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To every single member of this forum, that includes those of you that made this place happen. I spent hours looking for an online therapist. I didnt feel that I could relate to anyone, or have a chance to let out what is in my heart. Family is around me all the time, but I still felt alone. I came across this forum, and I no longer cried tears that made me feel I was alone, but tears of joy... I finally found a place I feel I can belong. I didnt even need to start my own topics, as many of the members spoke for me. Hopefully I will be able to get better here. Be able to let out what needs to be let out... and help others like myself.Bless you all ... and thank you...
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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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Antidepressants Do Prevent Suicides, Researchers Contend
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MONDAY, June 12 - Countering recent reports that they might boost suicide risk in users, a major new study finds that antidepressants known as selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) have actually saved thousands of lives by preventing suicides since they were introduced in 1988.
The benefits of SSRIs were particularly pronounced among females, said the authors of an independent study appearing in the June issue of the journal PLoS Medicine.
"As the number of prescriptions go up, the number of suicides are going down," said Dr. Julio Licinio, chairman of the department of psychiatry and behavioral sciences at the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine. "I don't see how these drugs could be causing suicide if the rates are actually going down."
Licinio was lead author of the study, which was conducted while he was at the University of California, Los Angeles.
The findings seemed to dovetail with others psychiatric workers' clinical experience.
"I've seen the SSRIs help people tremendously," said Helen Stavros, a clinical social worker in the department of psychiatry at Ochsner Health System in New Orleans. "I've never seen anyone become suicidal as a result of being on antidepressants." Stavros started working at Ochsner in 1987, shortly before the first-ever SSRI, Prozac, was approved.
The past few years have witnessed a prolonged debate about the safety of antidepressant use, especially in children and teens.
In October 2004, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration directed manufacturers of SSRIs to revise their labeling to include a "black box" warning that alerts health-care providers to an increased risk of suicidality in children and teens.
In July 2005, the FDA issued a public health advisory that raised the possibility that the risk of suicidality also applied to adults taking SSRIs, after several studies pointed to that possibility.
Meanwhile, the European Medicines Agency (EMEA) ruled Thursday that children as young as eight can be given Prozac.
The group said that the drug was safe for young people to take, despite concerns that it can trigger suicidal feelings in patients. The ruling added that Prozac should only be given to children with moderate to severe depression who have not responded to several sessions of psychological therapy. It also said the drug should only be given in small doses and must be used alongside counseling.
British health authorities have also declared that all antidepressants except Prozac should not be used by children or adolescents.
Major depressive disorder, for which SSRIs are often diagnosed, afflicts about 10 percent of American men and 20 percent of American women during their lifetimes. At any one point in time, 3 percent of the population has the disorder (10 percent of the elderly).
For this study, the authors analyzed federal data on suicide rates since 1960, along with sales of fluoxetine (Prozac) since it became available in 1988. Analysis was continued through 2002.
"We used Prozac as a benchmark for the class of drugs," Licinio explained.
Between the early 1960s and 1988, suicide rates held relatively steady, fluctuating between 12.2 per 100,000 and 13.7 per 100,000.
Since 1988, however, suicide rates have been on a gradual decline, with the lowest point being 10.4 per 100,000 in 2000. During the same time frame, Prozac prescriptions rose, from 2,469,000 in 1988 to 33,320,000 in 2002.
Using mathematical modeling, the investigators estimated the rates of suicide if the pre-1988 trends had continued.
"On average, we estimated that there would have been an additional 33,600 suicides if the pre-1988 trends had been maintained," Licinio said. "We think that this has had a substantial impact on the number of suicides."
With that in mind, moves to restrict the use of SSRI antidepressants could have a harmful effect, the authors stated.
"I don't think these claims that antidepressants increase suicide have a solid base," Licinio said. "If you have a drug that's supposed to be causing something, the more of the drug that's used, the more of the bad outcome you would have. What we show is the converse."
One troubling trend noted by the authors of the article is that the number of antidepressant prescriptions seem to be declining as a result of the recent controversy. That bothered other experts as well. "I see a lot of people being afraid of taking drugs when they could be really helpful to them," Stavros said.
Licinio is now planning a study to observe the effect of anti-depressants on suicidal thoughts and behaviors, because much of the available data comes from studies whose primary objective was something other than suicidality.
"Nobody, to my knowledge, has done this," he said. "Usually in science, the best idea is to test the point and not treat it as a by-the-way. Suicidality has been assessed as a secondary factor."
According to the authors, Eli Lilly -- the maker of Prozac -- was unaware of and not involved in the study, which was funded by a grant from the U.S. National Institutes of Health and the Dana Foundation. Licinio did, however, accept an offer to consult for Lilly after this research was accepted for publication.
SOURCE:-HealthDay News
For more on depression, head to the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI).
For more on depression, head to the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI).
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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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