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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 Therapy
Treatments for Depression
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The Inner Child
Inner
Child Therapy is about finding the child within yourself and learning
to be a parent to that child. Healing your inner child can help you to
learn, understand and love yourself, reach acceptance and overcome
fears and obstacles.
It
is not easy to get in touch with your inner child, but once you are
able to achieve this, it can be a little frightening, overwhelming, but
at the same time allow you to reach huge realizations.
When
you are younger, any abuse, trauma, fear more often than not gets
pushed away into corners of your mind, almost like secret places and as
we grow into an adult, we find healthy or unhealthy coping mechanisms
to block the memories.
Meeting
your inner child can be traumatic at first, as we have to deal with all
the distress that was locked away with it. In order to meet your inner
child you need to be ready to bring back all the distress and face it.
This should be done through a professional, a psychologist that is
trained in Inner Child Therapy, who can gently prepare you for meeting
your inner child and deal with what comes up and work through it.
It is not a quick process and requires a lot of hard work, but once through it, there is an amazing difference in your life.
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Getting Through Uncertain Economic Times
An Online Guide to Cope With Recession-Related Stress; U.S.-supported site offers advice, referrals to help protect your health
WEDNESDAY, April 1 -- People struggling with
emotional turmoil during these uncertain economic times can find help
online through a new U.S. government-sponsored guide.
"Getting Through Tough Economic Times" offers resources and
referrals to help people cope with the recession's repercussions. The
guide includes information on spotting signs of mental distress and
contains links to agencies and organizations that can offer assistance.
Developed by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services
Administration (SAMHSA), the guide spells out the risks that
unemployment and other forms of economic trouble -- such as foreclosure
or severe financial loss -- can pose to your health. The guide, based
on a review of scientific research for the last two decades, also
explains that economic problems may affect people differently.
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'RECESSION DEPRESSION'
Coping with troubling times
By BARRY MIDDLETON Guest Columnist
Published: Saturday, February 28, 2009 at 1:00 a.m.
As a mental health professional, I am seeing more and more patients who are suffering from what I call "recession depression." There
is no doubt that in recent weeks a new element has appeared in the
mental health field. People are worried about the recession, losing
value in homes and stocks and losing their jobs. The stress is new, but
the tools needed to cope are not. Acceptance of circumstances
which are beyond our control, an organized wellness program, and
positive thinking habits are still the best defense against depression. Here are a few coping tips that will help: - Learn
the basics of positive thinking or cognitive management. Our own
thoughts are a powerful tool for calming and self-soothing.
- Create
a budget that allows you to spend less money than you earn. Get some
help with this if necessary; don't tell yourself it can't be done.
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- By Lindsay
- Published 02/26/2009
- Depression Therapy

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Treatment for PTSD and Other Mental Illnesses'
Dartmouth Medical School researchers have adapted cognitive-behavioral
therapy for people with serious mental illness and post traumatic stress
disorder (PTSD)
Sufferers diagnosed with both
post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and serious mental illness are
receiving the treatment from the University of Medicine and Dentistry
of New Jersey (UMDNJ)-University Behavioral HealthCare. They are part
of a study involving a new treatment approach for individuals with PTSD
and serious mental illness such as major depression, bipolar disorder
or schizophrenia. Steven Silverstein, Ph.D, director and
Stephanie Marcello, Ph.D, both of the Division of Schizophrenia
Research, are implementing the new therapy, which is based on
principles of cognitive-behavioral therapy.
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Women Vs. Men: Handling Economic Stress Kiri Blakeley, 01.12.09,
5:30 PM ET
Last
week's suicide of Chicago real estate auctions mogul Steven Good is the
latest instance of what could be termed "econocide"--suicide due to the
poor economy. While Good, who shot himself, did not leave a note
indicating his motivation, his death comes a month after he made
comments about the collapse of the real estate industry at a business
conference.
Good's suicide follows that of Kirk Stephenson, a financier who
jumped in front of a train in England after his private equity firm
suffered losses; French financier Rene-Thierry Magnon de la
Villehuchet, who slit his wrists after losing $1 billion in the Bernard
Madoff scheme; and German billionaire Adolf Merckle, who threw himself
in front of a train after massive investment losses.
These tragic figures had something in common besides economic hard times: They were all men.
In 2005, the latest statistics offered by the U.S. Centers for
Disease Control and Prevention, 25,907 men killed themselves, versus
6,730 women. A big part of this discrepancy is that men use much more
successful methods of suicide. Each of the four moguls who took their
lives did so in a decisive fashion. "Men take far more permanent
measures," says Manhattan psychotherapist Jonathan Alpert, who counsels
many Wall Streeters and their families. "Women might make gestures that
are not as strong, that are more a cry for help or attention." Last
week's suicide of Chicago real estate auctions mogul Steven Good is the
latest instance of what could be termed "econocide"--suicide due to the
poor economy.
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Self-esteem is your overall opinion of yourself — how you honestly feel
about and value yourself. Self-esteem involves judging your worth as a
person. People with healthy self-esteem feel good about themselves and
see themselves as worthwhile. People with low self-esteem, on the other
hand, put little value on their opinions and ideas and constantly think
that they aren't "good enough."

