This is mental health awareness month.    05/09/2013 Which means, in my experience, that it is still, to some extent at least, alcohol awareness month. Many people who suffer with undiagnosed depression or anxiety reach for alcohol or drugs to calm their nerves or relieve them of emotional pain. In other words, they self-medicate. Rather than seek out some help in managing depression, anxiety or chronic resentment, they seek their own solution — a solution which, while it works pretty well for a while, eventually complicates the issues and leads to more pain. It's the same sort of premise as having access to your own morphine drip: You administer your…

Deborah Brauser Jan 08, 2013 Research showing evidence of definitive links between diet and development of depression is "lacking" — showcasing the urgent need for large, longitudinal studies with improved methodology, experts suggest. Researchers note that future research into this association should follow the models used to investigate the link between diet and cardiovascular risk. Dr. Almudena Sanchez-Villegas "Depression is similar in many aspects to heart disease," said Almudena Sanchez-Villegas, PhD, from the Department of Clinical Sciences at the University of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria in Spain, and Miguel A. Martíinez-González, MD, PhD, from the University of Navarra in Pamplona, Spain, in a release. "Both are associated with low-grade inflammation, endothelial…

The experts blog about psychiatry Robert D. Levitan, MD One of the greatest challenges in psychiatric and medical research is clinical heterogeneity. To address this complexity head-on, we must, wherever possible, refine the target phenotypes that we study and treat. A good example of a phenotype in need of refinement can be found in the common and challenging problem of depression-obesity comorbidity. While over 120 articles have been published on this topic to date, almost all have considered depression as a unitary diagnosis, ignoring the fundamental importance of neurovegetative depressive subtypes that have primary relevance to weight gain. This lack of attention is highly problematic, given that one major subtype…

    Désirée A. Lie, MD, MSEd   Posted: 08/09/2012 Patients Who Describe Life as Hopeless Ms. Lee is a 48-year-old-married mother of 2 teenagers who works full-time as a store manager. Over the past 2 months, she has developed symptoms of fatigue, irritability, general aches and pains, loss of appetite, and reduced libido. She had been her mother’s primary caregiver until 4 months ago when her mother lost her battle with cancer. Her husband is supportive but feels unable to deal with her symptoms, and her children avoid her because of her temper and frequent outbursts of anger. She was a regular churchgoer who participated in social and community…

  Epidemiology of Pain and Physical Symptoms in Patients With Depression   Prevalence of Chronic Painful Physical Condition (CPPC) by Age Group in People With Major Depressive Disorder  Individuals with major depressive disorder (MDD) often present with a variety of somatic symptoms in addition to the common emotional symptoms.1 Somatic symptoms include not only fatigue and insomnia1 but also physical pain,2 such as headaches, neck pain, chest pain, abdominal pain, limb pain, joint disease, backaches, and gastrointestinal disease.

Myth: Depression Is Just Self-Pity Our culture admires will power and mental toughness and is quick to label anyone who falls back as a whiner. But people who have clinical depression are not lazy or simply feeling sorry for themselves. Nor can they “will” depression to go away. Depression is a medical illness — a health problem related to changes in the brain. Like other illnesses, it usually improves with appropriate treatment. Myth: Hard Work Beats Depression Depression affects nearly one in six people at some point in their lives, so folk remedies and half-truths about this common illness abound. One such idea: throw yourself into work and you’ll feel…

Genetic Risk For Major Depression Identified   Apr 28 2011   A new study reveals a novel gene associated with major depression. The research, published by Cell Press in the April 28 issue of the journal Neuron, suggests a previously unrecognized mechanism for major depression and may guide future therapeutic strategies for this debilitating mood disorder.

Tests Used to Diagnose Depression Tests Used to Diagnose Depression If you are planning to see your doctor about depression, here is information about the kinds of tests your doctor might ask for. First, keep in mind that not every test is a “depression test.” Some tests aren’t used to diagnose clinical depression but rather to rule out other serious medical conditions that may cause similar symptoms.

The Neural Basis Of The Depressive Self 16 Jul 2010   Depression, known to be a condition with impaired psychosocial functioning that severely impacts the quality of life of patients and families, is actually defined with specific clinical symptoms such as sadness, difficulty to experience pleasure, sleep problems etc., present for at least two weeks. At least 40% of depressed patients actually benefit from an antidepressant treatment, whereas 20 – 30% of patients may suffer from chronic depression that negatively impacts their quality of life. In order to improve the efficiency of treatment and reduce the burden of depressive disorders, depression needs to be defined at the neurobiological level.