If you - or someone you know - are having thoughts about suicide, call 1-800-273-TALK (8255). Calls are connected to a certified crisis center nearest the caller's location. Services are available 24 hours a day, seven days a week. If you - or someone you know - are having thoughts about suicide, call 1-800-273-TALK (8255). Calls are connected to a certified crisis center nearest the caller's location. Services are available 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
The Depression Forums - A Depression & Mental Health Social Community Support Group
Posted By Locut0s On Wednesday, 19 June 2013 08:39 Let me first start off my saying that I'm technically in the same boat as my friend here. I'm 31, ne... Read More
Posted By ubiquity839 On Wednesday, 19 June 2013 11:27 I don't know if anyone here will have read my other thread, but I was REALLY down for quite a while.... Read More
Posted By fennecfoxed On Friday, 14 June 2013 07:19 Several years ago I finally was diagnosed as bipolar (after years of being told I was just depressed... Read More
Posted By Phantastic Mirage On Tuesday, 18 June 2013 12:15 It occurred to me that over the last few days the only time I really get to be social with people is... Read More
Our mission is to create an atmosphere that is both supportive and informative in a caring, safe environment for our members to talk to their peers about depression, anxiety, mood disorders, medications, therapy and recovery.
Our vision is to advance the public awareness of mental health issues so as to eliminate the stigma that surrounds depression and mood disorders through education and advocacy, as well as striving to obtain quality medical care for mental health patients, as it is no different from any other medical illness.
Disasters are often unexpected, sudden and overwhelming. In some cases, there are no outwardly visible signs of physical injury, but there is nonetheless a serious emotional toll. It is common for people who have experienced traumatic situations to have very strong emotional reactions. Understanding normal responses to these abnormal events can aid you in coping effectively with your feelings, thoughts and behaviors, and help you along the path to recovery.
What happens to people after a disaster or other traumatic event?
Shock and denial are typical responses to traumatic events and disasters, especially shortly after the event. Both shock and denial are normal protective reactions.
Shock is a sudden and often intense disturbance of your emotional state that may leave you feeling stunned or dazed. Denial involves not acknowledging that something very stressful has happened, or not experiencing fully the intensity of the event. You may temporarily feel numb or disconnected from life.
As the initial shock subsides, reactions vary from one person to another. The following, however, are normal responses to a traumatic event:
Published By Lindsay, 2013-06-01 17:48:19 Read More...
My husband and I recently went to a “marriage conference” attended by (and highly recommended by) some of our friends. One would think that a relationship-focused conference would be something that most men would avoid at all costs, equating it to sitting for seven straight hours in a women’s clothing store while their wife tries on outfit after outfit, asking “do I look fat in this?”
Yet the atmosphere at this event, the Love & Respect Live Conference, was something the likes of which I’ve never experienced. As the primary speaker, Dr. Emerson Eggerichs, spoke, the men in the audience laughed out loud, nodded their heads and visibly appeared moved. According to my husband, Eggerichs was expressing concepts that uncannily described what matters most to men in a relationship. The thing is - men being men - most don’t actually know what they most deeply need from a woman (other than the obvious!) and would not be able to describe or articulate it.
Published By Lindsay, 2013-04-27 16:13:45 Read More...
Just looking at emails is enough to increase blood pressure and stress hormone levels, which can increase the risk of heart disease.
Researchers from Loughborough University in the UK tracked 30 government office workers and found that when they were reading and sending emails their blood pressure, heart rate and cortisol levels all increased.
Cortisol is released by the adrenal gland when we're stressed.
Study leader Professor Tom Jackson also analysed written diaries from the participants and found that stress response is worst when we're multi-tasking.
"This study has shown that email causes stress when compared to having email free time," Professor Jackson said in a media release.
"However, if email is compared to other ways of communicating — which was also observed in this study — email is no worse than any other media. Multi-tasking email alongside other communication media, such as phone and face-to-face meetings, increases the risk of becoming stressed."
