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on: Friday, 05 September 2008 07:26
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I just wanted to take a minute to thank sheepwoman for responding to so many of my posts.It's people like you that make all of this a little easier.You're the first other person I've ever talked to that has went longer than my son without sleep.It's just nice to know there's other people out there going through the same things
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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 11th 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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Drug will combat nicotine, not withdrawal depression

By Forum Admin

02.24.2008

Drug will combat nicotine, not withdrawal depression
By Melinda Beck
THE WALL STREET JOURNAL
Recent warnings that the smoking-cessation drug Chantix may cause erratic behavior and suicidal thoughts provide a new window into nicotine's dark and powerful grip on the brain.
As any smoker, or ex-smoker, can attest, nicotine can rev you up if you're tired and relax you if you're stressed. It focuses the mind and smooths over irritations.
"I work two jobs — this is my little bit of paradise," said one man lighting up outside the New York Stock Exchange recently.
What makes nicotine so addictive is that it increases dopamine in the brain's reward center. "You've heard people say, 'I really want it but I'm not sure what I get out of it.' That happens a lot with smokers," says John Hughes, a professor of psychiatry at the University of Vermont and an adviser for Pfizer Inc.'s Chantix.
The warnings about Chantix underscore what all quitters should know: Nicotine withdrawal can cause wicked depression, particularly in people who've been depressed before. Indeed, experts debate whether what smokers interpret as an antidepressant effect from nicotine is a true benefit, or simply relief from mini-withdrawal since the last cigarette.
These days, 44 percent of all cigarettes in the United States are smoked by people with diagnosed mental disorders, including schizophrenics and alcoholics. It may be that such smokers are trying to "self-medicate" — or that nicotine addiction tends to feed on their emotional difficulties, speculates Daniel F. Seidman, a clinical psychologist at Columbia University Medical Center.
Either way, smokers with psychiatric illnesses weren't included in the premarketing trials for Chantix. As a result, Chantix (generic name: varenicline) is only now being used with a real-world population, which could explain some of the adverse reactions.
The Food and Drug Administration this month said it had received 420 reports of suicidal thoughts and 34 suicides among 4.5 million Chantix users in the U.S.
Pfizer suggests that some of those incidents could be due to nicotine withdrawal. Chantix doesn't contain nicotine, but does provide a low level of dopamine release, to help ease cravings. It also blocks nicotine receptors, so that if users do smoke, they get far less reward.
Increased suicides haven't been reported with other antismoking drugs, including nicotine-replacement therapies like gum, lozenges or patches, or with bupropion, marketed by GlaxoSmithKlein PLC as Zyban or Wellbutrin, though bupropion does carry the suicide warning mandated for all antidepressants.
"If you have a history of depression, you need to be careful when you stop smoking that it doesn't come back," says Dr. Hughes. "But if you've failed on the patch and are thinking about using varenicline, I would not not use it because of this concern. The risk is so small under a physician's care, and the benefit is so huge."
Chantix has beaten Zyban, nicotine-replacement therapy and placebos in various head-to-head trials of smokers after 12 weeks of treatment. In a study in this month's Thorax Online, 55.9 percent of those on varenicline were smoke-free after 12 weeks, compared with 43.2 percent on nicotine replacement. A significant number of all subjects relapse after a year, however.
Some experts say that's because beating the physical withdrawal isn't enough. "If you're used to going out for a smoke every time you get upset, you need to learn some new coping skills to handle what life throws at you," Seidman says.
He notes that many cessation programs include assertiveness training — so that people who used cigarettes to bury negative emotions learn to speak up instead.
All 50 states now have telephone quit lines that offer some counseling (contact the Arizona Smokers' Helpline by phone at 1-800-556-6222 and on the Web at www.ashline.org). Pfizer has an online GetQuit program (go to www.chantix.com) to go with Chantix.
If it still seems daunting, Hughes says that after withdrawal, many ex-smokers say they are far less depressed than they were when they smoked.

Source:

By Melinda Beck
THE WALL STREET JOURNAL
All content copyright © 1999-2008 AzStarNet

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Depression Forums would like to hear from you!
Mental illness affects one in seventeen Americans. However, in this country alone, funding for mental health
facilities is dropping drastically and the care for the mentally disabled.
When the people who need those facilities have no where to go, they end up overcrowding emergency rooms.
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We would like to invite you to PM Forum Admin to share your story about your Depression or Mental Health issues 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.
There is nothing better than to speak out, tell your story get the word out!
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Please PM Forum Admin for more information or to submit your story.
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Medical News
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Adolescents From Certain Races Participating In Religion May Become More Depressed
One of the few studies to look at the effects of religious participation on the mental health of minorities suggests that for some of them, religion may actually be contributing to adolescent depression. Previous research has shown that teens who are active in religious services are depressed less often because it provides these adolescents with social support and a sense of belonging.

