DEPRESSION

Do you remember being tired, almost exhausted, extremely forgetful, not concentrating well?  Can you recall yourself having problems in a family when out of sudden you started to yell at your spouse for nothing and then burst into tears? Did your boss had any problems with you, because you didn’t do a project on time, or stopped getting along with your friends, avoiding them. And all the above is going on a few weeks already and gets worse and worse. What is it?  What to do?  To drink alcohol? To visit finally gym? How to deal with all these problems? If it sounds familiar, if you think it is about you – then you have to know this is likely DEPRESSION.

Depression is a  biological neuropsychiatric disease that affects over 19 million American adults and over 5 million children and teens each year. Numerous scientific animal and human studies demonstrate the brain’s abnormal levels of specific nerve signals (serotonin, norepinephrine, dopamine, GABA, etc.), imbalance in endocrine system , for example thyroid, adrenals, pituitary. Also, latest neuroimaging ( functional MRI,PET) studies suggest, that depressive mood changes related to  diminished metabolic activity in the frontal cortex, hypothalamus and other components of brain limbic system.  Genetic studies have demonstrated strong familial inheritance patterns for bipolar and unipolar depression. Depression doesn’t discriminate and affects people of all races, ages and groups. For reasons not yet known, women are twice as likely to suffer from depression than men. There are several types of depression including the most common, which are: 

  • Bipolar Disorder / Manic Depression
  • Clinical / Major Depression
  • Mood Disorder due to  general medical conditions
  • Post Partum Depression
  • Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD)
  • Dysthymic  disorder
  • Cyclothymia
  • Adjustment disorder with depressed mood

The average age of occurrence of the initial depressive episode is 40. As many as 15% of the general population will experience severe depression during their lives. It is known fact that almost 20%  depressed patients attempt suicide during the course of their illness. Depressed women attempt suicide twice as often as men, but men who attempt suicide are twice as likely to succeed compared to women. It is estimated that nearly 50% of depressed individuals never received treatment, and many who are  receiving treatment not successfully treated. Depression  may be underestimated in children and elderly. In school-age children antisocial behavior, academic problems, or school avoidance may mask underlying depressed mood. Depression in the elderly manifested mostly by somatic complaints which become primary goal of treatment.

Individuals with depression often experience psychological, emotional and physical distress as a result of their feelings. We all have our ‘ups’ and ‘downs’, but those with depression experience their feelings for days, weeks and sometimes months at a time.

Symptoms of  clinical depression persist  not less than 2 weeks and  include, but are not limited to the following aspects:

EMOTIONAL COGNITIVE PHYSICAL

  • hopelessness indecisiveness restlessness
  • pessimistic poor concentration lost of appetite
  • sad inability to process change of weight
  • anxious forgetfulness persistent fatigue
  • worthlessness distractiveness tiredness
  • lost of interests thoughts of death sexual  problems
  • feeling  guilty absentmindedness aches and pains
  • helplessness suicidal thoughts digestive problems

There are numerous possible reasons of secondary depression:

  • endocrinological disorders
  • cancer
  • neurological problems (epilepsy, Parkinson  disorder, etc.)
  • strokes
  • effects of alcohol or illicit drugs
  • effects of medications: chemotherapy;
  • antihypertensives etc.
  • heart attacks or heart surgeries

Very important to remember that if somebody experienced episode of depression, there is more than a 60% chance that it will recur within the next 3 years. If left untreated, the disorder can become chronic and may increase in severity with each episode. 

There are different options for the treatment of depression including medications, electroconvulsive treatment, vagus nerve stimulation, alternatives and, psychotherapy. Treatment of depression requires active participation by the individual and speaking with a mental health professional is highly recommended. Recently RTMS ( repetitive trans cranial stimulation) became available and demonstrates quick , safe and  very reasonable outcome. 

We are skillful in identifying the symptoms of depression and eager to provide psychometric, psychological and neuropsychological testing together with clinical routine mental status evaluation. 

You may want to consider to check yourself with the unique depression scale, designed by our team. 

ESCAPE   PAIN

“Empty” feelings, persistent sadness, depressed mood

Sleep disturbance: too much or too little

Constant restlessness and irritability

Appetite change with losing and gaining weight 

Persistent physical symptoms not responding to treatment (headaches, stomach pain, chest pain, etc.)

Energy loss, or fatigue, feeling exhausted 

Problemswith concentrating, focusing and /or forgetfulness 

Apathy – loss of interests

Indecisiveness – poor decision making, poor judgement, ability to organize things

Negative thinking 

We offer an advanced, family friendly solutions for children, adolescent and adults with depression.

If you want to be happy, so be happy with our coaching and guidance.