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themarxian-blog · 7 years ago

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Bas, Kim Andrey

Young-adult author who wrote of depression commits suicide

NEW YORK - Ned Vizzini, a popular young adult author and television writer who wrote candidly and humorously about his struggles with depression, has committed suicide. He was 32.

Vizzini jumped off the roof of his parents' home in Brooklyn on Thursday, said his brother, Daniel Vizzini. New York City's medical examiner's office confirmed Friday that Vizzini took his own life and had sustained blunt impact injuries consistent with a fall. Daniel Vizzini said his brother had battled mental illness for much of his life and had "taken a turn for the worse" in recent weeks.

Ned Vizzini's autobiographical novel "It's Kind of a Funny Story" was adapted into a feature film of the same name. A resident of Los Angeles in recent years, he was a prolific author of fiction and nonfiction and spoke around the country about mental health and the healing effects of writing. On his website, he recommended Andrew Solomon's "The Noonday Demon" and the Dalai Lama's "The Art of Happiness" to readers coping with depression.

"At his signings, countless kids would approach him to say that he changed their lives - he gave them hope," his longtime publisher, Alessandra Balzer of Balzer + Bray, said in a statement Friday. Balzer + Bray is an imprint of HarperCollins.

John Green, Megan McCafferty and Sarah Dessen were among the authors mourning him on Twitter. In a telephone interview with The Associated Press, an emotional Judy Blume called him one of those people "who just touch your life in a certain way."

"I met him when he was a kid at some sort of get together that (New York City Mayor Mike) Bloomberg was having," she said. "And he was this incredibly lively young man and I told him, 'I can't wait to see what you do.'"

"It's Kind of a Funny Story," praised by The New York Times as "insightful and utterly authentic," was written in just a few weeks and published in 2006. Set in New York City, and 85 percent true, according to Vizzini, it told of an ambitious, but overworked high school student who considers jumping off the Brooklyn Bridge and ends up in a psychiatric ward.

"So why am I depressed?" asks narrator Craig Gilner. "That's the million-dollar question, baby, the Tootsie Roll question; not even the owl knows the answer to that one. I don't know either. All I know is the chronology."

A couple of years before the book came out, Blume introduced Vizzini for a segment on the "Today" show. She was worried by how "subdued" he was compared to when she first met him.

"And later, he wrote 'It's Kind of a Funny Story' and when I read it, I knew that what had happened to the kid in the book happened to him," Blume said.

The movie version was released in 2010 and starred Keir Gilchrist, Zach Galifianakis, Emma Roberts and Viola Davis.

Vizzini's other books include "Be More Chill" and "The Other Normals," both of which told of young people who feel like outsiders. This year, he and filmmaker Chris Columbus debuted a trilogy of young adult fantasy books, "House of Secrets." The second installment had been completed and is scheduled for March. No decisions have been made about the third book, according to his publisher.

Vizzini also was working on the NBC series "Believe," a project co-created by J.J. Abrams and Alfonso Cuaron. His other TV writing credits include "Teen Wolf" and "Last Resort." A musical adaptation of "Be More Chill" has been in the works.

Vizzini grew up in Brooklyn and attended one of New York City's most competitive high schools, Stuyvesant, the basis for the school in "It's Kind of a Funny Story." He had many influences - from Miles Davis to Stephen King - and his writing gift became obvious. As a teenager, an essay he wrote about adolescence was published in The New York Times.

"Although I'm still in the thick of my teenage years, I think I've learned a thing or two by now," he wrote. "And as far as I can tell, being a teenager is just like being a kid, except that you've got five extra niggling concerns: sex, money, smoking, drinking and getting into college."

He did advance, to Hunter College, and by age 19 his first book had been released, "Teen Angst? Naaah ... A Quasi Autobiography." Over the years, his work appeared in The New Yorker, Salon and the Los Angeles Review of Books.

Asked once why he wanted to be a writer, he responded: "I knew that I wanted to be a writer because I wanted to do something that had the potential to outlast my own death."

He is survived by his wife and one son.

Title of the text: Young-adult author who wrote of depression commits suicide

Author of the text: Sabra Embury

Title of Journal/Publication: CBS Interactive Inc.

URL or web address:

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/young-adult-author-who-wrote-of-depression-commits-suicide

Main idea:

- Other researchers wants to find an answer to solve there problem. Another option is to take away your focus from your mind. A typical characteristic of depression is a negative flurry of thoughts, which keeps going through your head. A solution for depression could therefore be to get out of these thoughts by focussing on your body instead. This can be done by doing something physical. An example could be going for a walk. Because you are physically active, the change that the negative thoughts take over becomes smaller. Behavioral activation could mean that you learn techniques like the one that was just mentioned. Some schools of psychology give tips to treat triggering situations or factors in a different way. Depression we all know that Depression has a lot of meanings like because of Rejection, Hopeless, School Absences, Financial Problem, Family issues, Stress and etc can make you depressed. In the other country 10% of adults struggle with depression.But because it's a mental illness it can be a lot harder to understand.

Evidence:

Depression and suicide understandably go hand in hand, which means that for many people, suicide prevention is an integral part of dealing with depression.

While not every depressed person attempts or commits suicide, most people who kill themselves are dealing with depression.

#11marx depression

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themarxian-blog · 7 years ago

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Radoc, Shaira

Teen Depression — Boys

Adolescent males face a unique set of pressures.

They're young, they're often highly visible—and they're in deep trouble. America's adolescent boys may look strong as they swagger down the street, but in reality they are the population at highest risk today for all kinds of serious problems.

Rates of anxiety disorders and depression are soaring among them. For the first time, depression among males is nearly as prevalent as among females in this group.

Adolescent males find themselves facing a set of unique pressures. Shifting genderopportunities have left many boys in the dust. The girls may now be equal players on the soccer team, but the boys no longer know the rules of play.

Then too, the boys, as well as their sisters, belong to the first generation of divorce. Instead of a stable and supportive family base to keep them from feeling overwhelmed at times of stress, many are the products of absentee parents and conflict.

And today's boys are facing unprecedented stresses from many directions. While there is less certainty about the outcome of the college race, there is no let up in expectations for male success. There is more career confusion, and paths seem less clear.

Given the disquietude, substance abuseis an easy lure, as is the pressure for early sexual activity. Contrary to popular mythology, boys are just as anxious and confused about sex as the girls are.

But perhaps the biggest problem with today's young males is that they often have mild to moderate alexithymia—they are unable to identify their own (and others') feelings and thus unable to communicate about them. They never learned how from absent or overworked fathers.

However, the ability to communicate feelings is an increasingly important survival skill. It is certainly required for stable interpersonal relationships throughout life—at school, at work, and in the families most expect eventually to create.

