Female Care » Depression

The Basics of Depression

Article Poster — Tue, 22 Mar 2011 16:28:07 +0000

Depression is a prolonged and magnified sadness that lasts for more than two weeks. It can lead to a loss of interest in hobbies and relationships, and it interrupts one’s ability to concentrate. In addition, it changes eating habits, causing either excessive or miniscule food intake. Depression can last from weeks to years, and despite the discomfort, most people do not seek help.

Depression is an illness; it is a state of dis-ease in the body. Chemicals in the brain influence moods. Serotonin, norepinephrine, and dopamine are “feel good” chemicals and when these chemicals linger in our brain, we feel uplifted. When the chemicals reabsorb too quickly, we feel down. Scientists have found ways to help the chemicals stay longer in the brain.

Depression can have internal and external causes. External causes include poverty, financial stressors, abusive relationships, and personal losses. Internal causes can be chemical imbalances, some medications, heart disease, brain disease, and thyroid disorders. In some families, depression shows up from generation to generation.

Male and females may show signs of depression in different ways. During depressive periods, men often express, anger, discouragement, excessive work, alcohol, and/or, drug abuse. Although women may behave similarly, they are prone to express depressive symptoms in hopeless and helpless behaviors. The hormonal cycle vary in women more than men, and studies show that women who have premenstrual syndrome are more likely to suffer from depression in their lifetime.

Unfortunately, treatment for depression is not readily available for everyone. Most insurances limit mental health benefits, but thankfully, there is a movement in congress that supports legislation to have mental health issues receive the same kind of consideration as any other illness. In the mean time, some public health clinics provide treatment on a sliding scale basis. In addition, some drug manufacturers offer programs for patients who cannot afford their medications. Contact the drug manufacturer and inquire if there is a suitable program for you.

Therapy for depression include, talk, behavior modification, and medication therapy. Mild depression often responds well to talk and behavioral therapy. Mediation therapies include Monamine Oxidase inhibitors and Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitors. Another therapeutic option is electroconvulsive therapy. With any medication and treatment, there can be side effects. It is important to discuss concerns and side effects with your doctor.

Depression is like any other disease, as with asthma, diabetes, and hypertension there are causes and treatments. It is important to recognize depression and seek treatment.

My Journey Through Postpartum Depression

Article Poster — Sun, 09 Jan 2011 15:37:56 +0000

“Once upon a time, there was a little girl who dreamed of being a mommy. She wanted, more than anything, to have a child and knew her dream would come true one day.”

“At long last, her dream of being a mommy had come true. But instead of being relieved and happy, all she could do was cry.”

And so begins Brooke Shields’ recently published novel “Down Came The Rain: My Journey Through Postpartum Depression.” But what Shields didn’t expect was the crushing depression that overcame her following the birth of her long awaited child. A barrage of emotions that were anything but joyous, peaceful and content began filling her days, and she found herself afraid and uninterested in caring for her daughter Rowan. She felt so ashamed of what she was feeling and overwhelmed by the major changes having a child brought to her life that she even contemplated suicide.

A classic overachiever, Shields writes that “I kept thinking about what I feared the most in raising my daughter and started to see that even more than mourning my old life and the freedoms I thought it afforded, I was worried primarily about failing.”

After several failed IVF treatments and a devastating and painful miscarriage, Shields had clearly set the bar way too high for any mother, much less one in the public eye, to live up to.

There were many factors that may have contributed to her debilitating depression, including the very recent death of her father, the suicide of close friend and former co-star David Strickland and a long and difficult labor followed by a cesarean section and near hysterectomy.

But the fact remains that none of these things could have been going on and she still would have battled postpartum depression. It is a mental illness that has no rhyme or reason, and often pulls no punches, even for the rich and famous, as the book illustrates.

