Depression Help

Although one of the most consistent findings in research on depression is a higher prevalence among women, the origins of this sex difference remain unclear. This study examines the relationship of family and work roles to sex differences in depression. The data for the study consist of interviews from a large-scale community survey $(N = 1,000)$ on the epidemiology of depression, conducted in Los AngelesCounty during 1979. Overall, the women were significantly more depressed than the men, but the extent of the sex difference varied according to the specific constellation of family and work roles.

There were significant sex differences in depression among the two conditions of high family role demands: parents with children in the household, and single parents. The difference was not significant among parents whose children lived elsewhere, or among no parents. Among parents with children in the household, employed men were less depressed than either employed women or homemakers; these two groups of women did not differ significantly from each other in depression level. The results suggest that family and work roles tend to be associated with reduced depression among both men and women, but that the effect is greater for men.

Adolescent Adjustment

One study found that interracial adoptees fare sometimes better, sometimes worse, but overall about the same as their same-race adopted counterparts across the 12 adjustment measures investigated. These measures investigated indices of academic, familial, psychological, and health outcomes for 4 groups of interracial and same-race adopted adolescents. Specifically, interracial adoptees had significantly higher grades and significantly higher academic expectations but marginally more distant father relationships and higher levels of psychosomatic symptoms than their same-race adopted counterparts. Also, Asian adolescents adopted by White parents had both the highest grades and the highest levels of psychosomatic symptoms, whereas Black adolescents adopted by Black parents reported the highest levels of depression. On the other hand, Black adoptees reported higher levels of self-worth than non-Black adoptees.

Two Points of View

• Pro Interracial Adoption

A dichotomy exists in reference to the subject of interracial adoption. Critics of race matching say there is a darker side involving whites with lingering racist beliefs against mixing races. They argue that children are hurt most by the practice. “One of the problems with race-matching policies,” says Donna Matias, a lawyer with the Institute of justice, “is that it leaves the children in the system to wait. They are thrown into a vicious cycle where the chances plummet that they will ever get adopted [3].” Never getting adopted has been shown to have a negative impact on children. After aging out of foster care, 27% of males and 10% of females were incarcerated within 12 to 18 months. 50% were unemployed, 37% had not finished high school, 33% received public assistance, and 19% of females had given birth to children. Before leaving care, 47 percent were receiving some kind of counseling or medication for mental health problems; that number dropped to 21% after leaving care [4].

• Pro Race Matching

On the other hand, David Watts, a biracial social worker in New York who was raised by an adoptive white family. “It’s a bad idea to put a black child in a white home…. I think it’s impossible for someone of one culture to teach another culture,” he says. “You have to live it in order to absorb it.” The influential National Association of Black Social Workers (NABSW) has taken this stance, suggesting that interracial adoption is a form of “genocide” and that “black children in white homes are cut off from the healthy development of themselves as black people.” “Same race makes sense because it is what the child is accustomed to, what causes the least disruption in the child’s life,” says Toni Oliver, a chairman of the organization. “Often when people are looking at ‘love is all it takes,’ they seem to overlook the impact race has on our society. Somehow when it’s a case of adoption, race suddenly doesn’t seem to matter anymore

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The beauty of human skin has been a muse for poetry for centuries. Its maintenance and exhibition devours the time and energies of thousands of its devotees the world over. Billions of currency notes exchange hands to bring a smooth and glowing skin to women and men alike.

Imagine then, the devastation to a person who has lost his or her face or other exposed part to a burn.

Even people who suffer from life-threatening diseases like a heart condition or cancer may be able to hide their circumstances from the world around them, but how do you conceal a disfigured face without making it obvious to those with you? In such a situation, the afflicted person is more pained in his mind than in his body.

Sometimes burns in normally covered areas may become an eyesore- in a swimsuit or similarly revealing garb. The burn may be a turn-off for intimate partners or the burnt person himself may feel too conscious to achieve intimacy. This can put severe stress on relationships. Anxiety, lowered levels of esteem and depression are common diagnoses in patients with disfiguring burns. In patients with major burns however, depression may become a primary concern.