For adolescent boys as for anyone, resolving the pressures in one's life involves figuring out how you feel. Alexithymia is like having a padlock on your tongue.

There is an immediate need to take action. If not, our sons face life-threatening consequences—drug and/or alcohol addiction, self-destructive behavior and accidents, suicide, and violence towards others. Such problems are already rampant.

Educate yourself about the psychology of boys. Read Real Boysby William Pollack, Ph.D. And if you need more, get Real Boys' Voices, in which boys confide how they are struggling with their masculinity, their sexuality, their future, their harassment from other boys, their feelings, their relationships with their parents and girlfriends, and more.

Talk with adolescent boys. Let them know that you're really interested in understanding their experience in the world. Make no attempt to judge the information or control the discussion.

Discard the prevailing cultural myth that would have you take a step back from their lives. More than ever, adolescence is a time when kids need your support. Their lives depend on it.

Recognize that there is an all-important difference in the way genders display distress. Boys tend to express negative feelings in violence toward themselves or others, in self-destructive behavior and recklessness, and in substance abuse.

Take on the task of teaching emotional intelligence. You can't leave its development to chance. But even before you begin, tell the truth—that feelings are good, a source of strength, not a sign of weakness.

Help the young males in your life to develop an emotional vocabulary. To do this, they need to understand their own feelings and those of others, and put names to what they too often feel as undifferentiated distress.

Then impart emotional managementskills. Boys in particular need to learn how to manage stress and the negative emotions—anger, fear, frustration, sadness, loneliness, doubt—because they are at risk for acting them out.

Teach empathy. Help boys learn to put themselves in the other person's place.

Help boys learn to handle competitive feelings. Males especially need strengthening of the ego so they can be more independent of others' judgment when others are being negative towards them.

Teach boys to connect and communicate instead of detaching when they face problems. Interaction always leads to better solutions. Boys need to be openly told that the closer they are to others, the safer and stronger they will feel. Support them in developing a "family of choice," composed of friends and parents of friends. And encourage them to improve relationships in their own family.

Instruct males to ask for feedback. They need to ask others how they are coming across. The world is too complicated for anyone to figure these things out alone.

Stay connected to young boys even though society pulls you in the other direction. My 13-year-old son occasionally asks me to walk him to school. I wouldn't think of saying no. But he consciously knows he's going to get flack from his peers. So a block from school he invariably says to me, "OK, Mom, now it's time for us to detach." We disengage our hands—but we still discuss what it all means.

Author/s of the Text: Ellen McGrath

Title of the Journal/Publication: July 1, 2002

URL or web address: https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/articles/200207/teen-depression-boys

MAIN IDEA:

Adolescent males find themselves facing a set of unique pressures. Shifting gender opportunities have left many boys in the dust. The girls may now be equal players on the soccer team, but the boys no longer know the rules of play.

For adolescent boys as for anyone, resolving the pressures in one's life involves figuring out how you feel. Alexithymia is like having a padlock on your tongue.

EVIDENCE:

Rates of anxiety disorders and depression are soaring among them. For the first time, depression among males is nearly as prevalent as among females in this group.

And today boys are facing unprecedented stresses from many directions. While there is less certainty about the outcome of the college race, there is no let up in expectations for male success. There is more career confusion, and paths seem less clear.

#11marx depression

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themarxian-blog · 7 years ago

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De Peña, Erniel Charm

Regular Sadness vs. Depression

It's natural to feel sad, down, or discouraged at times. We all feel these human emotions, they're reactions to the hassles and hurdles of life. We may feel sad over an argument with a friend, a breakup, or a best friend moving out of town. We might be disappointed about doing poorly on a test or discouraged if our team can't break its losing streak. The death of someone close can lead to a specific kind of sadness — grief. Most of the time, people manage to deal with these feelings and get past them with a little time and care. Depression is more than occasionally feeling blue, sad, or down in the dumps, though. Depression is a strong mood involving sadness, discouragement, despair, or hopelessness that lasts for weeks, months, or even longer. Depression affects more than a person's mood. It affects thinking, too. It interferes with the ability to notice or enjoy the good things in life. Depression drains the energy, motivation, and concentration a person needs for normal activities.

Signs of Depression

Here are some of the things people notice with depression:

Negative feelings and mood. People with depression might feel unusually sad, discouraged, or defeated. They may feel hopeless, helpless, or alone. Some people feel guilty, unworthy, rejected, or unloved. Some people with depression feel, angry, easily annoyed, bitter, or alienated. Any or all of these negative emotions can be part of a depressed mood if they go on for weeks or more.

Negative thinking. People with depression get stuck in negative thinking. This can make people focus on problems and faults. It can make things seem bleaker than they really are. Negative thinking can make a person believe things will never get better, that problems are too big to solve, that nothing can fix the situation, or that nothing matters.

Negative thinking can be self-critical, too. People may believe they are worthless and unlovable — even though that's not true. That can lead people with depression to think about harming themselves or about ending their own life. Negative thinking can block our ability to see solutions or realize that a problem is actually temporary.

Low energy and motivation. People with depression may feel tired, drained, or exhausted. They might move more slowly or take longer to do things. It can feel as if everything requires more effort. People who feel this way might have trouble motivating themselves to do or care about anything.

Poor concentration. Depression can make it hard to concentrate and focus. It might be hard to do schoolwork, pay attention in class, remember lessons, or stay focused on what others say.

Physical problems. Some people with depression have an upset stomach or loss of appetite. Some might gain or lose weight. People might notice headaches and sleeping problems when they're depressed.

Social withdrawing. People with depression may pull away from friends and family or from activities they once enjoyed. This usually makes them feel more lonely and isolated — and can make negative thinking worse.

Depression Can Go Unrecognized

People with depression may not realize they are depressed.Because self-critical thinking is part of depression, some people might mistakenly think of themselves as a failure, a bad student, a quitter, a slacker, a loser, or a bad person.

Because depression can affect how a person acts, it might be misunderstood as a bad attitude. Other people may think the person isn't trying or not putting in any effort. For example, a negative or irritable mood can cause someone to act more argumentative, disagreeable, or angry. That can make the person seem difficult to get along with or cause others to keep their distance. Low motivation, low energy, difficulty concentrating, and thoughts of "why bother?" can lead someone to skip classes or school.

Some people with depression have other problems as well. These can intensify feelings of worthlessness or inner pain. For example, people who cut themselves or who have eating disorders or who go through extreme mood changes may have unrecognized depression.

When depression is recognized and treated, it often clears the way for other problems to get treated, too.

What Helps Depression Get Better?

