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on: Friday, 08 August 2008 13:52
on: Friday, 08 August 2008 13:46
on: Friday, 08 August 2008 13:13
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Thanks Lindsay and Lizard.Thats one really good thing about this site,everyones in the same boat and i guess i come on here to get away from the harsh reality of people who dont understand.Many people here dont see depression as an illness...and its hard to explain that itis,they think that anyone on the benefit is just plain lazy and i hate hearing this...they dont love in my shoes so how would they know?So thankyou for all your hard work and many hours spent provinding us with such a great resource,keep up the good work and give yourselves a pat on the back...
(surgeon2006)
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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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Patients often stop psychiatric drugs, with sometimes tragic consequences, therapists say
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Patients often stop psychiatric drugs, with sometimes tragic consequences, therapists say
CHICAGO (AP) _ Psychiatrists say it's a common scenario — troubled
patients stop taking their medicine, because of cost, side effects, the
stigma, or delusions that they don't need it. The consequences can be
tragic, though rarely as horrific as the Valentine's Day
suicide-slaughter at Northern Illinois University.
No
one knows what triggered Steven Kazmierczak's campus rampage, yet one
of the clues to an emerging psychiatric profile is this: His girlfriend
says he recently stopped taking Prozac.
Prozac is a drug
generally prescribed for major depression. It and similar
antidepressants carry warning labels about risks for suicidal behavior
in patients younger than Kazmierczak, who was 27.
Still,
stopping these drugs can also lead to suicidal thoughts and behavior.
And taking them may increase the risk for other violence if they're
mistakenly prescribed as the only treatment for patients in a
depressive phase of bipolar disorder, psychiatrists say. In that case,
the drugs may trigger a manic phase that could include aggressive
behavior toward others.
In court cases, attorneys have sometimes
tried to blame violent behavior on Prozac. However, scientific evidence
to support that is lacking, and psychiatrists and the drug's maker, Eli
Lilly and Co., say the underlying mental illness is the most likely
culprit.
Kazmierczak, a graduate student in social work at the
University of Illinois, was a worrier with obsessive-compulsive
tendencies, his girlfriend told CNN, but it is not known if he'd been
diagnosed with depression or bipolar disorder. She said he'd stopped
taking Prozac three weeks before last week's tragedy.
Two days
before the Feb. 14 shootings, a New York man who'd been treated for
psychiatric problems and who had also stopped taking medication is
accused of fatally stabbing a therapist.
"Can stopping
medications be an important contributory factor to deterioration of
behavior ... where violence ends up being committed? Yes, absolutely,"
said Dr. Paul Ragan, an associate professor of psychiatry at Vanderbilt
University.
Ragan said he has had patients attempt suicide after
stopping antidepressants because their insurance ran out, although
violence against others is rare in depression.
On or off
medication, the vast majority of people with schizophrenia, depression
and bipolar disorder "do not engage in violent behavior," said Dr.
David Fassler, a University of Vermont psychiatry professor.
Still, compliance with medication is a significant problem, he said.
"Research
demonstrates that about 25 percent of patients stop taking
antidepressant medication within three months. By six months, some
studies suggest that the overall compliance rate is less than 50
percent," Fassler said.
For about one-third of patients, side effects are the main reason they stop taking psychiatric drugs, Fassler said.
Dr.
Lynne Tan, a psychiatrist at Montefiore Medical Center in New York,
said many patients complain that antidepressants cause restlessness,
agitation and racing thoughts. Sweating, sexual dysfunction and
headaches are other common side effects. Sometimes they subside over
time, and if not, patients can be switched to other medications, she
said.
Elizabeth, a 26-year-old graduate student in social work
at the University of Chicago who asked that her last name not be used
to protect her privacy, said she stopped and restarted antidepressants
many times since being diagnosed with depression at age 16.
"Stigma does play a big part of it," she said. "That's why I was so eager to consider myself well and to go off of it."
When
she left college and was no longer covered by her parents' insurance,
cost also became an issue — $60 to $70 a month for a generic
antidepressant. She declined to identify the drug.
But each time she stopped, debilitating depression including suicidal thoughts would return, she said.
"If I've learned anything from this journey, it's that medication really works for me," she said.
Greg
Coughlin, 53, a health department employee for DuPage County west of
Chicago, said several years ago he repeatedly stopped taking drugs for
a type of schizophrenia because he was "in denial" about suffering from
mental illness.
Coughlin said the last time he stopped, in the
1990s, he became extremely obnoxious and agitated, and ended up in a
mental hospital.
Now he's on three mood stabilizers that zap his
energy and cause weight gain, but make him feel "more solid, more
relaxed, more satisfied in life."
Coughlin, a board member of
the Illinois chapter of the National Alliance on Mental Illness, said
he finally accepts that to function, he'll need to be on drugs for life.
Elizabeth
said she can live with the side effects — extreme sweating and a hand
tremor — and credits psychotherapy, a support group and exercise with
helping her cope.
While accounts from friends and professors
suggest that at least on the surface, Kazmierczak was coping well,
there were also signs of trouble.
He had a history of cutting
himself, which is often a symptom of inner anger and a sense of feeling
powerless, said psychologist Wendy Lader, who runs a suburban Chicago
treatment center for self-cutters.
Self-cutting is thought to be
more common among women, but women are also more likely than men to
seek treatment for it, Lader said.
Kazmierczak also wore macabre
shock-value tattoos covering both forearms — an unusual and disturbing
choice for someone pursuing a career in social work, Lader said.
Dr.
Louis Kraus, a forensic psychologist with Rush University Medical
Center in Chicago, said with no known criminal background or history of
violence or anti-social behavior before the killings, Kazmierczak
presents a bewildering psychiatric image.
"Obviously something very tragic is missing from this puzzle that we don't fully understand yet," Kraus said.
————
On the Net;
National Institute of Mental Health: http://www.nimh.nih.gov
National Alliance on Mental Illness: http://www.nami.org
Depression and Bipolar Support Alliance: http://www.dbsalliance.org
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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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