According to an article in General Hospital Psychiatry, a study of burns patients showed that 46% of those surveyed had symptoms of mild, moderate or severe depression. Those most affected were female since culturally a large value is attached to their being attractive or making efforts to be attractive to the opposite sex. In patients with severe burns, the burns unit where they are being treated may be the trigger for their depression. This may happen because the comfort and psychological support from one’s loved ones is restricted for fear of infection to the patient. The pity and the gloomy reaction from friends and family will only worsen such a mental condition.

People with obviously burnt skin take time to adjust to their new situation. Most of them will recover to an extent if not fully. All they need is the unwavering support of those around them, including the treating physician. A good way to assess their progress is to observe them for interest in new hobbies or activities and catch the situations where they seem to be withdrawing from them. A withdrawal may mean a worsening of their depression.

It is common for passers-by to wince involuntarily when they see a person who has severe burns. One may not be able to change their unfair response to someone’s sad condition. This makes it all the more important to maintain the patient’s self-esteem so that his life can go on in spite of the awkward questions and glances that may come his way. Good support from one’s psychologist/psychiatrist from the very beginning can do a lot in making a burn victim happy in his new life. Where warranted, medication may play an important role too. Nowadays, dermatologists are guiding their patients to professional make-up artists who can help camouflage the burns as far as aesthetically possible.

To conclude, depression continues to be a concern for burns victims. There are however, means available to reduce their suffering in most cases. For others more severely affected, psychological support is the mainstay of therapy.

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Omega-3 fatty acids are a family of polyunsaturated fatty acids which have in common a carbon-carbon double bond in the ω-3 position.

What We Know About Omega-3:

In 1996, the Journal of the American Medical Association published a study comparing the prevalence of depression across ten nations. The survey yielded eye-opening results in showing how the lifetime and annual rates for depression vary widely from country to country (eg 1.5 in every 100 adults in Taiwan experience depression in their lifetimes while the figure is 19 for every 100 adults in Beirut). A 1998 study published in The Lancet compared this data with fish consumption, finding the higher consuming populations experienced less depression.

A 2003 study published in the American Journal of Psychiatry compared similar cross-national epidemiological data – this time involving bipolar disorder – and seafood consumption, again finding a strong correlation.

The working ingredient of fish oil is omega-3, a polyunsaturated fatty acid which is also found in certain plants such as flaxseed, pumpkin seed, and walnuts. According to Joseph Hibbeln MD of the NIH, who authored the two fish-consumption studies: "In the last century, [Western] diets have radically changed and we eat grossly fewer omega-3 fatty acids now. We also know that rates of depression have radically increased by perhaps a hundred-fold."

Dr Hibbeln noted:

1. Infant monkeys fed baby formula supplemented with omega-3 are stronger and more alert even at less than a week than monkeys given standard baby formula.
2. Depression is 60 times higher in New Zealand, where the average consumption of seafood is 40 pounds a year compared to Japan, where a person consumes nearly 150 pounds of seafood a year.
3. Postpartum depression is 50 times more common in countries with low levels of seafood consumption. During pregnancy, a woman’s body becomes depleted of fatty acids, which are transferred to the fetus.
4. Omega-3 seems to be critical to the growth and maintenance of brain cells, especially cell membranes.
5. When omega-3 is not available, the body uses omega-6, which produces cell membranes less able to cope with neurotransmitter traffic.
6. And of course the famous 1999 Harvard pilot study.

We eat far greater amounts of other damaging fatty acids. A healthy diet should provide for at least five grams daily of essential fatty acids, divided between omega-3 and omega6.

A quick Medline search turns up several studies that show depleted omega-3 levels in the blood, cell membranes, and brains of depressed patients, suggesting that an intake of omega-3 could help reverse the process, though this has yet to be proved in large-scale clinical trials

Finally:

Whether as fish or flax oil, omega-3 has a blood thinning effect, but this is weaker than aspirin. Please notify your doctor before you use the two together, and stop taking if you feel any ill effects.