Depression can get better with the right attention and care — sometimes more easily than a person thinks. But if it's not treated, things can stay bad or get worse. That's why people who are depressed shouldn't wait and hope it will go away on its own.

If you think you might be depressed, talk to a parent or other adult about getting the right help. The right help can mean doing all of these things:

Get a Medical Checkup

A doctor can check for any health conditions that might cause symptoms of depression. For example, hypothyroidism can cause a depressed mood, low energy, and tiredness. Mono can make a person feel tired and depressed.

Talk to a Counselor

Having meetings with a counselor or therapist is called talk therapy. Talk therapy can help people overcome depression. Talk therapy works by helping people to:

understand their emotions, put feelings into words, and feel understood and supported

build the confidence to deal with life's struggles

work out problems they face

change negative thinking patterns that are part of depression

increase self-esteem and become more self-accepting

increase their positive emotions and feel happier

Overcoming depression might include talk therapy, medication, or both. A therapist might also recommend daily exercise, exposure to daylight, or better ways of eating. A therapist might teach relaxation skills to help someone get a good night's sleep.

Get Support

Many people find that it helps to open up to parents or other adults they trust. Simply saying something like, "I've been feeling really down lately and I think I'm depressed" can be a good way to begin the discussion.

If a parent or family member can't help, turn to your school counselor, school nurse, or a helpline.

Let friends and other people who care about you offer their support. They can:

listen and talk, showing that they understand what you're feeling

remind you that things can get better, and that they are there for you through the downs and ups

help you see the things that are already good about your life, even when it's hard for you to notice

keep you company and do enjoyable or relaxing things with you

give you honest compliments and help you find things to laugh or smile about

Help Yourself

Try these simple actions. They can have a powerful effect on mood and help with depression:

eat healthy foods

get the right amount of sleep

walk, play, or do something else to get exercise every day

take time to relax

take time to notice the good things about life, no matter how small

Focusing on positive emotions and being with positive people can help, too. Do yoga, dance, and find creative self-expression through art, music, or journaling. Daily exercise, meditation, daylight, and positive emotions all can affect the brain's activity in ways that restore mood and well-being.

Depression can be treated if you take the right steps:

Do what you can to care for yourself.

See a doctor or counselor.

Don't wait for depression to just go away.

Title of the text: Regular Sadness vs. Depression

Author of the text: D'Arcy Lyness, PhD

URL or web address: http://kidshealth.org/en/teens/depression.html?WT.ac=pairedLink

Main Idea:

It's natural to feel sad, down, or discouraged at times. We all feel these human emotions, they're reactions to the hassles and hurdles of life. They feel sad over an argument with a friend, a breakup, or a best friend moving out of town and some people disappointed about doing poorly on a test or discouraged if team can't break its losing streak. The death of someone close can lead to a specific kind of sadness grief. They said Most of the time, people manage to deal with these feelings and get past them with a little time and care. Depression is more than occasionally feeling blue, sad, or down in the dumps, though, and Depression is a strong mood involving sadness, discouragement, despair or hopelessness, and can affects more than a person's mood. It affects thinking, too. It interferes with the ability to notice or enjoy the good things in life. Depression drains the energy, motivation, and concentration a person needs for normal activities. People with depression might feel unusually sad, discouraged, or defeated. They may feel hopeless, helpless, and alone. Some people feel guilty, unworthy, rejected, or unloved, Depression can affect your entire body.

Evidence:

1. Depression is an illness that can affect your entire body potentially on a cellular level, according to a recent study. Wanda S, aged 16 years, comes for her checkup accompanied by her mother. She is in good health and has had no notable illnesses in the past year. However, Wanda complains of difficulty sleeping in the past few months and of frequently being tired. Her mother asks for a few minutes alone to discuss her concerns about her daughter. She states that “Wanda has been much more irritable than her usual self” and that “her teachers have been complaining that she doesn't seem to attend to her work lately and her grades are slipping.” When directly questioned, Wanda admits to “feeling pretty bad for the last few months, since school began.” She concedes that she feels sad and blue most days of the week and believes that she is “a loser.” She's been spending more time alone and, despite complaining of chronic boredom, has little energy or desire to engage in recreational activities.

2. Studies consistently show genetic factors affect 30% - 40% of cases of MDD. The other 60% - 70% of cases are closely linked to stressors both in the present and in childhood. A wide array of genes have been found to be associated with MDD.

#11marx depression

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themarxian-blog · 7 years ago

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Alquino, Jan Antonette

Therapy, Medication and Lifestyle Changes That Can Treat Depression

When you’re depressed, it can feel like you’ll never get out from under a dark shadow. However, even the most severe depression is treatable. So, if your depression is keeping you from living the life you want to, don’t hesitate to seek help. Learning about your depression treatment options will help you decide which approach is right for you. From therapy to medication to healthy lifestyle changes, there are many effective treatments that can help you overcome depression, feel happy and hopeful again, and reclaim your life.

What are my depression treatment options?

Just as no two people are affected the exact same way by depression, there is no “one size fits all” treatment that cures depression. What works for one person might not work for another. The best way to treat depression is to become as informed as possible about the treatment options, and then tailor them to meet your needs.

Depression treatment tips

Learn as much as you can about your depression. It’s important to determine whether your depression symptoms are due to an underlying medical condition. If so, that condition will need to be treated first. The severity of your depression is also a factor. The more severe the depression, the more intensive the treatment you're likely to need.

It takes time to find the right treatment. It might take some trial and error to find the treatment and support that works best for you. For example, if you decide to pursue therapy it may take a few attempts to find a therapist that you really click with. Or you may try an antidepressant, only to find that you don't need it if you take a daily half hour walk. Be open to change and a little experimentation.

Don’t rely on medications alone. Although medication can relieve the symptoms of depression, it is not usually suitable for long-term use. Other treatments, including exercise and therapy, can be just as effective as medication, often even more so, but don't come with unwanted side effects. If you do decide to try medication, remember that medication works best when you make healthy lifestyle changes as well.

Get social support. The more you cultivate your social connections, the more protected you are from depression. If you are feeling stuck, don’t hesitate to talk to trusted family members or friends, or seek out new connections at a depression support group, for example. Asking for help is not a sign of weakness and it won’t mean you’re a burden to others. Often, the simple act of talking to someone face-to-face can be an enormous help.

Treatment takes time and commitment. All of these depression treatments take time, and sometimes it might feel overwhelming or frustratingly slow. That is normal. Recovery usually has its ups and downs.

Lifestyle changes: An essential part of depression treatment

Lifestyle changes are simple but powerful tools in the treatment of depression. Sometimes they might be all you need. Even if you need other treatment as well, making the right lifestyle changes can help lift depression faster—and prevent it from coming back.