Family Therapy With Medication Improves Depression In Bipolar Teens
In combination with medication, family-focused therapy appears to help curb depression symptoms in teens with bipolar disorder, according to a report released on September 1, 2008 in the Archives of General Psychiatry, one of the JAMA/Archives journals.  Bipolar disorders are characterized by occasional periods of elevated mood, known as mania.




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Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (AD/HD) Community Comes Together For First Ever Virtual Conference
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VYVANSE(R) Now Available In U.S. Pharmacies Nationwide In Six Dosage Strengths - ADHD
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SEROQUEL XR™ Improved Anxiety Symptoms By Day 4 In Generalised Anxiety Disorder - New Study Results Presented Today
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Chewing Gum May Help Reduce Stress According To New Research
Study presented at the 2008 10th International Congress of Behavioral Medicine WHAT: "An investigation into the effects of gum chewing on mood and cortisol levels during psychological stress," presented at the 2008 10th International Congress of Behavioral Medicine, found that chewing gum helped relieve anxiety, improve alertness and reduce stress among individuals in a laboratory setting.




Bipolar News From Medical News Today
Latest Bipolar News From Medical News Today.

Family Therapy With Medication Improves Depression In Bipolar Teens
In combination with medication, family-focused therapy appears to help curb depression symptoms in teens with bipolar disorder, according to a report released on September 1, 2008 in the Archives of General Psychiatry, one of the JAMA/Archives journals.  Bipolar disorders are characterized by occasional periods of elevated mood, known as mania.

Healthy Minds Across America Features 48 Public Forums On Mental Health Research, Sept. 14
People concerned about the toll that mental health disorders are taking on their families and communities will have a unique opportunity to hear from world-class experts on what is known to-date about the causes, symptoms and progression of such illnesses as depression, bipolar disorder, anxiety, schizophrenia and autism, and learn about current and potential treatments.




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Suicide Prevention May Be Broadened By Broaching Issue Of Access To Guns With Patients
In an effort to create safer environments for potentially suicidal individuals, researchers at Harvard School of Public Health demonstrate how physicians can broaden their treatment of such patients to address not only their mental illness but also the patients' access to guns and other lethal means. Such an approach could dramatically reduce suicide fatalities.

Adolescents From Certain Races Participating In Religion May Become More Depressed
One of the few studies to look at the effects of religious participation on the mental health of minorities suggests that for some of them, religion may actually be contributing to adolescent depression. Previous research has shown that teens who are active in religious services are depressed less often because it provides these adolescents with social support and a sense of belonging.




Psychology / Psychiatry News From Medical News Today
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Specific Brain Regions Show Increased Activity During Hallucinations
Ever seen or heard something that wasn't there? For most of us such experiences - termed hallucinations - are a normal, fleeting, brain glitch; yet for a few they are persistent, distressing and associated with a range of psychiatric, neurological and eye conditions. In the September Issue of Cortex Dominic H.

Adolescents From Certain Races Participating In Religion May Become More Depressed
One of the few studies to look at the effects of religious participation on the mental health of minorities suggests that for some of them, religion may actually be contributing to adolescent depression. Previous research has shown that teens who are active in religious services are depressed less often because it provides these adolescents with social support and a sense of belonging.




Schizophrenia News From Medical News Today
Latest Schizophrenia News From Medical News Today.

Healthy Minds Across America Features 48 Public Forums On Mental Health Research, Sept. 14
People concerned about the toll that mental health disorders are taking on their families and communities will have a unique opportunity to hear from world-class experts on what is known to-date about the causes, symptoms and progression of such illnesses as depression, bipolar disorder, anxiety, schizophrenia and autism, and learn about current and potential treatments.

Hopkins Researchers Piece Together Gene 'network' Linked To Schizophrenia
Reporting this week in the Archives of General Psychiatry, researchers at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine have uncovered for the first time molecular circuitry associated with schizophrenia that links three previously known, yet unrelated proteins. "This is very exciting because until now the many known genetic factors implicated in this condition were not connected in any way," says Akira Sawa, M.D., Ph.D.




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LUNESTA(R) Next-Day Function And Discontinuation Data From A Long-Term 12-Week Study In Elderly Patients Presented At ECNP
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What A Sleep Study Can Reveal About Fibromyalgia
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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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