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on: Saturday, 17 May 2008 02:29
on: Saturday, 17 May 2008 00:04
on: Friday, 16 May 2008 23:44
on: Friday, 16 May 2008 21:12
on: Friday, 16 May 2008 20:39
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QUOTE (QNA @ Oct 24 2007, 08:35 PM) *To All:Thanks for providing a place for a recluse like myself to vent to begin with. It helps...it truly helps. I appreciate it, and I find that-even with my hypertrophied vocabulary*-I do not have the words to properly do so other than to simply say: Thank you.(*how often does someone get to use the word 'hypertrophied' in a sentence? About as often as someone gets to say the word 'infinitessimal!!! I love it!!!)
(QNA)
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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
Our DF Members
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- By Forum Admin
- Published 05/9/2008
- Latest News
Friday, May 2, 2008 By Will Boggs, MD
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Migraine is commonly
associated with a variety of psychiatric disorders, including
depression, bipolar disorder, panic disorder, and social phobia, a new
study shows.
"In addition, having migraine and a psychiatric condition is
associated with worsened health-related outcomes (disability, quality
of life, restriction of activities)," Dr. Nathalie Jette from
University of Calgary, Alberta, Canada told Reuters Health.
Jette and colleagues sought to determine the prevalence of various
psychiatric conditions in association with migraine and to describe the
pattern of association of this "comorbidity" with a variety of
health-related outcomes.
- By Joanna
- Published 04/9/2008
- Latest News
April 9, 2008
Charles Bremner and Marie Tourres, Paris
Promoting
extreme thinness will become a criminal offence punishable with jail in
France under a government-backed law that was tabled today to combat
anorexia nervosa.
The world's first use of the law to tackle
eating disorders is broadly aimed at the media and fashion world, but
especially at the websites and blogs of the co-called pro-ana movement.
While many are support groups, others promote starvation as a
"life-style choice", with girls and young women posting their wasting
images as "thinspiration" for others.
Social networking sites
such as Facebook and MySpace have recently come under pressure in
Britain and other countries to ban their pro-ana entries.
Fines
of up to €30,000 and a two-year prison sentence will be imposed on
offenders who "provoke a person to seek excessive thinness by
encouraging prolonged restriction of nourishment" to the point of
risking of death or damage to health. The prison term is raised to
three years with a €45,000 fine if the person dies.
- By Forum Admin
- Published 03/8/2008
- Latest News
Executive Summary:A Report of the Surgeon General On Mental Health
Mental health—the
successful performance of mental function, resulting in productive
activities, fulfilling relationships with other people, and the ability
to adapt to change and to cope with adversity; from early childhood
until late life, mental health is the springboard of thinking and
communication skills, learning, emotional growth, resilience, and
self-esteem.
Mental illness—the
term that refers collectively to all mental disorders. Mental disorders
are health conditions that are characterized by alterations in
thinking, mood, or behavior (or some combination thereof) associated
with distress and/or impaired functioning.
This is
the first Surgeon General’s report ever issued on the topic of mental
health and mental illness. The science-based report conveys several
messages. One is that mental health is fundamental to health.
The qualities of mental health are essential to leading a healthy life.
Americans assign high priority to preventing disease and promoting
personal well-being and public health; so too must we assign priority
to the task of promoting mental health and preventing mental disorders.
Nonetheless, mental disorders occur and, thus, treatment and mental
health services are critical to the Nation’s health. These emphases,
combined with research to increase the knowledge needed to treat and
prevent mental and behavioral disorders, constitute a broad public
health approach to an urgent health concern.
A second message of the report is that mental disorders are real health conditions
that have an immense impact on individuals and families throughout this
Nation and the world. Appreciation of the clinically and economically
devastating nature of mental disorders is part of a quiet scientific
revolution that not only has documented the extent of the problem, but
in recent years has generated many real solutions. The decision to
publish the report at this time was based, in part, on the tremendous
growth of the science base that is enriching our understanding of the
awe-inspiring complexity of the brain and behavior. This understanding
increasingly supports mental health practices.
