Friday 9 October 2015

What are the symptoms?

The symptoms of agitated depression come as an outburst of some signs such as hyper yelling and anger. Even slightest of problems which can be otherwise sorted out easily would seem huge to the person and he would shout and scream uncontrollably on everyone involved for no reason.
Hand wringing is another major indication which continues involuntarily in anytime that the person is sitting idle. Along with this comes the pacing problem too when the person keeps walking up and down the hall indoors having difficulty in sitting down. This form of motor depression creates instability in the mind and the person walks vigorously without bothering about the people around.
A few of them have a tendency to pull their clothing while they speak, and do it until the cloth rips off. Even talking for long periods unnecessarily and trying to exaggerate topic of discussion is also a warning of agitated melancholy.
Such patients have difficulty in defining their problems and hence end up piling up of extreme tension in their minds. This kind of depression is so fierce that they even get to the point of feeling suicidal and the person wants to die.

Thursday 1 October 2015

All There Is To Know About Endogenous Depression

Niacin For DepressionEndogenous Depression is a sub-class of clinical depression or major depressive disorder, which is a mood disorder. The meaning of the term endogenous is “from within,” thus, it can be concluded that this form of depression refers to depression from within. From the scientific aspect, the nature of this form of depression is primarily biological and genetic. The opposite of this form of depression is exogenous depression, which is a form of depression that occurs as a result of reactions to stressful life events.

Patient suffering from this form of depression are basically suffering from major depressive disorder, which is non-psychotic and resistant to treatment. Abnormal behavior of the endogenous opioid system is the primary characteristic of this form of depression. It is believed that distinction determines the treatment options that can be effectively utilized for this form of depression, and thus, they can vary.

What Is The Difference Between Endogenous Depression & Exogenous Depression?

People suffering from the endogenous form of depression experience the symptoms of this form of depression quite unexpectedly and for no apparent reason. Anhedonia, feeling guilty and worthless are among the other characteristics of this form of depression. Anhedonia refers to not being able to derive interest or pleasure from activities that were once enjoyed by the individual, such as exercise, hobbies, or sex.

Although these two types of depression tend to overlap significantly, however, it is usually a highly stressful situation that triggers the exogenous form of depression. Physical symptoms, such as changes in eating or sleeping habits, do not occur in the exogenous form of depression. Although both types of depression may be precipitated by stressful events, the chances of relapsing in endogenous depression are much greater.
What Are The Symptoms Of Endogenous Depression?

Just like people suffering from major depressive disorder, anhedonia along with feeling guilty, helpless, hopeless, hateful to oneself, and worthless is experienced also be people suffering from the endogenous form of depression. This form of depression is also accompanied by other symptoms, such as:

    Changes in appetite leading to corresponding weight gain or loss
    Fatigue or lack of energy
    Hypersomnia or insomnia
    Irritability and difficulty concentrating
    Social isolation
    Suicidal thoughts or behaviors

In more severe cases, psychotic symptoms, such as delusions or hallucinations, may also be experienced by patients as well.
What Is Involved In The Diagnosis & Treatment Of Endogenous Depression?

Since this form of depression is a sub-class of major depressive disorder, it can be diagnosed and treated pretty much in the same way as major depressive disorder is. Patients are asked a series of questions about any substance abuse issues, their medical history, and symptoms by a clinician or mental health professional. They may also rule out any underlying causes like a hormone imbalance by performing lab tests.

Usually, medication, in particular, a selective serotonin re-uptake inhibitor (SSRI)-type antidepressant, is the first option that is considered to treat the endogenous form of depression. Some form of talking therapy like cognitive behavioral therapy may also be included in the extra treatments. In more serious cases, the mental health professional may also employ antipsychotic drugs or electroconvulsive therapy (ECT).

Endogenous depression is a very distinct form of depression, but it is not uncommon to suffer from it. Fortunately, since the diagnosis and treatment is the same as that of major depressive disorder, you can rid yourself of it.