Shields should be commended for two things, however. First, she did not take the route of many celebrities and hire a live-in baby nurse to help care for her child. She and her husband wanted, and felt that they were both capable of taking care of their new daughter with no outside help. While she did end up getting a baby nurse to help her with Rowan when her husband worked on the West Coast, she still remained a hands-on mother who took her baby almost everywhere that she went, even on location once she returned to work.

Second, despite feeling disconnected with her daughter in the first few months of her birth, Shields continued to nurse her daughter for nine months even when many friends and family suggested she give it up in order to get more rest. She rationalized that she needed to share that bond with her daughter, and despite her depression, only wanted to be the best mother she could possibly be, and that included breastfeeding Rowan.

“Down Came The Rain” is a good example of how even the most well-educated woman can suffer postpartum depression without realizing what it really is. (Shields received a degree in French literature from Princeton). Many doctors still dismiss new mothers and tell them it’s just the “baby blues.” But postpartum can turn far more serious, and no new mother wants to feel ambivalence or even anger toward their new child or have images of their child being hurt or in an accident. It is a difficult subject to talk about, and probably the reason more women don’t seek treatment for it.

Even Shields at first rejected the advice of her husband, family and closest friends and refused to seek treatment or begin medication. But eventually her desire to be a good mother enabled her to see the irreparable damage the illness was doing to her family.

Shields, who grew to bond with her daughter even more fiercely than she ever imagined, writes in her final pages to readers, “You need not be a hero. Having it does not mean you are not a good mother or that you are crazy. Above all, it does not mean you don’t love your child.”

At the end of the book she lists books and websites devoted to helping those who might be suffering with the illness.

“Down Came The Rain” is a refreshing and honest look at difficult choices and decisions that women as mothers must make daily, as well as the emotions that can overcome them at the most inopportune times. It paints a picture of a woman going through an emotionally difficult time following childbirth who also happens to be a celebrity, and not the other way around. Shields’ battle with depression makes her seem more real than her fans could have ever imagined.

Menopause Signs

Article Poster — Fri, 05 Mar 2010 14:54:29 +0000

Climax is not a disease or disorder of the organism. Menopause is a transient state between two life stages of women when menstrual bleeding terminates. Various symptoms testify about hormonal changes during menopause. If consider menopause signs, the first is the age. Menopause occurs in certain age, therefore knowing approximate period we can compare to other signs and realize that menopause has come. The exact age of climax is impossible to define, because the processes responsible for ovaries activity have not been studied yet. Also we can say that this process occurs individually, but certain average time frames of menopause coming can be defined. It is the age of 45-56 years. However, as it was told above, it can be observed individually, earlier or later. The shorter time intervals between menstrual periods can be the first sign of menopause approaching. During menopause, menstrual periods come unexpectedly.

Before climax bone density and cholesterol level are decreased leading to cardiovascular diseases. The following first signs can testify about menopause: mood swings, depression, chronic weakness, headaches, change of menstrual cycle, pain, spasms, blood sugar fluctuations, body water retention, sleep disorder, low libido, painful urination and skin ageing.

Besides, during premenopausal period an estrogen level is sharply decreased in woman. However, the reason of estrogen level decrease should be revealed. It may not be associated with menopause. The doctor will define menopause after checking gonadotropin level in blood or urine. If hormones level is high, the hypophysis releases them for extra stimulation of ovaries activity. It means that the process begins.

Generally, it is impossible to say that menopause came, even if the said signs are observed. Any modern and advanced analysis cannot define when a woman experiences climax. So, ask your mother when she experienced this process in order to be ready because it depends very much on hereditary.

Menopause is the beginning of a new life for a woman. In the beginning of this process there is nothing bad and you can feel many positive effects. As this process is inevitable you will have to adapt. Knowing when you can expect the beginning of this process will help you to prepare.

Menopause and Depression

Article Poster — Fri, 19 Feb 2010 14:32:42 +0000

Every woman experiences the specific period called menopause or climax. Menopause is a period in women characterized by disorder of estrogen hormones release. These hormones define activity of ovaries and hypophysis. Usually this process starts in the female organism after the age of 45 to 55 years, and its average duration is from 4 to 8 years.