Finally, keep in mind that although omega-3 looks like a promising way to treat depression and bipolar disorder, there are no major clinical trials to guide us. We are barely aware of its putative efficacy, much less its optimal dosage, much less how it actually works on the brain. Accordingly, omega-3 should be considered a complement to medications rather than a replacement, and should not be taken without first consulting your doctor or psychiatrist.

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An antidepressant, in the most common usage, is a psychiatric medication taken to alleviate clinical depression or dysthymia (’milder’ depression). Several groups of drugs are particularly associated with the term, notably MAOIs and tricyclics (whose serendipitous discovery and psychiatric use dates from the 1950s) as well as SSRIs and more recent variations developed by pharmaceutical companies.

May 2, 2007 – Antidepressant labels should warn young adults aged 18 to 24 that the drugs may increase their risk of suicide, the FDA says.

The FDA in 2005 required antidepressant  to carry a "black box" label warning that children and teens that use the drugs have an increased risk of "suicidality" — suicidal thoughts and behavior.

It is not clear that antidepressants actually cause children or young adults to kill themselves. But evidence from clinical trials hints that kids who take the drugs have a slightly higher risk of suicidality than kids who received inactive placebo pills. None of the children or teens in antidepressant studies died of suicide.

The FDA now says the available evidence is strong enough to warn anyone under age 25 that any kind of antidepressant drug may increase suicide risk.

It’s a "quite small" risk, says Thomas Laughren, MD, director of the FDA’s Division of Psychiatry Products.

"If you look at 1,000 patients treated, for those under 18 we expect to see 14 cases with increased suicidal thinking and behavior linked to taking these drugs," Laughren said in a news conference. "In young adults aged 18 to 24, you’d see five additional cases of suicidality out of 1,000 people."

There is no evidence that the drugs raise suicide risk in people over age 25, the FDA says. Instead, Laughren says antidepressants appear to decrease suicidality in older adults.

"As you move into the 25 to 64 age group, antidepressants have essentially no effect on suicidality — maybe one fewer case in 1,000 patients treated," he says. "And over age 65, you see a decrease: six fewer cases of increased suicidality per 1,000 patients."

In a divided vote, an FDA advisory panel in 2006 agreed that the black-box suicide warning was a good idea. But the panel was far more united in recommending that the labels state clearly that psychiatric disorders are the major cause of suicide and suicidality.

"The disorders treated with these drugs are themselves the most important cause of suicide," Laughren says. "These drugs do have value across the age spectrum, but their use requires certain precautions. Anyone taking these drugs should be monitored carefully."

Since the black-box warnings appeared on the labels, antidepressant use among children and teens plummeted. At the same time, the suicide rate among U.S. teens rose sharply — bucking a decades-long trend.

"CDC data shows an 8% increase in suicides among children age 10-14 and a 12% increase in the 15-19 age groups this is coincident with the finding of a decrease in antidepressants in these age groups," Laughren says. "We and others are concerned about this. … We don’t know specifically whether or not the black box has been the cause of either decreased antidepressant prescribing or the increase in suicide."

Laughren says if new CDC data continue to show declining antidepressant use and increased suicide among children, the FDA will reconsider its recommendations.

"Labeling is dynamic, and we will continue to look at this issue over time," he says.

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Broken Heart is a common metaphor used when a human being suffers an emotional or physical loss, to the extent that it begins to cause them physical or physiological pain. This condition is known as ‘heartbreak’.

Depression (mood) a common term for a sad or low mood or the loss of pleasure; an emotion that does not affect capacity to perform personal and vocational obligations.

You don’t have to suffer in silence. In most cases of panic attack, it usually starts with depression. A female reporter in Hong Kong who successfully juggled the demands of writing for publications around the world suddenly suffered panic attack. She often had panic attacks as she was overwhelmed by feelings of isolation, hopelessness, inadequacy and failure. She would always excuse herself and pretended to have urgent private calls to make so that she could get out and calm down.

A cartoonist for a famous Japanese magazines; suddenly hit a dry spell in 1986 and she was afraid to get out of bed in the morning. She stopped eating and lost seven kilos within a few days. She was left without getting any assignments for a month and spent her time lying in bed, smoking and drinking and was overwhelmed with thoughts of dying. Both the female reporter and cartoonist were suffering from clinical depression.