Friday 25 September 2015

Vitamin D and depression: A unique relation

Many people have become victim to depression. The person suffering from depression feels many negative feelings like sadness, anxiety, hopelessness, guilt, worthlessness and so on. It’s like the person is suddenly attacked with all the negative feelings which starts to affect his/her behavior, thoughts and feelings. It causes many reactions like loss of appetite, concentration problem, suicidal tendencies, insomnia etc. Recently, the number of people suffering from depression has increased a lot. It may be due to current lifestyle, family problems, emotional trauma, use of some medications etc. Many researchers have found the deficiency of Vitamin D is one of those causes of depression. They have been able to prove that Vitamin D and depression are connected to each other.
Short Depression TestThe decrease in amount of monoamines in the brain causes depression in people. The consumption of Vitamin D increases the amount of monoamines and cures depression. The most important source of Vitamin D is the sun. There are many factors that affect our ability to absorb the sunlight or other sources of this vitamin. So, let’s have a look at some of the ways by which you can overcome these factors and take benefit of the ‘sunshine’ vitamin to cure depression.Go outside:
If you want to absorb the ‘sunshine’ vitamin, then go outside. If you expect to absorb sunlight by sitting inside the car or home, then you will be greatly disappointed because the vitamin cannot penetrate through glass. So, to overcome this factor that affects your ability to absorb sunlight, you need to go outside and have fun.

Take vitamin D supplements if you are using sunscreen:

Sunscreen blocks almost 95% of sunlight. Thus your body will not be able to absorb the important properties of sunlight and as a result you might face distress. Even low SPF sunscreen affects your absorption power. But, you need the sunscreen to protect yourself from harmful rays of sunlight. So, to solve this problem you should take vitamin D supplements. Thus the sunscreen will protect you from sun’s harmful rays and the supplements will maintain the amount of vitamin D in your body.

Dark skinned people needs more exposure to sunlight:

The absorption power of dark skinned people and light skinned people is very different. The dark skinned people need 25 times more exposure to the sunlight than the light skinned ones. This is because the dark skin hinders the absorption process. So, if you have dark skin then you should look forward to more exposure and supplements to take benefit of the sunshine vitamin.

Contact your doctor for Vitamin D prescriptions:

You should use the Vitamin D supplements only after referring your doctor. Any kind of supplements and medications should be used only after the doctor provides you with prescriptions. So, if you need high amount of Vitamin D then you should contact your doctor for the prescription.
You should never ignore the deep relationship between Vitamin D and depression. This vitamin could actually save you from the distress, sadness, pessimism, misery and sorrow. You can absorb this vitamin directly from sunlight or you can consume it through foods like fish, eggs, milk etc.

Saturday 19 September 2015

About Dysthymia / Chronic Depression / Mild Depression

Dysthymia goes by many names, including neurotic depression, “mild” depression, dysthymic disorder, and chronic depression. It is one of the two main kinds of clinical depression, and is two times more likely to occur in women than in men. It often goes untreated, because its symptoms tend to be milder than those of more serious forms of depression, as well as the fact that sufferers of this form of depression can usually function fairly normally in society, despite their symptoms. The information and our questions below are not meant as a tool for you to perform a self-diagnosis, and to then self-treat your symptoms. However, they can provide you with some insight as to whether you or someone you know might be suffering from dysthymia. If you are not sure whether it is necessary to see a doctor or counselor for your symptoms, it is likely best for you to err on the side of caution and seek professional advice, as it may be more applicable your particular situation.

Sunday 13 September 2015

How Niacin Is Used In The Body

How Niacin Is Used In The Body
Niacinamide, the form that is often used in the treatment of depression, is made from niacin. When the body has more niacin than it needs, it converts the left over amounts to niacinamide. Both are easily dissolved in water and are well-absorbed by the body when taken by mouth.
Both of these forms are required for the proper breakdown and absorption of fats and sugars in the body, and allows for the maintenance of healthy cells. Niacin and niacinamide can have different effects at high does. Niacin can help people with heart disease because of its effects on clotting. It also can improve the levels of triglycerides, a form of cholesterol, while niacinamide has no beneficial effect on these two factors.
Because it the many benefits and actions of niacin and niacinamide in the body, both of these forms have been used to treat conditions such as migraine headaches, dizziness, diabetes and some skin conditions.