Lifestyle changes to treat depression

Exercise. Regular exercise can be as effective at treating depression as medication. Not only does exercise boost serotonin, endorphins, and other feel-good brain chemicals, it triggers the growth of new brain cells and connections, just like antidepressants do. Best of all, you don’t have to train for a marathon in order to reap the benefits. Even a half-hour daily walk can make a big difference. For maximum results, aim for 30 to 60 minutes of aerobic activity on most days.

Social support. Strong social networks reduce isolation, a key risk factor for depression. Keep in regular contact with friends and family, or consider joining a class or group. Volunteering is a wonderful way to get social support and help others while also helping yourself.

Nutrition. Eating well is important for both your physical and mental health. Eating small, well-balanced meals throughout the day will help you keep your energy up and minimize mood swings. While you may be drawn to sugary foods for the quick boost they provide, complex carbohydrates are a better choice. They'll get you going without the all-too-soon sugar crash.

Coping with Depression: Overcoming Depression One Step at a Time

Sleep. Sleep has a strong effect on mood. When you don't get enough sleep, your depression symptoms will be worse. Sleep deprivation exacerbates irritability, moodiness, sadness, and fatigue. Make sure you're getting enough sleep each night. Very few people do well on less than seven hours a night. Aim for somewhere between seven to nine hours each night.

Stress reduction. Make changes in your life to help manage and reduce stress. Too much stress exacerbates depression and puts you at risk for future depression. Take the aspects of your life that stress you out, such as work overload or unsupportive relationships, and find ways to minimize their impact.

Ruling out medical causes of depression

If you suspect that you may be depressed, and lifestyle changes haven’t worked, make an appointment to see your primary care doctor for a thorough checkup. If your depression is the result of medical causes, therapy and antidepressants will do little to help. The depression won’t lift until the underlying health problem is identified and treated.

Your doctor will check for medical conditions that mimic depression, and also make sure you are not taking medications that can cause depression as a side effect. Many medical conditions and medications can cause symptoms of depression, including sadness, fatigue, and the loss of pleasure. Hypothyroidism, or underactive thyroid, is a particularly common mood buster, especially in women. Older adults, or anyone who takes many different medications each day, are at risk for drug interactions that cause symptoms of depression. The more medications you are taking, the greater the risk for drug interactions.

Psychotherapy for depression treatment

If there is no underlying medical cause for your symptoms of depression, talk therapy can be an extremely effective treatment. What you learn in therapy gives you skills and insight to feel better and help prevent depression from coming back.

There are many types of therapy available. Three of the more common methods used in depression treatment include cognitive behavioral therapy, interpersonal therapy, and psychodynamic therapy. Often, a blended approach is used.

Some types of therapy teach you practical techniques on how to reframe negative thinking and employ behavioral skills in combating depression. Therapy can also help you work through the root of your depression, helping you understand why you feel a certain way, what your triggers are for depression, and what you can do to stay healthy.

Therapy and “the big picture” in depression treatment

One of the hallmarks of depression is feeling overwhelmed and having trouble focusing. Therapy helps you step back and see what might be contributing to your depression and how you can make changes. Here are some of the “big picture” themes that therapy can help with:

Relationships. Understanding the patterns of your relationships, building better relationships, and improving current relationships will help reduce isolation and build social support, important in preventing depression.

Setting healthy boundaries. If you are stressed and overwhelmed, and feel like you just can’t say no, you are more at risk for depression. Setting healthy boundaries in relationships and at work can help relieve stress, and therapy can help you identify and validate the boundaries that are right for you.

Handling life’s problems. Talking with a trusted therapist can provide good feedback on more positive ways to handle life’s challenges and problems.

Individual or group therapy for depression treatment?

When you hear the word “therapy” you might automatically think of one-on-one sessions with a therapist. However, group therapy can be very useful in depression treatment as well. Both group and individual therapy sessions usually last about an hour. What are the benefits of each? In individual therapy, you are building a strong relationship with one person, and may feel more comfortable sharing some sensitive information with one person than with a group. You also get individualized attention.

In group therapy, listening to peers going through the same struggles can validate your experiences and help build self-esteem. Often group members are at different points in their depression, so you might get tips from both someone in the trenches and someone who has worked through a challenging problem. As well as offering inspiration and ideas, attending group therapy can also help increase your social activities and network.

When the going gets tough in therapy...

As with remodeling a house, when you take apart things that haven't worked well in your life, it often makes them seem worse before they get better. When therapy seems difficult or painful, don't give up. If you discuss your feelings and reactions honestly with your therapist, it will help you move forward rather than retreat back to your old, less effective ways. However, if the connection with your therapist consistently starts to feel forced or uncomfortable, don’t be afraid to explore other options for therapy as well. A strong trusting relationship is the foundation of good therapy.

Finding a therapist

One of the most important things to consider when choosing a therapist is your connection with this person. The right therapist will be a caring and supportive partner in your depression treatment and recovery.

There are many ways to find a therapist:

Word of mouth is one of the best ways to find a good therapist. Your friends and family may have some ideas, or your primary care doctor may be able to provide an initial referral.

National mental health organizations can also help with referral lists of licensed credentialed providers.

If cost is an issue, check out local senior centers, religious organizations, and community mental health clinics. Such places often offer therapy on a sliding scale for payment.

Medication treatment for depression

Depression medication may be the most advertised treatment for depression, but that doesn’t mean it is the most effective. Depression is not just about a chemical imbalance in the brain. Medication may help relieve some of the symptoms of moderate and severe depression, but it doesn’t cure the underlying problem, and it’s usually not a long-term solution. Antidepressant medications also come with side effects and safety concerns, and withdrawal can be very difficult. If you're considering whether antidepressant medication is right for you, learning all the facts can help you make an informed decision.

Antidepressant Medication: What You Need to Know

If you are taking medication for depression, don’t ignore other treatments. Lifestyle changes and therapy not only help speed recovery from depression, but also provide skills to help prevent a recurrence.

Should you get antidepressants from your family doctor?

Your family doctor might be the first professionals to recognize your depression. However, while your doctor can prescribe antidepressants, it’s a good idea to explore your options with a mental health professional who specializes in depression. Ask for a referral. You might end up working with a therapist and not needing medication at all. If you do need medication, a psychiatrist has advanced training and experience in depression, treatments, and medications.

Alternative and complementary treatments for depression

Alternative and complementary treatments for depression may include vitamin and herbal supplements, acupuncture, and relaxation techniques, such as mindfulness meditation, yoga, or tai chi.

Vitamins and supplements for depression treatment

The jury is still out on how well herbal remedies, vitamins, or supplements work in treating depression. While many supplements are widely available over the counter, in many cases their efficacy has not been scientifically proven. If your depression symptoms are in part due to nutritional deficiency, you may benefit from vitamin supplements, but this should be on the advice of your healthcare professional.