Menopause does not come in one moment, this process is complicated physically and psychologically. Generally the female organism has enough time to prepare for a new stage of the life because the process lasts for long and categorized by certain stages which help to manage with these changes.

Menopause is divided into three stages: pre-menopause (from the beginning of lowering ovaries function to menopause), menopause (the last menstrual periods), and post-menopause (from the end of the last menstrual periods to the end of the life cycle). The process occurs gradually and woman is getting used to changes without serious affecting. But very often women feel menopause depression.

The scientists have been trying for over the century to find correlation between menopause and depression. The physiological and psychological changes observed during menopause depression have not been studied yet. Many mood swings are caused by estrogen deficiency, however it is not always like this, so it cannot be explained by the specific factors. Menopause was always associated with the period when women are especially sensitive to mental disorders. However, psychological disorders depend on various factors. Very often these disorders are related to early menopause. Early menopause may arise due to many reasons, for example: surgeries, ovaries functionality lowering, diseases, and many other disorders.

The beginning of the early menopause for many women signifies the end of life, but it is not like this. They cannot have children, they are getting older after menopause and these factors cause depression. After deep reflections, they may experience mood disorder hard to be treated.

This female menopause depression problem has been studied for a long time by the doctors, and the clinical researches conducted to reveal menopause depression reasons define various results.

It is difficult to make a specific conclusion on the basis of available analysis. Probably, we can say that menopause depression is not observed in all women, but many women experience these symptoms, especially in perimenopausal period.

Personal Properties Affecting Depression

Martin — Thu, 14 Jan 2010 18:15:41 +0000

The mislead of hate and rage to one’s self instead of people around in belief of causing loss of people around. (A character in that kind of a structure has not had regular and sufficient mother- child relation in one’s early 1-2 years. The depression the person goes through is related to a real or assumed loss.)

- As a person, one’s surroundings and expectations from future, ideals and one’s real situation could be so very different from the real world, so distracted and so inappropriate that being not able to reach these high standards may lead to weakness and loneliness thoughts and depression.

- One’s super ego could be so powerful and dominant that it restricts, blames, takes away from comforting and pleasure-giving activities, as if torturing.

- People around one may expect so many things that it’s impossible to establish. This may lead to some thoughts of weakness and misery and turn them into depression.

- There exists no one that one could love, respect, be proud of, get support and company, follow the footprints, idealize as a father, mother, teacher, relative etc. in a certain level. This affects the development of character in a negative way and may lead to loss of self- confidence and eventually depression.

- Separation or loss of parents in childhood may lead to build wrong or insufficient mechanisms to get over stressed circumstances lacking of support and this may prepare some base to depression.

- The characteristics are important in depression progress. The tendency to depression is higher in people who are obsessive- compulsive, addictive, hysterionic and in borderline having personal disorders.

Depression in Children

Martin — Wed, 13 Jan 2010 20:13:42 +0000

Depression is not only observed in adults. Children and adolescents could get depressed as well. It’s known that 5% of the children, 5-10% of the adolescents are exposed to depression.

Depression is defined as a disease that prevents the child or the adolescent from establishing various functions whereas depression feelings remains stable.

The risk of getting depressed is higher in children under stress, going through loss, having disorder of attention, comprehension, behaviour or anxiety. Family related tendency is important in depression progress as well.

SYMPTOMS

The symptoms of children and adolescents getting depressed may be different from those of adults. It’s recommended that you take an expert’s advice if there exists one or more of the depression symptoms in your children for a long time.