We seldom hear about depression just thirty years ago but the world is different now. People were different then, but presently many human beings have lost their value of life. Many have lost their conscience and killing is everywhere. People live in fear from many kinds of threats and even in the comfort of their homes, danger is there. There is no peace even to just go marketing for fresh vegetables. A bomb may explode anytime, anyplace.

Financial security is one of the main causes for depression. Jobless people or those hardly can make end meet, are usually victims of depression which can after some time of suffering start to have panic attacks. Depressive disorders range from dysthymia – low grade, chronic depression – to bipolar disorder, or manic depression, which causes extreme swings between depressive lows and manic high. Depression remains widely misunderstood and sufferers lead a double life. One minute full of confidence and another minute worse than a little mouse when panic attack. Depression is a taboo among Chinese and if people know that you are depressed, they will avoid you.

The road to recovery is a tough one but it can be treated. If it is not because of broken heart, then the chances of recovery is good with medication. If it is because of broken heart, then there is no medicine that can cure a broken heart. There are many drugs that physicians can prescribe and certain antidepressants really work effectively so as to allow the sufferers to get on with life. But drug may have side effects like insomnia and sexual dysfunction, professional help is advised in such a case to take the right type and also avoid the risk of taking an overdose.

One of the best rescues is interpersonal and cognitive counselling. Therapy can help to change a patient’s thinking and reappraise their external circumstances. Interpersonal therapy focuses on specific-related problems, while cognitive therapy tries to counter the feelings of worthlessness and hopelessness that plague those who are depressed. In Malaysia the “Befrienders” is doing an excellent voluntarily job to make life worth living. The 24-hour helpline, modelled on the Samaritans in the United Kingdom, is one of the oldest services in Asia. It has more than 200 volunteers and fielded 24,000 calls a year.

However, heart disease and depression is a different thing.

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So, finally it has been proved that depression doesn’t have only one cure and that is drug therapy, there are other ways to tackle this giant and those too really effective and safe. Few years back, the word depression used to bring shivers in the person who actually had it and the first treatment that used to pop up was the intake of antidepressants. Gradually people have accepted the existence of this disease in the society and hence there has been drastic change in the reactions of people today when they are confronted with this disease.

But can talking cure someone, and if yes then what kind of talking and how long will it take to get completely cured. These are some of the instant reactions of the individuals who are unaware of the Cognitive therapy for the cure of depression and stress. Before explaining the mechanism of Cognitive therapy, let us first understand that it is actually a type of talk therapy that involves changing a person’s negative thought patterns. Talk therapy came into existence because of some of the ill effects of other depression curing techniques, the most significant is the suicidal tendencies that are caused as a result of antidepressants in adolescents and hence the parents were forced to look for other therapies that can sure their kids without any danger of inculcating certain side effects in them, this is one of the reason why talk therapy gained popularity in America and other countries around the globe.

A study took place on a group of 250 depression patients which include all ranges of affected individuals from moderately to severely depressed patients. These patients were divided into 3 behavior groups. Half of them were treated with the help of antidepressant including some of the most effective drugs n the business like the Paxil all along with moreover lithium or the trycyclic antidepressant desipramine, if needed. The remaining patients were treated via the under-surveillance cognitive therapy.

What the researchers did was that they compared the effects on the group of patients to et an idea of the response rates. The results proved that the response of the patients were almost the same for both the treatment methods. This research proved that it is not only the complex mixtures that can cure a human being; even talking can do so if it is intended to. The major idea is to remove the negative thoughts out of a person’s brain and once it happen the person starts to think positive and an affirmative output of every task he or she takes up in life. All it needs is certain amount of discipline to achieve anything and the same is true with the cognitive therapy.

This means, when you commend to a therapy, you entrust not just to a therapist but to a life style and hence you have to live life with the discipline. Healing may cause some amount of pain also at times but you have to bear it to reach the destination. Thus go forward and enjoy a depression free life, because this is what you deserve and this is what you must get.

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