If you decide to try natural and herbal supplements, remember that they can have side effects and drug or food interactions. For example, St. John’s Wort—a promising herb used for treatment of mild to moderate depression—can interfere with prescription drugs such as blood thinners, birth control pills, and prescription antidepressants. Make sure your doctor or therapist knows what you are taking.

Other alternative depression treatments

Relaxation techniques. As well as helping to relieve symptoms of depression, relaxation techniques may also reduce stress and boost feelings of joy and well-being. Try yoga, deep breathing, progressive muscle relaxation, or meditation.

Acupuncture. Acupuncture, the technique of using fine needles on specific points on the body for therapeutic purposes, is increasingly being investigated as a treatment for depression, with some research studies showing promising results. If you decide to try acupuncture, make sure that you find a licensed qualified professional.

Author/s of the Text : Joanna Saisan, M.S.W., Melinda Smith, M.A., and Jeanne Segal, Ph.D.

Title of the Journal/ Publication : Depression Treatment

URL or Web Address : https://www.helpguide.org/articles/depression/depression-treatment.htm

Main Idea : There are effective treatments that can help overcome depression such as therapy, medication, lifestyle changes, vitamin and herbal supplements, acupuncture, and relaxation techniques.

Evidence : Even if you need other treatment as well, making the right lifestyle changes can help lift depression faster—and prevent it from coming back. Therapy helps you step back and see what might be contributing to your depression and how you can make changes. Lifestyle changes and therapy not only help speed recovery from depression, but also provide skills to help prevent a recurrence. If your depression symptoms are in part due to nutritional deficiency, you may benefit from vitamin supplements, but this should be on the advice of your healthcare professional. As well as helping to relieve symptoms of depression, relaxation techniques may also reduce stress and boost feelings of joy and well-being. Acupuncture, the technique of using fine needles on specific points on the body for therapeutic purposes, is increasingly being investigated as a treatment for depression, with some research studies showing promising results

#11marx depression

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themarxian-blog · 7 years ago

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Madera, Nicolai

Depression Survival Guide

Although I am not a health care professional, I’ve seen depression from the inside. My expertise is rooted in the trials and errors of personal experience. Every person is different and therefore not all of these suggestions will work for you, just as they haven't all worked for me. My hope is that through this list you can gain insight into at least one strategy that helps assuage your depression.

Recognize That Depression Is Not A Sign Of Weakness

It’s not just sadness. Unfortunately, a lot of people still don’t understand that. Stigma still exisits that prevents people from getting help, but know that you are not alone. Millions, including everyday people and celebrities, have talked about their struggles with depression, received help and are in recovery.

Don’t Be Afraid To Get Help From A Professional

Make an appointment, whether it’s with your family physician, a licensed mental health professional or a psychiatrist. It’s important to find someone that you feel comfortable with. If you can’t afford the cost for a private visit, SAMHSA provides a treatment locator or you can call your local county health services department or mental health center for assistance. Healthcare providers draw from their areas of expertise and personal experiences. That means if one doesn’t work for you, there’s another out there who might be a better fit. Here are some more tips for finding a mental health professional.

Be A Part Of Forming Your Treatment Team

Being a team is important. Being included in decisions about what works for you can make sure you help decide what’s important for you in recovery. Members of your treatment team can include your therapist, psychiatrist, or other health care provider, a trusted family member or friend, and a support group.

Don’t Struggle In Silence

Confide in those you trust, whether it’s your spouse or partner, a relative, a close friend, or your healthcare providers. You can also join a support group, either a face-to-face one in your community or online. Warmlines are also an option. They are free, peer-run support lines that provide the opportunity to speak to a peer. At the same time, be selective in how much you disclose about your illness when a casual friend or acquaintance asks how you are.

Be Patient

Although some treatments can bring results within a few days, many take weeks to make a difference. Follow your physician’s directions—don’t exceed what he or she recommends, and look for gradual improvement rather than huge changes overnight.

Keep A List Of Things That Make You Smile And Laugh

In other words, create a rainy day fund for your mental health. Depression can come in cycles so having things that you can call on quickly that you know will help pull you up can be important. These might include a friend you can call, a compilation of funny cat videos, pictures from a fun vacation, a playlist of your favorite songs or an inspirational quote.

If Traditional Treatments Don’t Work, Explore Other Options

If common services and supports like therapy and prescription medications and supplements don’t seem to work, there are other types of treatment you can try. For example, repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS), which stimulates nerve cells in the brain to improve symptoms of depression, meditation, and complementary health approaches like yoga, acupressure and acupuncture.

Engage All Of Your Senses

Being aware of your surroundings and your body can help ground you and connect you to the moment. This awareness is a practice known as mindfulness. Becoming mindful takes lots of practice (and often training), but there are small things you can do on your own. For example, try to pay attention to the soft rug under your feet or the scented candle in your room. Also, you may find eating flavorful foods like chocolate can help.

Do Things That You Find Relaxing Or Fun

Color, listen to uplifting music, garden, pet a furry friend and spend time doing whatever it is that makes you feel at peace. Take a vacation or staycation if you can. Doing what you love can have lasting effects after you finish.

Get Outside

Spending time outside improves your mood, reduces stress and anxiety, gives you energy and improves focus. Find the time to soak up some rays and get your daily dose of Vitamin D.

Explore Your Thoughts And Feelings In A Private Place

Journaling isn’t a new idea, it’s hard to get started and you may find it tedious—but it can make a difference! Just writing down your thoughts can bring validation and relief. Let any anger or frustrations that you have out on paper instead of bottling them up.

Make Plans To Look Forward To

Fill your agenda every day. Idle time can cause you to dwell on negative thoughts, so instead keep yourself occupied. Take up a new hobby, enroll in an interesting class or volunteer to help others. Try to establish daily routines and stick to them, for they can provide structure and stability, providing mileposts to carry you through the day.

Exercise

It’s been said before, but exercising releases feel-good endorphins into your brain and can lift your mood. Take long walks, jog, play tennis, join a fitness club or find another form of exercise that you enjoy. Make an exercise routine and stick to it. Start small. If you haven’t exercised in a while—or have never really gotten into it—that’s OK! Set a small goal to start out with—just 10-15 minutes a few times a week. Once you get used to the routine, keeping it going will get easier.

Surround Yourself With Positive People

A positive attitude can be infectious, so stick around the people that make you happy and avoid those who don’t. Negativity breeds more negativity and it’s hard to stop the cycle. Try to stop the cycle from starting!