Published By Lindsay, 2013-06-09 17:37:02 Read More...
Spring has sprung, at least for most of us, which means sundresses, seersucker and boozy croquet parties on the front lawn. Goodbye happy lamp, hello mimosa.
But it’s not just champagne that’s lifting our spirits and banishing the wintertime blues. According to Google (and a team of researchers from the University of Southern California, Harvard and Johns Hopkins) mental illnesses — such as obsessive compulsive disorder, depression and anorexia — are far more seasonal than we think.
The epidemiologists, led by John Ayers, combed through every Google search performed in the United States and Australia between 2006 and 2010, looking for queries like “symptoms of” and “medications for” OCD, anxiety, ADHD, bipolar, depression, anorexia, bulimia and schizophrenia.
Published By Lindsay, 2013-04-22 13:13:21 Read More...
April 21, 2013
Psychiatric medications are among the most frequently-prescribed medications in this country and throughout the world. One in 10 Americans takes an anti-depressant. Yet despite the incessant barrage of multi-media drug promotions, you may not have the answers to the questions you most want answered.
I asked more than a dozen expert psychiatric colleagues, and myself, the questions they most frequently receive about psychiatric medications from people who take them or their families. Here are a dozen of those many questions; the responses are mine.
Published By Lindsay, 2013-04-21 18:31:21 Read More...
I just took my 6-year-old son to the doctor. He's a beautiful boy, all lengthening arms and getting-ganglier legs.
He is the picture of health.
06/09/2013 - I sat there in the doctor's office and cried while the doctor told me I was right in bringing him in and sharing our concerns. "Lots of parents are in denial about kids' odd behavior. They figure they'll just outgrow it, but that rarely happens in these kinds of situations."
"But why do we suddenly have all of these new diagnoses? I mean, it seems like everyone has a diagnosis. What did kids 50 years ago with these problems do?"
"I'll tell you what they did 50 years ago. They learned to self-medicate. They found things that worked, and by adulthood, that odd janitor who didn't really have any friends would go home and drink a 12-pack a night. We're better able to diagnose now than we used to be."
Published By Lindsay, 2013-06-16 20:08:03 Read More...
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Member Testimonials
(lonleysindy @ Apr 14 2009, 10:55 PM) *
hearts.gif I just want to thank Lindsay for this site, all the Mod's and everyone else on here. If it wasn' for DF I probably would be in the hospital, or worse. Thanks everyone and (((hugs))) hearts.gif (lonleysindy)
Forget meditation and yoga: For many stressed-out Americans, the best remedy for a stressful day at work or the sting of a painful breakup is the smell of brand-new clothing, the feel of a silk dress and the sound of a credit card being swiped. If you turn to retail therapy in times of anxiety, you're not alone -- according to a recent survey, nearly one in three recently stressed Americans (which accounts for 91 percent of the general population) shops to deal with stress.
If someone has cancer, heart disease or certain other physical ailments, we have compassion for them. But there is one illness that often elicits shame, not compassion. It is silenced in many families and that silence can add to the burden of those who have it: Mental Illness.
Think about it. If someone in your family suffers from depression, anxiety disorders, bi-polar disorder or schizophrenia, do you share that information as easily as you do other health conditions? Over the centuries, our society has conditioned us to feel as if mental health issues are something to hide – a character flaw.
When we feed into that stereotype, we may inadvertently send a signal to friends and family with mental illness, that they would be judged, unloved or shunned. Research shows that the causes of mental illness are usually a combination of biological, psychological and environmental factors.
It is not the fault of the person with the mental illness.
Brittany Snow and Jason Ritter which premiered on
Lifetime Television on April 20. (Photo: Lifetime Television)
By Katrina Gay, NAMI Director of Communications
In April, Lifetime Television premiered Call Me Crazy, a series of interconnected short films that deal with the subject of mental illness. Through five short stories named after each title character—Lucy, Eddie, Allison, Grace and Maggie—powerful relationships built on hope and triumph give viewers a new understanding of what happens when a loved one struggles with mental illness.