· Frequently crying and being sorry

· Hopelessness

· Reducing attention in activities or getting no pleasure from activities that were done before with pleasure

· Constant boredom, lack of energy

· Social isolation, lack of communication

· Lack of self- respect and feeling of guilt

· Oversensation in failure or rejection issues

· Increase in anger, hostility, resentment

· Having problems in relationships

· Frequent physical complaints like headache, stomachache

· Decrease in success in school and attendance at school

· Lack of concentration

· Great changes in habits like sleeping and eating

· Claims or attempts to run away from home

· Expressions or thoughts of suicide or hurting one’s self

A child who used to play with friends may come to spend time alone and have interest in nothing at all. The things once used to enjoy one’s self may become less interesting or have no meaning at all for a child in depression. They may say that they’re mean, not loved and blame themselves frequently. With self- respect, they may be lack of self- confidence and be conservative. Children and adolescents in depression may want to die or mention suicide. The risk of suicide increases in children and adolescents in depression. They may apply to smoking, alcohol or drugs to make themselves feel fine.

Children and adolescents causing troubles at home or school may be going through depression. For the reason the little children would not seem sorry all the time, parents and teachers may not understand that the troublesome behaviours are symptoms of depression. Hyper-activity, harshness, frequent crying may be symptoms of depression in little children. When asked directly, some children may express that they are unhappy or sorry. In little children and girls in adolescence, the symptoms of depression are seen as mostly physical complaints like stomachache or headache. Physical symptoms are frequently seen in children who are lack of self- confidence about school, insufficience in establishing relationships and having problems in getting independant from parents. Symptoms like headache or stomachache may get condensed while going to school in the morning.

EARLY DIAGNOSIS AND TREATMENT IS IMPORTANT

Early diagnosis and treatment is quite important in children going through depression. Depression is a real disease that really requires professional help. A developed treatment usually involves application of therapy both to the person and the family. For example, cognitive behaviour therapy and personal psychotherapy especially are important as personal therapy methods in depression treatment in children.

Treatment may require usage of antidepressing medication. Recently produced new antidepressing medications could be used with little children in safety and do not have properties like addictivity. For help, it’s essential to apply to a expert in children and adolescents’ mental health to diagnose and treat the depression in children and adolescents.

10 Factors That Increase The Risk of Depression

Martin — Wed, 13 Jan 2010 18:11:52 +0000

There is no easy answer to the question why people get depressed. It’s certain what causes the flu, because the virus can be detected. It’s uncertain what causes depression, however there are some important issues known about depression. Probably it depends on the following components: Genetic tendency, factors that affected you essentially while growing up. Now you can get further information about the causes of depression here.

Genetics

Depression may show transition between family members. If your mother, father, children or siblings go through repeating depression attacks, unfortunately the risk of having once or more depression episodes of yours is 20%.

Sex

The possibility of progress in depression in women is as twice as much in men. What is more, it is claimed that recently in fact there are much men getting depressed in number than that are assumed in the first place, however they are much more in volunteer to get into a research of treatment. Depression affects men in different aspects so that most men don’t even realize that they’ve got depressed. That leads to existence of decreased per cents in researches.

Socio-economic situation

The relation between social situation and depression isn’t verified eventually, but it seems like the risk of progress in depression in lower socio-economic groups is higher.

Psychological trauma

Some people who have gone through psychological shocks and traumas react these issues by getting depressed. Some of them react in anxiety or alcoholism. In some of them, there hardly occurs a psychological damage. The reaction that you’ll give depends on mostly your genetics and personality.

Sexual abuse

The risk of depression stands higher in people who have been exposed to sexual abuse in childhood.

Divorce

It’s uncertain whether divorce increases the risk of depression or not. The possibility of having been divorced is higher in people depressed than other people, but it’s uncertain whether people get depressed due to divorce or get divorced due to depression.

Unemployment

The possibility of being unemployed is higher in depressed people. However it’s uncertain whether people get depressed due to unemployment or get unemployed due to depression.

Lamentation

It’ll probably surprise you to find out that there’s no relation between the death of a close friend or a relative and the risk of getting into depression. Lamentation is a different situation; however if lasts for too long or causes loss of sense, you may get depressed.