Be Compassionate Towards Yourself

Forgive yourself for your blunders and for angry remarks you may have made. Realize you’re doing the best you can, but don’t become complacent. Resolve to do better in the future. Keeping your inner dialogue positive isn’t easy, but positive thinking can go a long way toward increasing your resilience.

Title of the text: Depression Survival Guide Author of the text: Larry Godwin

Title of the journal/publication: National Alliance of Mental Illness

URL/Web Address: https://www.nami.org/Blogs/NAMI-Blog/February-2016/Depression-Survival-Guide

Main Idea: We must embrace ourselves in order for us to have the power to acknowledge the pain, fear or even mental health condition. We should have the strength to be vulnerable, real and open about our struggles. We must have the faith and recovery: admitting that we need assistance never makes us less of a person. It simply means that we are the bigger person who is willing to admit that we have a problem and necesarilly have to fix It for we want what's better for ourselves. We have to make plans to look forward to and be compassionate towards ourselves.

Evidence of the main Idea: The topic is simply the subject of the passage which is all about how to survive and to guide the people who is suffering from mental illness called depression. It explained how will we survive from It.

#11marx depression

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themarxian-blog · 7 years ago

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Amoguez, Rylle Yvone

A New Focus on Depression

When will we ever get depression under control?

Of all the major illnesses, mental or physical, depression has been one of the toughest to subdue. Despite the ubiquity of antidepressant drugs — there are now 26 to choose from — only a third of patients with major depression will experience a full remission after the first round of treatment, and successive treatments with different drugs will give some relief to just 20 to 25 percent more.

About 30 percent of people with depression have some degree of treatment resistance. And the greater the degree of resistance, the more likely a future relapse, even if the patient continues taking the drug.

Although we have learned much about depression — for example, the recent research showing that the successful treatment of insomnia in depressed patients essentially doubles their response to a drug like Prozac — we still don’t understand its fundamental cause. The old idea that the disease results from a deficiency of a single neurotransmitter like serotonin or dopamine is clearly simplistic and wrong.

Maybe psychiatrists and neuroscientists have something to learn from the successful hunt for the Higgs boson.

Of course a debilitating disease has nothing in common with a subatomic particle, except that both are mysterious and elusive. But it was those very qualities that inspired international teams of physicists to work together for years until they finally identified the boson last year.

Among biomedical scientists, who compete for the same research dollars and want to be first across the finish line with an important finding, such cooperation is hardly the norm. But there are signs that this is changing.

Not long ago, I sat in at a meeting of the Hope for Depression Research Foundation. Audrey Gruss, the knowledgeable and energetic philanthropist who started the foundation, has corralled a group of senior basic and clinical neuroscientists to look for solutions. (It is not the first to try a collaborative approach; others are being sponsored by the MacArthur Foundation and the Pritzker Consortium.)

“A complex problem like depression is much larger than one scientist or lab can handle,” said the leader of the group at the Hope foundation, Huda Akil, a professor of neurosciences and psychiatry at the University of Michigan. “What is great about our collaboration is that we can think about big ideas and take risks without worrying about what grant reviewers” — like the National Institute of Mental Health, the major source of federal funding for psychiatric research — “might think.”

A major goal is to understand which brain circuits and genes are altered by depression, how the environment interacts with these genes, and how to reverse the accumulated biological assaults of this disease. That will require the integration of a wide range of tools, she said: genomics, epigenetics, electrophysiology, animal models, clinical psychiatry.

A major drawback of our current anti depressants is that they rely on animal models that have been used for decades, yielding drugs that all work the same way. Novel drugs require identification of new targets in the brain and better animal models in which to screen them.

So one member of the group, Dr. Joshua Gordon, an associate professor of psychiatry at Columbia, studies new animal models of depression by recording activity in select brain regions in mice that are engaged in depression like behavior.

After talking with another group member, Dr. Helen S. Mayberg, a neuroscientist at Emory University, Dr. Gordon modified his approach. Dr. Mayberg has identified a target for deep brain stimulation in patients with treatment-resistant depression: a region called the subgenual cingulate cortex. When it is directly stimulated with electrodes in depressed patients who have failed to respond to nearly all other treatments, many show a brisk positive response.

Dr. Mayberg urged Dr. Gordon to extend the region of his recording to include the mouse analog of this human brain region, so he could more fully capture activity in these different areas of the cortex and understand how they individually contribute to depressionlike behavior in mice.

Another group member, Bruce McEwen, a neuroscientist at Rockefeller University who has done pioneering work on the effects of stress on the brain, is studying rats from Dr. Akil’s lab that have been genetically selected for their propensity to show anxiety and depression like behavior.

Among other things, Dr. McEwen is using these rats to study the efficacy of drugs with the potential to act rapidly against depression. Such a drug would be a major boon to psychiatry: We need treatments that can ease the symptoms of depression, and its attendant risk of suicide, in far less time than the two to six weeks that all current antidepressants require to do their work.

Even a high-powered collaboration like this one offers no guarantee of finding effective weapons against intractable depression. After all, it took 50 years to smoke out the Higgs boson, and even at that, there are huge unanswered questions.

But at a time when federal research funds are shrinking and major drug companies have all but shuttered their brain research programs, enlightened philanthropists and entrepreneurs are helping to open a promising new pathway for neuroscience research: collaboration among researchers willing and able to take thoughtful risks and solve big problems.

Title of the text: A New Focus on Depression

Author of the text: Dr. Richard A. Friedman, M.D.

Title of Journal/Publication: The New York Times

URL or web address:

https://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/12/23/a-new-focus-on-depression

Main Idea:

Researchers are finding ways on understanding which Brain circuits and genes are altered by Depression, they are somewhat interested on Brain research programs that they think would do a lot of help on our neuroscientists and psychologists and especially those who have depression and suicidal thoughts. They are also testing all of their experiments on lab rats that have been generally selected for their propensity to show anxiety and depression like behavior.

Evidence that supports the Main Idea:

#11Marx Depression

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themarxian-blog · 7 years ago

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Navarroza, Danika

Assessment and Treatment of Adolescent Depression and Suicidality

Diagnosis of depression in adolescents can be difficult due to problems differentiating between the normal, transient difficulties and developmental issues that occur in this age group and depressive symptoms. However accurate and timely diagnosis is critical because of the far reaching effects of depressive disorder on the functioning and adjustment of the adolescent. Depressive disorders may lead to serious consequences, including increased risk for illness, interpersonal and psychosocial difficulties, substance abuse, and suicide. This article reviews the adolescent depression and suicide research literature and discusses risk factors, unique symptom presentation, and effective treatment strategies. It also examines gender differences in the expression of symptoms and recommends gender-specific assessment and treatment strategies.

