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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 (-slw)
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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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Drug will combat nicotine, not withdrawal depression
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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. Depression Forums would like to hear from you!
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! Together, we can help ourselves and others. Your stories would appear right here on DF's Portal. Please PM Forum Admin for more information or to submit your story. Sincerely, The Depression Forums Administration Staff
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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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