Illness

Physical illnesses increase the risk of depression. Any kind of illness may lead to depression. That is valid for serious problems like coroner thromboses and cancer as well as small problems like flu.

Pregnancy and birth

The risk of progress in depression is higher in weeks and months that follow giving birth. It’s essential that both of your body and mind to get into synchronization in the birth process. It requires harmony in functional systems to look after your baby. This is a most emotional period of life and every one of ten women gets into postnatal depression.

What is Depression? (major depression)

Martin — Tue, 12 Jan 2010 19:05:05 +0000

Most people suffer from depression in some part of their lives. Almost everyday you can hear someone complaining about feeling down and depressed and it is pretty normal in today’s fast paced and stressed life. Depression has certainly become the 21st century plague. However, there are lots of confusions about what depression really is, the differences between clinical depression and the common old blues, and many types of depression that people may experience.

Depression is a serious –but common- mental illness that affects directly the way you live. It is true and actually sad that we use the same term –depressed- for two different things – a bad mood and a diagnosable illness. However, depression is far more than a prolonged bad mood or just feeling sad and down, it is a serious mental illness which needs treatment by professionals.

Depression can be triggered by an event like loss of a loved one, or a job, a divorce, family problems etc., but it can also come on for no apparent reason at all. Grief after the death or the usual mood swings of teenagers are not considered depression in the usual sense. It generally strikes adults and twice as many women as men.

Finding and understanding the cause of the depression is not really matters, immediately getting effective and appropriate treatment is the important thing. However, first you should know that if it is just the common blues that you are going through, or something more..?

Everything is Fine, so Why Am I Depressed?

Martin — Tue, 12 Jan 2010 17:56:56 +0000

Sometimes, depression can be a very complicated feeling. Even if all the things in your life may seem to be in order, you may still fell unhappy and unsatisfied. If it is the depression that we are mentioning, internal conditions are more important than the external ones. You may have a good job, a caring family and supportive friend, still you can as yourself, everything seems fine, but why do I still feel bad about myself?

Whenever you succeed at something that is important for you, if you think that it was just your luck or anyone could have done that, you are missing a chance to be happy. This may seem like a little thing; however this kind of thinking is an obvious symptom of depression.

Everything in life changes, nothing ever stays the same, but human nature tends wishing things to continue the same way. In this case, the important and necessary thing is to adopt those changes. Unfortunately depressive thoughts and behavior make it hard to adopt these changes. You may have difficulties in changing your view of life making decisions and you may not know what to do when you face those changes. At these times life may seem not worth living for you, if this is the case you should immediately get help from trained professionals.

Depressed people often tend to live in the past and questions, where did all things went wrong? What have I done to make that happen? You may blame yourself all the time and feel not confident. All these thoughts trigger depression and if you can not enjoy your moment, even the things were currently alright, you should get help from professionals.

Remember even if your life is financially secured, you still have human needs like having good relationships with other people, feeling connected and spiritually secured and having goals to achieve. If all these things sound meaningless and pointless to you that means you may have an illness which needs treatment.

Dysthymic Disorder (Dysthymia)

Martin — Mon, 11 Jan 2010 19:55:04 +0000

Dysthymia is simply chronic depression which lasts for years. It does not have to be as severe as the major depression; however people who suffer from dysthymia do not even remember a day that they did not felt depressed. The symptoms are similar to depression, overeating or poor appetite, low energy, sleeping disorders, low self esteem and difficulties in concentration and making decisions.

In order to be diagnosed with dysthymic disorder, no major depressive disorder has been diagnosed and the duration in children and adolescents must be at least a year, for adults this is more than two years. This means that the person needs to have a long termed, mild and not complicated depression to be diagnosed with dysthymia.

In adults, dysthymia has a big risk to turn into major depressive disorder. In children, there is a risk of having hyperactivity disorder, learning disorders and mental retardation. Adolescents have bad school performance low self esteem and poor social interaction.