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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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Depression: your questions answered - Dr Thomas Stuttaford
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From The Times
February 5, 2008 Depression: your questions answeredIs depression being used to diagnose too many people?
Depression is the description of a symptom that has many potential causes,
each of which must be analysed before a true diagnosis can be reached. To
say that a person’s troubles are the result of depression doesn’t tell the
whole story. The term is used too often and as a diagnosis without any
qualification it is to all intents and purposes useless. Don’t many doctors tell a patient that they are suffering from depression
and also include it on their medical certificates?
Yes. But it is hoped that when a doctor uses the term depression to describe
someone’s psychiatric problems it is only as shorthand. It may be that they
have already described the type of depression that their patient is
suffering from and to put it all on a certificate would be impossibly
cumbersome. Shorthand may also be deliberately vague so as to preserve the
patient’s confidentiality.
Work is making you mentally ill
Are there other organisations and professions that use the term depression
in such an ill-defined way as doctors?
Yes. Unfortunately coroners, social workers, the police and the media all use
the label depression loosely. Frequently there are reports in the papers
that someone is suffering from depression without any attempt made to
describe what type of depression it is. If this has resulted in suicide,
homicide, divorce or job loss it is not only misleading but can be very
disturbing to someone else who has a condition in which one of the symptoms
is being depressed but can easily be treated. Surely the true nature of a person’s psychiatric or psychological problem
is revealed by a broadcast or written interview?
Only when the interviewer understands the subject. Many of the people who
appear on radio or television because they are allegedly suffering from
depression, are often not truly depressed (as the term would be understood
by a doctor). Rather they may be simply fed up, feel incapable of dealing
with their lives or be suffering from one of a great many personality
disorders. Does this mean that these people cannot be helped?
Nearly everyone can be helped by kindly understanding and the devotion of time
to their difficulties. However there is no pill or easy form of
psychotherapy that will help them to cope. They need support. As modern life
becomes more complex, and as television spreads awareness of the comfort and
luxury that more fortunate people enjoy, the patient’s own difficulties are
highlighted. How are those people who are only incapable of coping, but not depressed in
a clinical way described on medical certificates?
Although they may not be suffering from any form of definable clinical
depression they are miserable and dispirited. The busy doctor, who has only
one line to put his or her diagnosis on a patient’s certificate to explain
their inability to work, will write “depression”. In doing so he will help
to increase the confusion that surrounds mental health statistics and the
conclusions drawn from them. Does the imprecise use of the term depression have other disadvantages?
It reduces the likelihood of an early diagnosis in patients suffering from
depressive states. They may often respond quickly to medical treatment but
nontreatment may cause untold misery even death. Has this problem always existed?
In the past one type of illness was referred to as endogenous depression
because it could occur without any external triggering factor. The patient
developed clear-cut symptoms that affected their mood. Unfortunately it
didn’t describe in any way how severely the patient was suffering and was
therefore abandoned. It was and still is a joy to treat this large and
important group of patients. Once they have been persuaded that they are
suffering from a biochemical abnormality of their central nervous system
that can be corrected by pills there is a good chance that their personality
will be restored to normal, or near normal, within a few weeks. Treatment
with antidepressants, usually the SSRIs (also known as the 5HT reuptake
inhibitors) may have to be continued for many months or longer. Are there any serious consequences of SSRI antidepressant treatment?
All potent drugs have important side-effects. The chief danger of SSRIs, which
in general are very safe, is that they are given to the wrong patient. The
disasters recorded are not so much disasters from the side-effects of the
pill swallowed but a sequel of a sloppy diagnosis when the true nature of
the depression affecting the patient hasn’t been analysed.
One of the most potentially dangerous mistakes is to confuse what used to be
known as endogenous depression with the depressed phase of a patient who is
manic depressive (now known as bipolar). Ordinary antidepressants, when used
alone to treat a depressed patient who is bipolar, may precipitate violence,
aggression, suicide or wildly inappropriate behaviour.
Do depressive illnesses affect all classes and types of people or only the
inadequate?
Depression can be a symptom of troubles that could affect anyone. The
obsessionally hard working, striving type A personality or the aesthetic
genius are rather more likely to suffer than the straightforward
uncomplicated farmer or soldier. However the farmer whose milk is worthless,
and the soldier who is unable to achieve some degree of attachment may also
crack. Courage is finite and so is the resistance to disaster.
No existence is more demanding than the upper reaches of commerce, industry,
finance or the media. Because many potentially depressed patients suffering
from an affective disorder are hyper-conscientious workaholics they
frequently reach the top of their profession. Those with a straightforward
depressed mood may not realise the true diagnosis and are likely to be loath
to admit any inadequacy or weakness, especially a mental one. The chairman
of one finance house who was a true depressive used to see me every two or
three years with one physical symptom or another. “Doctor, I know that the
TB I thought I was suffering from two years ago turned out to be related to
my mood, but I am now certain that the chest pain I am getting is angina”
was a typical start to one of our consultations. Three weeks of treatment
with an SSRI drug and his enthusiasm returned. Hopelessness was banished and
with it the patient’s chest pain, cough, back troubles or whatever.
What happens if a patient with bipolar disease is seen by a doctor in a
depressed phase and the doctor doesn’t realise this but assumes that he is
suffering from some more straightforward form of depression?
Disaster can follow. A bipolar depressed patient may be precipitated into
mania. He or she can become violent, suicidal or homicidal. These patients
must have their psychotic symptoms alleviated as well as their depressed
state lifted. Whatever other drugs are prescribed they will need mood
stabilisers or atypical anti-psychotics.
As well as the major disasters there are relatively minor ones too. One king
of industry given an antidepressant to help him to stop smoking developed
acute mania and beat up his second-in-command. The chairman of another
company who never saw a doctor but had bipolar moods became so unreliable
that another director had to be delegated to follow him around to
countermand his more lunatic schemes. A third was sacked before he had been
referred to the firm’s doctor but when he was seen the true diagnosis was
mania rather than alcoholism . Obsessive stress reveals psychiatric symptoms
that have previously been concealed. Source:
© Copyright 2008 Times Newspapers Ltd. http://www.timesonline.co.uk
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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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