The two-hour movie event aired on television on Sat., April 20. NAMI attended the premiere on April 16 in Los Angeles and was honored by the network for its work on behalf of individuals and families affected by mental illness. In addition, Lifetime presented NAMI with a generous contribution and a public service announcement titled It’s Time. The PSA features testimonials by many of the film’s talent, including Brittany Snow, Jennifer Hudson, Octavia Spencer, Ernie Hudson, Jean Smart, Melissa Leo and others, who all joined together to urge action and support for NAMI.
Other stars associated with the film included Jennifer Anniston, who served as one of the film’s executive producers, and Ashley Judd, who directed Maggie.
Months after retiring from professional sports, Olympic medallist Clara Hughes talks about her brush with depression and the Bell Let's Talk campaign.
Clara Hughes: ‘I want to erase the stigma’ of mental health issues
Months after retiring from professional sports, Olympic medallist Clara Hughes talks about her brush with depression and the Bell Let's Talk campaign.
Ex-Olympian Clara Hughes says engaging youth on mental health is key to removing stigma.
By:Niamh ScallanNews reporter, Published on Tue Feb 12 2013
“Sport that consumed me for over two decades . . . is now gone. Now it’s just me. No pressure, no expectations, no need to be fast, good, strong or to even improve. Yet I can’t let go of this idea that I always need to be more than I am. And it is eating me alive.”— Clara Hughes, in a January 2013 blog post
Clara Hughes knew the transition wouldn’t be easy, but little prepared her for life after professional sport.
The majority of her time once consumed by gruelling training regimens, the six-time Olympic medallist in cycling and speed skating found herself struggling late last year — at a time she would usually begin winter training — when she began to realize that her life was no longer geared toward the next big race.
“Life in permanent off-season,” she called it in her poignant January blog post, which chronicled some of the mental and emotional difficulties she’s faced since completing her final race at the 2012 London Games.
NEW YORK — Throughout life, even shortly before death, the brain can remodel itself, responding to a person's experiences. This phenomenon, known as neuroplasticity, offers a powerful tool to improve well-being, experts say.
"We now have evidence that engaging in pure mental training can induce changes not just in the function of the brain, but in the brain's structure itself," Richard Davidson, a neuroscientist at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, told an audience at the New York Academy of Sciences on Feb. 6.
The brain's plasticity does change over time, Davidson pointed out. For instance, young children have an easier time learning a second language or a musical instrument, he said.
Exercise for the mind
The idea of training the brain is not a radical one, said Amishi Jha, a neuroscientist at the University Miami and another panelist for the discussion.
"How many of you think engaging in certain kinds of physical activity will change the way the body works? Our cultural understanding now is that specific types of activity can alter the body in noticeable ways," Jha said, adding that this cultural understanding may be shifting to incorporate the mind as well. [10 Easy Ways to Keep Your Mind Sharp]
Respect and intimacy are the foundation on which loving relationships are built. Without such safety and connection, there can be no trust; without trust, we lose the ability to be playful, spontaneous, and joyful The following are common issues in relationships that, if unaddressed, can kill love and happiness. For each relationship-ruining issue below, I explain what it is, why it is a problem, why we do it, and what we can do instead to heal and repair this issue. When people have the courage to look at these patterns, admit their own contribution, and are willing to change and put their relationships first, even the most difficult relationship problems can be healed.
(1) Lack of Trust
Definition
Inability to trust our partners may take many forms, including feeling that they are being dishonest or hiding something from us, not trusting them to be reliable and consistent, and available when we need them, fearing they may take advantage of us, not trusting their values as human beings, or not feeling safe to express who we really are in our relationships.