- By Forum Admin
- Published 03/6/2008
- Latest News
A misunderstanding of the placebo effect must not be allowed to sideline
a holistic approach to depression, writes Dr Harry Barry
There are many people suffering from depression in Ireland who are now
confused, even despairing, following the release of a recent survey on
the effectiveness of anti- depressants, suggesting that they are no
more effective than placebo therapy. 
- By Forum Admin
- Published 03/6/2008
- Latest News
A misunderstanding of the placebo effect must not be allowed to sideline
a holistic approach to depression, writes Dr Harry Barry
There are many people suffering from depression in Ireland who are now
confused, even despairing, following the release of a recent survey on
the effectiveness of anti- depressants, suggesting that they are no
more effective than placebo therapy.
- By Lindsay
- Published 03/2/2008
- Latest News
Mental Health Parity Vote Scheduled March 5 in
Congress February 29, 2008 - The EDC has been working throughout 2007 and
early 2008 to enact full mental health parity. Now, victory is within reach. Following the Senate's
passage of the Mental Health Parity Act (S. 558) by unanimous consent, the House is ready to
take up its version of the bill, H.R. 1424, on Wednesday, March 5. After that, Senate
and House leaders will reconcile differences between the two versions of the bill in order to pass the
strongest possible parity legislation.
As a supporter of mental health parity, we urge you to contact
your U.S. Representative NOW to urge support for H.R. 1424.
Take
3 minutes. Call now!
- By Forum Admin
- Published 02/23/2008
- Latest News
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.
- By Lindsay
- Published 01/29/2008
- Latest News
January 24, 2008, 10:38 am
An uplifting result of music therapy. (Alan Zale for The New York Times)
Many people find that music lifts their spirits. Now new research
shows that music therapy — either listening to or creating music with a
specially trained therapist — can be a useful treatment for depression.
The finding that music therapy offers a real clinical benefit to
depression sufferers comes from a review by the Cochrane Collaboration,
a not-for-profit group that reviews health care issues. Although there
aren’t many credible studies of music therapy for depression, the
reviewers found five randomized trials that studied the effects of
music therapy. Some studies looked at the effects of providing music
therapy to patients who were receiving drug treatment for depression.
Others compared music therapy to traditional talk therapy. In four out
of five of the trials, music therapy worked better at easing depression
symptoms than therapies that did not employ music, the researchers
found.
“The current studies indicate that music therapy may be able to
improve mood and has low drop-out rates,” said lead author Anna
Maratos, an arts therapist for the National Health Service in London.
“While the evidence came from a few small studies, it suggests that
this is an area that is well worth further investigation….We need to
find out which forms have greatest effect.”
- By MichaelBlue
- Published 12/30/2007
- Latest News
Dec. 30, 2007 - It's one
thing to read about the current research being done on depression. But
it's another experience altogether to actually hear the voices of the
reigning experts. I want to recommend a one-hour audio program that was
well worth the money I spent. (I have no financial or other link to the
product!) I just want to say that I found this so refreshing and
enriching to listen to.  Essentially, a half dozen of the
most-acclaimed depression experts in the U.S. – from Stanford’s Robert
Sapolsky to Yale’s Ronald Duman to Harvard’s Peter Kramer -- got
together last year to talk about the latest studies involving the
brain. Also, journalist Virginia Heffernan provided an extremely
stirring description of what it was like for her to experience
depression – an account that I think all of us can definitely relate to
-- and how her getting better from an anti-depressant made her
convinced that her depression was biologically-based. Among other
things, she describes how simple things like taking a shower or buying
a ticket at a movie theatre are transformed into desperate
all-encompassing acts.
- By Forum Admin
- Published 11/30/2007
- Latest News
Gift the gift of good health this holiday season with festive treats for healthy bodies
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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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