Anxiety Information and Resources

Clinical Depression is a mental illness that is characterized by a lengthy time during which a person is sad. However, it is important to understand that just because a person is being gloomy, doesn't mean that they are depressed. This is because depression is also accompanied by a feeling of apathy, a loss of self-esteem, and the thought that they can never be happy again, which continues on endlessly.

Of course, there are a variety of different types of depression. These include Manic or Bipolar depression, Postpartum depression, Dysthimia, Cyclothemia, and Seasonal Affective Disorder. There is also Clinical depression, which is sometimes called "major" depression. "Clinical depression" is actually the medical term that doctors use whenever they refer to depression. It is actually much more of a disorder than an illness. This is because it basically covers only those people who are actually suffering from the symptoms that are related to depression.

* A lack of joy in living, accompanied by an overwhelming sense of sadness, which will not go away.
* The depressed person avoids contact with others and when contact is made the person is usually very irritable and have a bad temper.
* There is no interest in the everyday pleasures of living.
* There is an inability to function well either at home or at work.
* There is an overwhelming sense of hopelessness.
* A depressed person often cries throughout the day and cannot stop their thoughts in order to sleep well at night. Then they either wake up early in the morning or oversleep. Naturally, this will lead to a decreased amount of energy and the inability to concentrate. It may also cause their thought, speech and movement to become slowed.
* Sometimes clinical depression may also be accompanied by physical symptoms, which do not respond to treatment. These may include headaches, digestive disorders and chronic pain.

Clinical depression is actually a disorder, which is caused by a chemical imbalance in the brain that can be treated. In fact, most doctors are very optimistic in that they believe that their patients who suffer from clinical depression will soon return to a life filled with good mental health. Of course this hinges on the fact that these patients must be treated as soon as a diagnosis has been made. Studies have actually shown that more than 10% of Americans each year suffer from depression. These same studies have also shown that patients that have actually sought treatment for their clinical depression have been very successful in doing so. Of these patients, the majority have been treated and have found relief from this disorder. However, less than one third of those who suffer from depression will actually seek help.

The most common way of treating depression is through the use of antidepressant medications. While these medications will not correct the problem overnight, they will correct the problem. Usually it will take three or four weeks for the medication to go into effect. However, a patient may not actually feel fully recovered until they have taken the medication for at least eight weeks.

Depression news on the Web

Women At Risk Of Post Natal Depression May Be Identified By Blood Test
Researchers at Warwick Medical School have discovered a way of identifying which women are most at risk of postnatal depression (PND) by checking for specific genetic variants. The findings could lead to the development of a simple, accurate blood test which checks for the likelihood of developing the condition...

Off-Label Use Of Antipsychotic Medications
Reducing the non-FDA-approved use of antipsychotic drugs may be a way to save money while having little effect on patient care, according to a Penn State College of Medicine study. Researchers say that 57.6 percent of patients prescribed antipsychotic medications in data from 2003 did not have schizophrenia or bipolar disorder, the conditions for which the drugs were approved for use...

Study Suggests Nature Walks Improve Cognitive Abilities For People With Clinical Depression
A walk in the park may have psychological benefits for people suffering from depression. In one of the first studies to examine the effect of nature walks on cognition and mood in people with major depression, researchers in Canada and the U.S. have found promising evidence that a walk in the park may provide some cognitive benefits...

10-Year Roadmap To Prevent, Fight Depression
Major depressive episodes can be prevented, and to help ensure that they are, the health care system should provide routine access to depression-prevention interventions, just as patients receive standard vaccines, according to a new article co-authored by UCSF researcher Ricardo F. Munoz, PhD...

Post-Traumatic Stress After ICU
Women are more likely to suffer post-traumatic stress than men after leaving an intensive care unit (ICU), finds a new study published in BioMed Central's open access journal Critical Care. However, psychological and physical 'follow-up' can reduce both this and post-ICU depression...

Quality Of Life And Symptoms Rapidly And Significantly Improved By Non-Drug Depression Treatment
New data released at the annual meeting of the American Psychiatric Association show that patients with unipolar, non-psychotic Major Depressive Disorder (MDD) receiving transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) with NeuroStar TMS Therapy® achieved significant improvements in both depression symptoms and in quality of life measurements...

Depression - How Effective Is Collaborative Care Intervention?
A study published in the May issue of Archives of General Psychiatry, reveals that individuals with depression and poorly controlled diabetes mellitus, coronary heart disease, or both, can benefit from a collaborative care intervention...

Antidepressive Treatment For Schizophrenia Leads To Reduction In Suicides
Antidepressive drugs reduce the mortality rate of schizophrenic patients, while treatment with bensodiazepines greatly increases it, especially as regards suicide. Giving several antipsychotics simultaneously, however, seems to have no effect at all. This according to a new study examining different drug combinations administered to patients with schizophrenia...