The accurate and early diagnosis and treatment of depression in adolescents is essential. The incidence of depression among youth age 9-17 has been estimated at 5% and only a minority are treated (Shaffer et al., 1996). Studies suggest that the 1-year prevalence in adolescents is as high as 8.3% (U.S. Department of Health & Human Services [HHS], 1999). Depression persists, or only partially remits, in more than half of them (Oldehinkel, Wittchen, & Schuster, 1999).

Depression in adolescents may lead to serious consequences including suicidal behaviors. The Center for Disease Control (CDC, 2000) reports that from 1980 to 1997, the rate of suicide among 15- to 19-year-old adolescents increased by 11% and among those aged 10 to 14 by 109%. Suicide is responsible for more deaths in youths age 15 to 19 than any disease. In 1996, suicide was the third leading cause of death (behind unintentional injury and homicide) in 15 to 24 year olds and the fourth leading cause of death in 10 to 14 year olds. There are gender and racial differences in the suicide rates. Boys are four times more likely to complete suicide than girls while girls are twice as likely to attempt suicide (HHS, 1999). The risk for suicide is highest among young white males, but suicide rates have increased most rapidly for young black males (CDC, 2000). Hispanic high school students are more likely than any other student to attempt suicide (HHS, 1999). The highest rate of completed suicide in the United States is among Native American male adolescents and young adults (HHS, 1999).

The presence of adolescent depression predicts continued risk for recurrences and persistence of depressive episodes, negative consequences, and suicidal risk into adulthood (Rao et al., 1995; Weissman et al., 1999). Successful treatment in adolescence is crucial, because adults with psychiatric illnesses are 20 times more likely to die from accidents or suicide than those without a mental disorder (Murphy, Monson, & Olivier, 1987). Depressed adolescents are more likely to experience stressful life events as young adults (Lewinsohn & Clarke, 1999). They are at higher risk for developing substance abuse and becoming an unwed parent. They are also less likely to complete college and earn as much money as those who were not depressed as adolescents (Lewinsohn & Clarke, 1999). These negative consequences during adolescence and young adulthood make early recognition and treatment essential.

SYMPTOMS OF DEPRESSION

The diagnosis of a major depressive episode in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, (4th ed.), (American Psychiatric Association, 1994) requires the presence of five or more of the following symptoms for a period of 2 weeks: (a) depressed mood, (b) loss of interest or pleasure, (c) significant weight or appetite change, (d) insomnia or hypersomnia, (e) psychomotor agitation or retardation, (f) fatigue/loss of energy, (g) feelings of worthlessness or inappropriate guilt, (h) diminished ability to think or concentrate, and/or (i) recurrent thoughts of death or suicidal ideation/plan/attempts.

TITLE OF THE TEXT: Assessment and Treatment of Adolescent Depression and Suicidality

Author of the text: Stanard, Rebecca Powell

TITLE OF THE JOURNAL/PUBLICATION:Journal title: Journal of Mental Health Counseling. Volume: 22. Issue: 3 Publication date: July 2000.

URL or web address: https://www.questia.com/read/1G1-67583169/assessment-and-treatment-of-adolescent-depression

MAIN IDEA: Depression in adolescents may lead to serious consequences including suicidal behaviors.

EVIDENCES THAT SUPPORTS THE MAIN IDEA:

Suicide is responsible for more deaths in youths age 15 to 19 than any disease. In 1996, suicide was the third leading cause of death (behind unintentional injury and homicide) in 15 to 24 year olds and the fourth leading cause of death in 10 to 14 year olds.

Depressed adolescents are more likely to experience stressful life events as young adults (Lewinsohn & Clarke, 1999). They are at higher risk for developing substance abuse and becoming an unwed parent. They are also less likely to complete college and earn as much money as those who were not depressed as adolescents (Lewinsohn & Clarke, 1999)

#11Marx Depression

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themarxian-blog · 7 years ago

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Damo, Cielo Azure R.

DEPRESSION IS THE SILENT KILLER IN OUR SOCIETY.

We’ve come a long way as a society on fighting mental illness. There used to be a time, and maybe there still is in large parts of the world, where depression or anxiety was seen as forms of weakness. It was never taken seriously, never looked at as an illness but just failings on your character make-up.

The idea that money can wash away sadness, or that behind a smiling face isn’t a world of pain, got shattered I think by the suicide of Robin Williams. Materialism isn’t linked to happiness, it can only buy you distractions. There’s this story where someone goes to see a doctor and says they’re feeling depression. The doctor turns around and tells him that a comedian is performing that night and he might feel cheered up if he goes and watches, to which, the patient replies that he is the comedian.

For those who suffer from mental illness, understanding what they’re going through is the first part of the problem. The second is finding people to talk to. We live in a world where the word “depressed” becomes used to explain feelings related to the mundane everyday experiences rather than a deeper, more serious illness. And the sympathy of people can be limited; after a while there is an expectation on those with mental illness to simply move past their issues. This after all isn’t an illness you can visibly see.

If you’re from a religious family, it’s awful because there’s no sadness that a prayer can’t fix supposedly. And depression is seen as a lack of faith. The low energy, appetite and motivation to do anything, the distancing from the things you love, become seen as signs of weak faith. You’re told that maybe you’re being possessed by evil supernatural spirits, and you’re not allowed to scoff at this because you’re supposed to believe in this stuff. How many people in the Muslim world have to go through this because no one wants to believe that mental illness exists?

The victims of this tend to be young children or women who suffer from child abuse or vicious misogyny. Within some South Asian communities it results sometimes in women staying trapped in abusive, unhappy marriages because they don’t wish to bring shame or a curse upon their family. Children who are treated terribly growing up suffer from mental health problems as a consequence, unable to talk about it and instead internalise their pain.

Depression is also one of the biggest killers of men because the image of masculinity, of ignoring pain, of repressing issues, mean that men bottle feelings up rather than discuss them. “The Office for National Statistics published a report covering the years from 2001 to 2013, showing that suicide among men has reached its highest levels since the early Eighties, rising sharply in 2007 and hitting a peak in 2013.” We don’t talk about it; we’re told to “man up”, and that crying is for girls. So we keep it quiet, right up until to the moment some of us can’t take it anymore. Depression amongst men is linked to our understandings of masculinity, of patriarchy and feminism. From a young age, boys aren’t taught to accept they have feelings, but just made to bury it. And it literally kills.

We need to be a society where those with mental health issues feel confident enough to come forward and discuss their problems, rather than being blamed for either being weak or faithless. Ignoring mental illness simply abandons those suffering from it to lonely, awful lives.

Title of the text: DEPRESSION IS THE SILENT KILLER IN OUR SOCIETY.

