliszka, 1998). At the heart of the problematic behaviors are deficits in the quantity and function of neurotransmitters, substances produced in the final stage of neuronal development and differentiation (Gualtieri, 1991).
Neurotransmitters and the receptors with which they interact serve both to actively transmit information as well as to selectively repress transmission of information and motor behaviors that would hinder attention and learning (Castellanos, 1997). Children with ADHD appear to lack adequate norepinephrine with which to initiate arousal and to exhaust their dopamine supplies, which help to sustain attention and filter irrelevant stimuli for the current mental task (Hunt, et al., 2001).
Do Children Outgrow ADHD?
Researchers find that the behaviors associated with ADHD do change as the child grows older (Biederman, 1998). For example, dopamine levels that help drive the need for exploration peaks at two years of age in normal children, which is developmentally helpful since very young children lay a strong foundation for learning through active exploration (Castellanos, 1997). Dopamine levels decline thereafter, allowing the child to begin the equally important tasks of learning to attend for longer periods of time and to fit into social expectations by bringing their behavior under voluntary and inhibitory control (Biederman, 1998).
A similar process also occurs for children with ADHD, but with a two-year or more delay. Thus, hyperactivity decreases in as many as 50% of children with ADHD as they grow older. However, there is no developmental improvement in attention deficit noted for either boys or girls (Baren, 2002). About 80% of children continue to exhibit symptoms in adolescence, and 85% or more have functional impairments as adults (Barkley, Fisher, Edelrock, & Smallish, 1990).
Source:
Medcscape
Source:
Medcscape
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Depression Forums would like to hear from you!
Depression Forums would like to hear from you!
Mental illness affects one in seventeen Americans.
We
would like to invite you to share your story about
your Depression, as breaking the silence will help us to break open the
stigma surrounding mental health that keeps people from getting the
care that continues misunderstandings about those affected by mental
health disorders.
Stories with a positive outlook are most welcome.
There is nothing better than to speak out, tell your story and get the word out!
There is hope!
Together, we can help ourselves and others.
Please PM Forum Admin for more information to submit your story.
Warm Regards,
~Lindsay and The Depression Forums Administration Staff
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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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