Fibromyalgia, a painful condition affecting approximately 10 million people in the U.S., is not imaginary after all, as some doctors have believed. A discovery, published this month in PAIN MEDICINE (the journal of the American Academy of Pain Medicine), clearly now demonstrates that fibromyalgia may have a rational biological basis located in the skin...
Pain / Anesthetics News From Medical News Today Tuesday, 18 June 2013 23:00
An investigational new drug significantly improved a common and debilitating circadian rhythm sleep disorder that frequently affects people who are completely blind, a multicenter study finds. The results were presented at The Endocrine Society's Annual Meeting in San Francisco...
Sleep / Sleep Disorders / Insomnia News From Medical News Today Tuesday, 18 June 2013 23:00
Men who don't have enough sleep during the working week and catch up at the weekend could be reducing their risk of developing type 2 diabetes. This was the message from a US study presented at a scientific meeting this week...
Sleep / Sleep Disorders / Insomnia News From Medical News Today Tuesday, 18 June 2013 22:00
Short-term use of antidepressants, combined with stress and a high-fat diet, is associated with long-term increases in body weight, a new animal study finds. The results were presented Sunday at The Endocrine Society's 95th Annual Meeting in San Francisco...
Depression News From Medical News Today Tuesday, 18 June 2013 22:00
Bullying and suicide among youth are a serious public health problem, a CDC expert panel reported in the Journal of Adolescent Health today. The authors explained that bullying can have long-lasting and damaging effects which can persist for months and even years. Several studies over the last few years have associated bullying with depression. The media has covered the theme extensively...
Psychology / Psychiatry News From Medical News Today Tuesday, 18 June 2013 22:00
An antibiotic has been found to stimulate its own production. The findings, to be published in PNAS, could make it easier to scale up antibiotic production for commercialisation. Scientists Dr Emma Sherwood and Professor Mervyn Bibb from the John Innes Centre were able to use their discovery of how the antibiotic is naturally produced to markedly increase the level of production...
Pharma Industry / Biotech Industry News From Medical News Today Tuesday, 18 June 2013 22:00
Aggression in school-age children may have its origins in children 3 years old and younger who witnessed violence between their mothers and partners, according to a new Case Western Reserve University study...
Psychology / Psychiatry News From Medical News Today Tuesday, 18 June 2013 22:00
A University of Calgary researcher has identified how a steroid hormone may indicate infant distress during labour and delivery. The study, published by PLOS ONE this month, suggests that a full-term, healthy baby preferentially secretes a different stress hormone than its mother does. That stress hormone, corticosterone, has not been previously studied in human development...
Anxiety / Stress News From Medical News Today Tuesday, 18 June 2013 21:00
Estrogen replacement therapy is associated with a significant decrease in anxiety symptoms among girls with anorexia nervosa, a new clinical trial finds. The results were presented today at The Endocrine Society's Annual Meeting in San Francisco...
Anxiety / Stress News From Medical News Today Tuesday, 18 June 2013 21:00
A missing brain enzyme increases concentrations of a protein related to pain-killer addiction, according to an animal study. The results were presented at The Endocrine Society's 95th Annual Meeting in San Francisco. Opioids are pain-killing drugs, derived from the opium plant, which block signals of pain between nerves in the body...
Pain / Anesthetics News From Medical News Today Tuesday, 18 June 2013 02:00
Insufficient sleep may contribute to weight gain and obesity by raising levels of a substance in the body that is a natural appetite stimulant, a new study finds. The results were presented today at The Endocrine Society's 95th Annual Meeting in San Francisco. The researchers found that when healthy, lean, young adults received only 4...
Sleep / Sleep Disorders / Insomnia News From Medical News Today Monday, 17 June 2013 23:00
Overweight and obese men secrete greater amounts of stress hormones after eating, which may make them more susceptible to disease, a new observational study finds. The results were presented at The Endocrine Society's 95th Annual Meeting in San Francisco...
Anxiety / Stress News From Medical News Today Monday, 17 June 2013 23:00