Author of the text: Rabbil Sikdar

Title of the Journal/Publication: AnotherLenz 2017

URL or web address: http://anotherlenz.com/depression-silent-killer-society

Main Idea:

We live in a world where the word “depressed” becomes used to explain feelings related to the mundane everyday experiences rather than a deeper, more serious illness.

Evidences that supports the main idea:

There’s this story where someone goes to see a doctor and says they’re feeling depression. The doctor turns around and tells him that a comedian is performing that night and he might feel cheered up if he goes and watches, to which, the patient replies that he is the comedian.

If you’re from a religious family, it’s awful because there’s no sadness that a prayer can’t fix supposedly.

Depression is also one of the biggest killers of men because the image of masculinity, of ignoring pain, of repressing issues, mean that men bottle feelings up rather than discuss them.

Within some South Asian communities it results sometimes in women staying trapped in abusive, unhappy marriages because they don’t wish to bring shame or a curse upon their family.

Children who are treated terribly growing up suffer from mental health problems as a consequence, unable to talk about it and instead internalise their pain.

#11Marx Depression

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themarxian-blog · 7 years ago

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Alorro, Lucie Marie

Depression; a family matter.

Depression is not just a medical matter. It's a family one, too.

The behaviors and mood of a depressed person affect the whole family. There's the irritability, which sets off conflicts and derails family dynamics. The negative thought patterns, which become a prism of pessimism for everyone. The withdrawal that literally disrupts relationships and breeds wholesale feelings of rejection. There are major responsibilities that get displaced. There is a general burden of stress.

And yet, families can be major forces of care, comfort, even cure. They are crucial to proper recognition and treatment of the disorder, not just at the beginning but throughout. They are the de facto caregivers, willingly or not. They contribute powerfully to the emotional atmosphere the depressed person inhabits, and so can be agents of recovery. Or not.

Yes, depression has a huge impact on families. And families have a huge impact on depression.

Nassir Ghaemi, assistant professor of psychiatry at Harvard, contends it's not even desirable to make the correct diagnosis of depression without the family. For one thing, many people—particularly those at either end of the age spectrum and those with medical conditions—don't realize they are depressed or may attribute symptoms to other things. The perspective of family members is useful.

But it's downright essential for prescribing. "To treat any depression accurately, you have to know whether it is unipolar or bipolar—in other words, whether the person has been manic in the past," says Ghaemi. "Our research shows that 50 percent of patients are not even aware they are manic when experiencing mania. Family members recognize manic symptoms twice as often."

Then there's the need for continuing diagnosis, because one episode of depression doesn't eliminate the possibility that mania will develop, especially in persons under 30. Bipolar disorder typically begins with a depressive episode, and the average age of onset is 19. But a first manic episode does not occur until age 25, on average.

The younger the patient, the greater the risk they will end up having bipolar disorder. Standard antidepressants could precipitate mania. In those cases, Ghaemi considers it essential to warn patients and family about manic symptoms. Even in established cases of bipolar disorder managed with mood stabilizers, the Harvard psychiatrist considers family members indispensable for the early recognition of manic symptoms.

When prospective patients first call for an evaluation, Ghaemi asks that they bring in a family member. "Then I ask the family to feel free to call me any time the patient is developing mood symptoms of any variety."

Confidentiality is not a problem. "There's no confidentiality constraints against my ear being open," says Ghaemi. "I can't say anything, but I can listen to what they say."

What's more, the attitude of family toward medications prescribed can spell the difference between compliance and continuing illness. If family members are not on the side of treatment, Ghaemi teaches patients to cope with that. Ideally, a family supports the treatment plan, reminding the patient to take medication.

Julie Totten knows how much of a family matter depression is. She learned the hard way, having grown up—perhaps too quickly—in a household ravaged by depression.

To spare others the pain she endured as a sister and daughter of undiagnosed depression, she has established an organization dedicated to helping families recognize the disorder and motivating them to seek and manage treatment.

Families for Depression Awareness (familyaware.org) urges family members to show they care, because depressed people feel isolated in their pain and hopelessness. "Depression often divides families," says Totten. Some people don't understand it and want to run far from it.

"Others do everything in their power to get a person well, including hunting out magic cures." Ultimately, she says, "they realize there's no such thing. And they feel cheated. Depression has to be managed."

No one disputes the need for treatment of the depression. Psychologist David Miklowitz, goes one step further. He has developed a treatment targeting the family, on the grounds that family dynamics affect the outcome of mood conditions.

Research shows that the course of the illness is worsened by "expressed emotion," a measure of attitudes expressed by a caregiver relative to a psychiatrically ill patient. It consists of criticism, hostility and emotional over-involvement. An atmosphere of high expressed emotion multiplies the chance of relapse two to three times, reports Miklowitz, professor of psychology at the University of Colorado.

Expressed emotion usually sets up a conflictual relationship between patient and relative. And that has biological effects. "Patients become hyperaroused," explains Miklowitz. "Imaging studies show that fear centers are activated in the brain when depression-susceptible people hear a family member

Title of the Text: Depression: A Family Matter

Author/s of the Text: Hara Estroff Marano

Title of the Journal/Publication: March 01, 2002

URL or web address: https://www.psychologytoday.com/au/articles/200203/depression-family-matter

Main Idea: The behaviors and mood of a depressed person affect the whole family.

They contribute powerfully to the emotional atmosphere the depressed person inhabits,

Depression has a huge impact on families. And families have a huge impact on depression

"To treat any depression accurately, you have to know whether it is unipolar or bipolar—in other words, whether the person has been manic in the past,"

"50 percent of patients are not even aware they are manic when experiencing mania. Family members recognize manic symptoms twice as often." fact finder said.

Depression doesn't eliminate the possibility that mania will develop

The younger the patient, the greater the risk they will end up having bipolar disorder.

The attitude of family toward medications prescribed can spell the difference between compliance and continuing illness.

If family members are not on the side of treatment, Ghaemi teaches patients to cope with that.

"Depression has to be managed."

Evidence that supports the main idea (provide at least two):

• Nassir Ghaemi, assistant professor of psychiatry at Harvard, contends it's not even desirable to make the correct diagnosis of depression without the family. For one thing, many people—particularly those at either end of the age spectrum and those with medical conditions—don't realize they are depressed or may attribute symptoms to other things. The perspective of family members is useful.

• Julie Totten knows how much of a family matter depression is. She learned the hard way, having grown up—perhaps too quickly—in a household ravaged by depression.

• No one disputes the need for treatment of the depression. Psychologist David Miklowitz, goes one step further. He has developed a treatment targeting the family, on the grounds that family dynamics affect the outcome of mood conditions.

#11Marx Depression

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