Late-Life Depression May Signal Alzheimer's Disease; Lifelong Depression May Increase Risk Of Vascular Dementia
Depressive symptoms that occur in both midlife and late life are associated with an increased risk of developing vascular dementia, while symptoms that occur in late life only are more likely to be early signs of Alzheimer's disease, according to University of California at San Francisco and Kaiser Permanente researchers...

Depressed Patients Should Be Regularly Assessed For Suicide Risk
After receiving a small number of complaints that criticized GPs for failing to appreciate that a patient represented a suicide risk, GPs are being advised to ensure they regularly assess patients with depression for risk of suicide...

Middle Aged And Elderly With Depression Have Higher Risk Of Dementia
A report in the May issue of Archives of General Psychiatry draws a link between people in mid-life and late-life, suffering from depression and the possibility of them developing dementia. More than five million people in the US alone suffer from Alzheimer's disease, and the health care costs run at a staggering $172 Billion. Deborah E. Barnes, Ph.D., M.P.H...

The Brain May Avoid 'Traffic Jams' Via Multiple Thought Channels
Brain networks may avoid traffic jams at their busiest intersections by communicating on different frequencies, researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, the University Medical Center at Hamburg-Eppendorf and the University of Tubingen have learned...

How A Persons "Ranks" Their Suffering May Stop Them Seeking Help For Depression And Anxiety
People's judgements about whether they are depressed depend on how they believe their own suffering "ranks" in relation to the suffering of friends and family and the wider world, according to a new study...

Finding That Emotion Is Reversed In Left-Handers' Brains Could Lead To New Treatment For Anxiety, Depression
The way we use our hands may determine how emotions are organized in our brains, according to a recent study published in PLoS ONE by psychologists Geoffrey Brookshire and Daniel Casasanto of The New School for Social Research in New York. Motivation, the drive to approach or withdraw from physical and social stimuli, is a basic building block of human emotion...

Compliance By African-Americans To HIV Therapy Problematic, Untreated Depression Makes It Worse
African-Americans with HIV are much less likely to adhere to drug therapy than others with the disease, according to a University of Michigan study. Moreover, untreated depression may greatly hinder adherence to antiretroviral therapy (ART) for all low-income, HIV-infected patients, regardless of race...

Willingness To Work May Hinge On Dopamine In The Brain
Slacker or go-getter? Everyone knows that people vary substantially in how hard they are willing to work, but the origin of these individual differences in the brain remains a mystery...

Obesity, Depression/Anxiety, ADHD, Asthma Contribute To Fatigue Even After A Good Night's Sleep
Children who have learning, attention and behavior problems may be suffering from excessive daytime sleepiness, even though clinical tests show them sleeping long enough at night, a new study reports...

Interferon For Hepatitis C Can Cause Depression
There's a high rate of depression among patients with hepatitis C, but a standard treatment for the disease includes a drug, interferon, that can cause depression. In a review article, researchers tackle the complexities of diagnosing and managing depression before and after initiating treatment with interferon. Dr. Murali S...

Scientists Identify Brain Circuitry Associated With Addictive, Depressive Behaviors
Scientists at the Gladstone Institutes have determined how specific circuitry in the brain controls not only body movement but also motivation and learning, providing new insight into neurodegenerative disorders such as Parkinson's disease - and psychiatric disorders such as addiction and depression...

Youths With Special Needs At Risk For Depression When Ostracized By Peers
The challenges that come with battling a chronic medical condition or developmental disability are enough to get a young person down. But being left out, ignored or bullied by their peers is the main reason youths with special health care needs report symptoms of anxiety or depression, according to a study to be presented at the Pediatric Academic Societies (PAS) annual meeting in Boston...

Arthritis - Anxiety Twice As Common As Depression
Approximately one third of adults with arthritis in the USA aged 45+ years suffer from anxiety or depression, researchers from the CDC reported in the journal Arthritis Care & Research. The authors added that the prevalence of anxiety in adults with arthritis is almost twice as high as depression, in spite of more studies focusing on the arthritis-depression link...

Anxiety Or Depression Common Among Aging Adult Americans With Arthritis
Researchers from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) found that one-third of U.S. adults with arthritis, 45 years and older, report having anxiety or depression...

More Research Needed Into The Fetal Effects Of Some Drugs During Pregnancy
Prescription drug use during pregnancy is prevalent, however, not enough is known about the adverse effects they may have on the developing fetus, concludes a new review published in The Obstetrician & Gynaecologist. The majority of women take prescriptions for pregnancy-related complaints and minor infections...

Alternative Cause, Drug Target For Depression Suggested By Yeast Cell Reaction To Zoloft
Princeton University researchers have observed a self-degradation response to the antidepressant Zoloft in yeast cells that could help provide new answers to lingering questions among scientists about how antidepressants work, as well as support the idea that depression is not solely linked to the neurotransmitter serotonin...

Anti-Depressants May Be Doing More Harm Than Good
Commonly prescribed anti-depressants appear to be doing patients more harm than good, say researchers who have published a paper examining the impact of the medications on the entire body...