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on: Friday, 08 August 2008 13:13
on: Friday, 08 August 2008 12:57
on: Friday, 08 August 2008 12:43
on: Friday, 08 August 2008 11:39
on: Friday, 08 August 2008 11:11
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QUOTE (benacre @ Jun 19 2008, 10:35 PM) *
Just to say you are not alone. I joined this forum because I needed the support cos my family would not give it. You have been brave enough to tell us your feelings so we will help you get through this. I love this forum cos the support is always here.I hope things improve for you.
Ben
(benacre)
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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.
Our DF Members
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Stress is as much a part of American culture as a cheeseburger and fries ... and it can be just as risky to your health.
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At the least, stress is a nuisance and just plain doesn't feel good. It can manifest in a number of different ways. You may:
# Feel distracted or anxious
# Worry excessively
# Feel nervous
# Be tired or irritable
# Gain weight
That's right—just being stressed out can cause you to gain weight, according to the Study of Women's Health Across the Nation. "Under stress, people conserve more fat, and we think that may be what's going on here," says psychologist and study co-author Tené Lewis of Rush University Medical Centre in Chicago.
The study involved more than 2,000 women from their 40s through menopause, and the researchers asked them about unhappy events in their life over the past year. The results? Even after taking into account other factors that could affect weight gain (exercise habits, diet, smoking, etc.) it was found that the more bad things the women reported, the more weight they gained.
In other words, the greater the stress, the greater the women's weight. As if that weren't enough to contend with, stress—especially the chronic kind that lasts for weeks or months at a time—is a leading contributor to disease, presenting more serious symptoms like:
# Depression
# Increased risk of heart disease
# Headaches
# Nausea and vomiting
# Diarrhoea
# Change in appetite
# Digestive problems
# Chest pain or pressure
# Heart racing
# Excessive fatigue
# Restlessness
# Dizziness
# Hyperventilation
Chronic stress wears down the immune system
If stress reaches beyond a manageable point, and you begin to feel that it's unending, out of your control or causing a change in your very identity, you are likely suffering from chronic stress. According to a study published in the July 2004 issue of the American Psychological Association's Psychological Bulletin, chronic stress is likely the worst kind of stress.
In the study, researchers confirmed that stress does in fact affect the immune system. Further, while short-term stress, like the kind that occurs when you're stuck in traffic, "revs up" the immune system to prepare your body for injury or a fight, chronic stress, like that from ongoing relationship problems, puts too much pressure on the immune system and causes it to break down. People who are already sick, and the elderly, are more vulnerable to stress-related changes in the immune system.
So, if your stress in ongoing, your immune system will not function at its optimal level, leaving you vulnerable to a host of diseases.
At the least, stress is a nuisance and just plain doesn't feel good. It can manifest in a number of different ways. You may:
# Feel distracted or anxious
# Worry excessively
# Feel nervous
# Be tired or irritable
# Gain weight
That's right—just being stressed out can cause you to gain weight, according to the Study of Women's Health Across the Nation. "Under stress, people conserve more fat, and we think that may be what's going on here," says psychologist and study co-author Tené Lewis of Rush University Medical Centre in Chicago.
The study involved more than 2,000 women from their 40s through menopause, and the researchers asked them about unhappy events in their life over the past year. The results? Even after taking into account other factors that could affect weight gain (exercise habits, diet, smoking, etc.) it was found that the more bad things the women reported, the more weight they gained.
In other words, the greater the stress, the greater the women's weight. As if that weren't enough to contend with, stress—especially the chronic kind that lasts for weeks or months at a time—is a leading contributor to disease, presenting more serious symptoms like:
# Depression
# Increased risk of heart disease
# Headaches
# Nausea and vomiting
# Diarrhoea
# Change in appetite
# Digestive problems
# Chest pain or pressure
# Heart racing
# Excessive fatigue
# Restlessness
# Dizziness
# Hyperventilation
Chronic stress wears down the immune system
If stress reaches beyond a manageable point, and you begin to feel that it's unending, out of your control or causing a change in your very identity, you are likely suffering from chronic stress. According to a study published in the July 2004 issue of the American Psychological Association's Psychological Bulletin, chronic stress is likely the worst kind of stress.
In the study, researchers confirmed that stress does in fact affect the immune system. Further, while short-term stress, like the kind that occurs when you're stuck in traffic, "revs up" the immune system to prepare your body for injury or a fight, chronic stress, like that from ongoing relationship problems, puts too much pressure on the immune system and causes it to break down. People who are already sick, and the elderly, are more vulnerable to stress-related changes in the immune system.
So, if your stress in ongoing, your immune system will not function at its optimal level, leaving you vulnerable to a host of diseases.
Reducing the effects of stress
Stress develops when the demands in your life exceed your ability to cope with them. It follows, then, that you can manage stress by:
* Changing your environment so that the demands aren't so high
* Learning how to better cope with the demands in your environment
* Doing both
Here are some helpful techniques:
* Look after your body. To handle stress, your body requires a healthy diet and adequate rest. Exercise also helps, by distracting you from stressful events and releasing your nervous energy.
* Learn to relax. It's the polar opposite of the stress response. Deep-breathing exercises may put you in a relaxed state. Follow these steps:
1. Inhale through your nose to a count of 10. As you inhale, your upper abdomen should rise — not your chest.
2. Exhale slowly and completely, to a count of 10.
3. Repeat five to 10 times. Try to do this several times every day, even when you're not feeling stressed.
If you have persistent trouble relaxing, consider taking up meditation or studying yoga or tai chi, Eastern disciplines said to focus your mind, calm your anxieties and release your physical tension. Therapeutic massage may also loosen taut muscles and calm frazzled nerves.
* Shift your outlook. In many cases, simply choosing to look at situations in a more positive way can reduce the amount of stress in your life. Step back from the conflict or worry that's put you in knots and ask what part of it is troubling you most. Are you afraid of losing face? If so, would it really be that bad? Are you angry or frustrated to the point of losing self-control? If so, is your reaction out of proportion? Take a break, talk to someone close and get a different perspective on your troubles.
* Get help. On your own, you may have limited success trying to change the habitual patterns of thought and behavior that trigger your stress response. Psychiatrists, psychologists and licensed clinical social workers are trained to help you break free of these patterns.
http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/yoga/CM00004
http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/massage/SA00082
http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/meditation/HQ01070
http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/tai-chi/SA00087
SOURCE:- mayoclinic.com
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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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