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Depression can result from
any chronic or severe illness and is a common reaction to stress and
disability. People with physical handicaps are more prone to depression
because they often think and worry about their loss or disadvantage.
Lacking true intimacy with God, yet desiring it, can also lead to
depression, particularly if the person uses a standard defense
mechanism of blaming God for everything that goes wrong.
Bipolar Disorder
Bipolar Disorder is like a roller coaster...up one second, down the next. This disorder has very intense mood swings with possible remissions and recurrences. A person with Bipolar Disorder will sometimes show tons of optimism. They will take unnecessary risks, then they will promise everything, and may even end up giving everything they own away. Bipolar Disorder patients experience a nearly continuous flow of accelerated speech with abrupt changes from topic to topic, usually based on understandable associations, distracting stimuli, or plays on words. When this ‘flight of ideas’ is severe, the patient’s speech may become disorganized and incoherent. A person with this illness may not have to get that much sleep every night and may get annoyed that others around him or her are not so active or involved. It could even get to the point where this person thinks that he or she possesses special abilities or powers.
The patient experiences many different feelings and symptoms when going through a state of depression or an episode of mania. They sometimes feel that it is important to hide their pain from everyone around them because most of the time they could not even really explain it to themselves, let alone anyone else.
Bipolar Disorder is like a roller coaster...up one second, down the next. This disorder has very intense mood swings with possible remissions and recurrences. A person with Bipolar Disorder will sometimes show tons of optimism. They will take unnecessary risks, then they will promise everything, and may even end up giving everything they own away. Bipolar Disorder patients experience a nearly continuous flow of accelerated speech with abrupt changes from topic to topic, usually based on understandable associations, distracting stimuli, or plays on words. When this ‘flight of ideas’ is severe, the patient’s speech may become disorganized and incoherent. A person with this illness may not have to get that much sleep every night and may get annoyed that others around him or her are not so active or involved. It could even get to the point where this person thinks that he or she possesses special abilities or powers.
The patient experiences many different feelings and symptoms when going through a state of depression or an episode of mania. They sometimes feel that it is important to hide their pain from everyone around them because most of the time they could not even really explain it to themselves, let alone anyone else.
A lot of
times the patient may experience even worse feelings of frustration and
may have ideas of suicide or recurrent thoughts of death which sadly
depression is often linked. A depressive can become very hush-hush
about their feelings of suicide. They will brood over death and may
take their own lives. Fifteen percent of people who suffer from
clinical depression commit suicide. Accidents and suicides are more
common in depressives and account for a large percentage of deaths.
Depression's Effect On Families
Not only is a depressive affected, but the family’s life may also change with a depressive living with them. The ripples of pain touch family members and friends who become, in some ways, co-victims. Having a depressive living with you can be quite hard. The family is always near the shrinking world, bordered by anxiety and fear of that particular person, therefore the family may also be cut off from the social relationships that make for healthy living. Sometimes the only way to convince a depressed patient to stay in the hospital or to get outpatient treatments is by the family members. They will play a particularly important role in the treatment of the person.
Not only is a depressive affected, but the family’s life may also change with a depressive living with them. The ripples of pain touch family members and friends who become, in some ways, co-victims. Having a depressive living with you can be quite hard. The family is always near the shrinking world, bordered by anxiety and fear of that particular person, therefore the family may also be cut off from the social relationships that make for healthy living. Sometimes the only way to convince a depressed patient to stay in the hospital or to get outpatient treatments is by the family members. They will play a particularly important role in the treatment of the person.
Prozac For Depression
Prozac is the top-selling antidepressant. It is the most popular of drugs that treat depression by increasing levels of the brain chemical serotonin. The effectiveness of Prozac has led some researchers to speculate that serotonin is the key regulator of mood, and that depression is essentially a shortfall of serotonin At one time, scientists thought that Prozac had side effects such as serious violence and had a petition for the FDA in 1991 to take Prozac off the market. That was denied because the FDA could not find a link between the drug and violent behavior. Still, doctors have known for some time now that when the serotonin level gets raised, it can affect a person’s mood. They cannot always be sure that the drug will have the desired effect.