Wednesday 2 September 2015

Situational Depression

Situational Depression
Do you sometime feel depressed during certain times of the month? Or do you find certain situations where you lose someone special in your life from separation, divorce, death or accident where you are not even involved. Moreover, you get depressed by loss of a job or demotion, financial loss or failure to meet certain goals. This means that you are suffering from situational depression which is caused by the risky situations or the circumstances one going through. The nature of the situation can cause it to last for a long or short time. For example, if you lose a spouse or sibling, the resulting depression may take, weeks, months or even years to overcome. On the other hand, short lived depressing situations like failing a job interview will last for only few days or weeks and you get over them.

Symptoms or cause
They vary from person to person. For example, people who are less concerned about their family and friends will be seldom bothered by their death or disappearance. In the same way, people who are rich or have various sources of income are least likely to suffer from situational depression when they suffer financial loss. Thus the symptoms depend on how a person handles a bad situation. People with this condition may experience low motivation for accomplishing tasks and may suffer from other conditions like forgetfulness and insomnia. When one notices that another is continuously suffering from the above symptoms, you should take action to ensure that you bring the person to a healthier state.

How to recover from situational depression 
When you are depressed by the loss of a loved one, it is not easy to get over the loss. To forget this unfortunate situation, you need to keep yourself busy with other activities that will help relax your mind. You can do physical exercises like jogging for one hour everyday or playing squash thrice per week to remove the pent up anger in your mind. Other activities like gardening or listening to soothing music can go a long way to relax your mind.

When it comes to failure of goals, develop a positive mindset about life since there is always a next chance in every failed trial. Set achievable goals and avoid stressing yourself with the likely outcomes. Do not let you mind be clouded by negative feelings.

When the problem persists you should consider visiting a medical practitioner to find out if you may be suffering from a medical disorder. If this is not the case then the doctor can refer you to a counseling center for counseling sessions. Some experts believe that one needs medication to overcome depression while other suggests that a combination of medication and therapy will produce positive results. As a result some researchers have concluded that the best treatment must involve psychotherapy and pharmacotherapy. The most important thing is to trust your doctor or counselor. The person administering the treatment should have compassion, human touch and kindness to ensure the patient is at ease and ready to overcome the bad situation.

Friday 28 August 2015

Is Alcohol a Depressant ?

Is Alcohol a Depressant?

 Depressant

When people are depressed, they usually want to get their minds off of their stress and become happy. It is a misunderstanding that the most common solution to their problem is alcohol. People often times think that drinking alcohol will make their stress disappear, which is true but only for a brief period of time, when in reality alcohol actually enhances their feelings and leaves them more depressed than they were initially. The reason behind this is that alcohol is a depressant. A depressant slows your breathing, your ability to react fast, and also relaxes muscles. While drinking might relieve you from your stress, since it is a depressant it will make you feel ten times worse than you began with.

Correlations

Depression affects almost everyone throughout the world. There are various reasons about why people get depressed but the most common ones are usually related to stress as well as emotional instability. Since depression depletes energy, most people tend to reach for alcohol because it can give them a temporary energy boost and a brief state of euphoria. While this may sound very appealing, it is actually very bad for them. The euphoria only lasts for a short time period but once it is over, alcohol can actually enhance their depression. The reason for the exaggeration of emotions is because there is a direct correlation between alcohol and depression. If initially you are not depressed, then constant drinking will eventually lead to depression. Drinking becomes a secondary problem because while you have to deal with your depression, you now have to deal with the side effects of alcohol as well.

Self-Improvement

Overcoming depression is not impossible but when you add drinking to the equation, the solution becomes even harder to find. The best thing a depressed person can do is not to drink alcohol. While the temptation is sometimes too much for a person dealing with depression, resisting will actually help them down the road. When people get sick and tired of dealing with both depression and alcohol, they tend to look for ideas on how to improve. The first and most important thing they should do is quit drinking. Once you eliminate alcohol, overcoming depression becomes five times easier.

Road to Recovery

Often times, people are scared away by the exhaustion that usually follows after thinking about all the things you have to do to get better. It is actually more efficient to focus on one to two things in the beginning. It is better to start out small because it is easier to focus on one thing rather than many. The first thing most people should do is keep a list of all the depressants they take. For most people this list is relatively small and only contains alcohol. Once you have made your list, you should start to avoid those things. It might not be easy to just completely stop drinking at first but after trying a few times, it will become effortless. The next thing many people should do is try to eliminate or lower their stress levels. With stress and depressants out the way, almost everyone will start to feel better and will be well on their way to happier life.