Self-esteem has been the subject of social research and theory for
decades. In recent years, there's been a concerted effort to boost the
self-esteem of schoolchildren through special programs, with proponents
believing it would lead to happier kids, better grades and less school
bullying. Critics of these efforts contend that pumping up self-esteem,
especially in people who may not need a boost, does little more than
inflate egos and feed the "me generation" mentality.
That said, there are plenty of adults who truly feel down on themselves
and have poor self-esteem. Learn why you may have developed a poor
self-image, the difference between healthy self-esteem and narcissism,
how you can tell if your self-esteem needs a boost, and the benefits of
healthy self-esteem.
Factors that shape and influence self-esteem
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- By Lindsay
- Published 03/28/2008
- Depression Therapy

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Fri Mar 28 17:50:03 EST 2008
New studies are finding the keys to contentment.
Here's how to use them.
Happiness, like baking, is something I've
always been good at. And that puzzles me: I don't live in a glass house by the
sea, I'm not rich or beautiful, I've endured grief and battled depression. It's
true that I've been lucky in love--I have a great husband. But I came to him
happy. Yet some people who seem to have all the raw materials for
happiness--looks, money, success, and love--seem perpetually glum. So what is it
that really makes us happy?
The answer is not good fortune. Psychologists have known for decades
that even winning the lottery won't make a person happier over the long haul.
People simply adapt. Think of what happened when you got your last raise: Odds
are, you felt great for the first few paychecks but soon adjusted to it, and now
you may be back to feeling underpaid. Such observations have led researchers to
conclude that each of us has a set point for happiness--a level of contentment
that stays constant through changing circumstances, such as the loss of loved
ones or winning big bucks.
If this all sounds a bit depressing, take heart. Recent breakthrough
research shows we can make ourselves happier--and how to do it.
The Science of Happiness Some of the most
exciting research in psychology is in a field called positive psychology, a
discipline that aims not just to relieve suffering but also to increase
happiness. For the past 6 years, Martin E. P. Seligman, PhD, and his colleagues
have been working to unlock the secrets of living the good life. Seligman,
founding director of the Positive Psychology Center at the University of
Pennsylvania and author of Authentic Happiness, has found that the key to
happiness appears to lie in our internal qualities and character strengths, not
in external events. What's more, he says, we can use these qualities--work with
them and enhance them--to make ourselves happier over the long run.
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- By Lindsay
- Published 01/19/2008
- Depression Therapy

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Helping the Mentally Ill Includes Teaching Them to Be Assertive
RICK RUNION | THE LEDGER
Art therapy teacher Rudy Malizia, right, works with, from left, Marilyn
Whittier, Mark Herbolsheimer and Charles Hamilton during a class at the
Jeanene Brown Drop-In Center in Lakeland earlier this month.
LAKELAND | Some regular attendees of the Jeanene Brown Drop-In Center still ask for permission to use the bathroom.
That may seem strange to anyone who hasn't dealt with severe mental illness, but Chip Jones has and he understands.
"People
with mental illness are told how to act, how to think, how to behave,"
said Jones, a facilitator at the Lakeland center that provides
emotional support for people battling with illnesses such as bipolar
disorder, schizophrenia or depression. "They lose their belief, their
power, their feeling that they have a right to speak out about things."
Increasingly,
local mental health programs want to end the silence. They are
encouraging people receiving treatment to speak up, identify their
goals and actively help plan their treatment rather than have
counselors decide for them.
This major change is part of a
national movement to transform the mental health system, in keeping
with "Achieving the Promise," a report released four years ago by the
President's New Freedom Commission on Mental Health.
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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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Depression Forums would like to hear from you!
Depression Forums would like to hear from you!
Mental illness affects one in seventeen Americans. We
would like to invite you to share your story about
your Depression, 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 and get the word out! There is hope! Together, we can help ourselves and others. Warm Regards, ~Lindsay and The Depression Forums Administration Staff
Att: Mental Health Professionals
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