Psychotherapy For Depression
There are many different forms of psychotherapy. In more serious cases an antidepressant and psychotherapy are used in a combination. There is also less of a risk of suicide than if psychotherapy is the only form of treatment. For mild depression, a few sessions of psychotherapy may be enough to identify the issue and help work towards overcoming the problem. In all forms of this therapy it must involve a confiding relationship between a professional therapist and a patient that allows the patient’s experiences and predicaments to be shared.
While the patient is undergoing the therapy session he or she is being monitored in any feelings, especially suicidal feelings. The therapist would discuss with the patient the nature of depression as an illness, the fact that it will improve with treatment, and the advisability of deferring major life decisions until depressive symptoms have resolved.
In conclusion, depression is a disease and should be recognized as one. It varies from person to person and can be a very traumatic and even deadly experience from all points of view. Depressive and Bipolar Disorders are just two of the many mental illnesses out there that need to be taken extremely seriously.
Prozac is the top-selling antidepressant. It is the most popular of drugs that treat depression by increasing levels of the brain chemical serotonin. The effectiveness of Prozac has led some researchers to speculate that serotonin is the key regulator of mood, and that depression is essentially a shortfall of serotonin At one time, scientists thought that Prozac had side effects such as serious violence and had a petition for the FDA in 1991 to take Prozac off the market. That was denied because the FDA could not find a link between the drug and violent behavior. Still, doctors have known for some time now that when the serotonin level gets raised, it can affect a person’s mood. They cannot always be sure that the drug will have the desired effect.
Psychotherapy For Depression
There are many different forms of psychotherapy. In more serious cases an antidepressant and psychotherapy are used in a combination. There is also less of a risk of suicide than if psychotherapy is the only form of treatment. For mild depression, a few sessions of psychotherapy may be enough to identify the issue and help work towards overcoming the problem. In all forms of this therapy it must involve a confiding relationship between a professional therapist and a patient that allows the patient’s experiences and predicaments to be shared.
While the patient is undergoing the therapy session he or she is being monitored in any feelings, especially suicidal feelings. The therapist would discuss with the patient the nature of depression as an illness, the fact that it will improve with treatment, and the advisability of deferring major life decisions until depressive symptoms have resolved.
In conclusion, depression is a disease and should be recognized as one. It varies from person to person and can be a very traumatic and even deadly experience from all points of view. Depressive and Bipolar Disorders are just two of the many mental illnesses out there that need to be taken extremely seriously.
Quick Guide To Depression: Symptoms, Effects On Families, Medication, Psychotherapy:
A depressed individual may sometimes have
a very negative view of themselves. A lot of times they see themselves
as a bad person and blame themselves for events over which they had no
control. Decreased physical and mental energy, a chronic low mood, and
a lowered self-attitude are major points to a depressive. Medical
science has proven that resentment-anger turned inward-contributes to
the very real biochemical changes that characterize severe clinical
depression. Depression is probably the most common and can last from
one full day, up to several weeks, or longer.
Depression
has many elements. Almost everyone has experienced depression in one
form or another. Sometimes, however, it becomes a full-scale disorder
that needs to be professionally treated. It is estimated that at any
given time three to four percent of the nation’s population will
be suffering from a major depressive or manic episode.
Many times an individual expressing a depressive episode will usually describe his or her mood as depressed, sad, hopeless, discouraged, down in the dumps, etc.
Weight gain or loss is common because appetite is greatly increased or
decreased. Headaches are frequent symptoms. People experiencing
depression are usually irritable, become upset rapidly and tend to be
bothered by little items and insignificant incidents. Crying and
sadness is very common. What may even happen is that a person may have
such "a sense of deadened emotions that can prevent
‘normal’ crying or sadness. Hallucinations, in which
one hears voices or sees things that are not really there, sometimes
occur. A small percentage of unfortunate individuals go right
from manic episodes to clinical depression and back again in
continuous, unending cycles that are devastating to them, their
families, their friends, and their co-workers.
The risk of
a depressive disorder is greater in the families of depressive patients
than in the population at large. The higher proportion of
depression in women may be biologically induced, or it may be that
women learn social roles that favor feelings of helplessness. Identical
twins have exactly the same genes; therefore, studies show that if one
twin suffers from depression or manic-depressive illness, there is a 67
percent chance that the second twin will also have the disorder.
By contrast only 20 percent, however, of fraternal twins are affected.
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