Clinical Depression Symptoms - Physical, Behavioral and Emotional

Clinical depression is also known as major depression and unipolar depression. It is a mental disorder characterized by low mood and low self-esteem. It negatively affects the way you feel, you think and you act. People suffering from depression often lost interest in all activities. Clinical depression doesn't mean feeling sad for a few days. It affects eating habits, feelings, body, mood and even ability to work.

It is a serious problem which lasts for a long period of time. It may even generate suicidal tendencies. It has no limitation of age and gender. Common symptoms of clinical depression can be divided into three categories-

Physical-

o Changes in appetite

o Sleep disturbances

o Low energy and fatigue

o Digestive problems

Behavioral-

o Loss of pleasure in activities like sex, sports etc.

o Difficulty in concentration

o Difficulty in making decisions

Emotional-

o Irritability

o Hopelessness

o Suicidal tendencies

o Persistent sad mood

Though, depression is very common still the understanding of the many aspects of depression are prone to research and discussion. Depression can be diagnosed and treated. No laboratory test is available for clinical depression. Its diagnosis is based on patient's self-reported experiences and changes noticed by the friends and family. Anti Depression medication, psychotherapy and counseling are good treatment options for depression. Hospitalization becomes must in severe cases. Proper treatment and advice can help people to get back to their normal stage. Sometimes effects can be seen in few weeks. If you or your loved one is feeling some of the symptoms mentioned above then it is a smart idea to find some help.

Aggravation Can Cause Spiritual Delays

Living in a world of physicality can be difficult on your heart, mind and soul. There are numerous lessons for all people to learn. Sometimes, it seems as though the issues you have to deal with on a personal level were caused by someone elses behavior. It might appear that you are the unfortunate one to be on the receiving end of a situation that has nothing to do with you. The truth is, you would be wrong. All interactions while you are blessed with this incarnated existence are meant to enhance your soul. Fly with it!

Yes, we are having a little fun with that last line. Like angels, we have an expectation that you will learn to mold yourself to do what is best for you. Learning not to let aggravation become your controlling emotion will enable you to move past the frustrations and hurts; to move past the sins of others and possibly the sins of your own doing. God did not put you here to make you suffer; contrary to the belief of many cynical, negative thinkers. All people and all lessons for your soul or your physical self are intermingled. Everything and everyone has an effect on your future, both on earth and in the blessed, sparkling light of eternal bliss. What we are really speaking of is that you understand that all of your emotions are linked to each other and to everything you do in one way or another. This is why we, from the side of spirit, we will continue to extol your virtues and the virtues of those around you. By doing so, we are intending to get each of you to rise above the normal vitriol when something goes awry.

When anger and frustration grip you like a vice, then you are sending signals everywhere that you would prefer to be unhappy and stuck in your emotional quagmire. Lift yourself out of it by forgiving those who have wronged you. More importantly, forgive yourself for making mistakes. All souls make them! You do not have the market cornered on errors, misjudgements or deceitful activities. God and Spirit will help you to deal with them, but first you must connect with the level of purity that is harbored in the child within. You are a blessed piece of God and should not think you are beyond repair or unworthy.

It is only when you repeat erroneous behaviors that you know are wrong, and keep refusing to improve on it, that Spirit may put some roadblocks in your way. It is not meant to scold you, but the act is designed to elevate your level of respect for yourself. If there is no self-respect, it will lead to continued depression and errors in judgment, along with more aggravation and frustration with anyone around you. In the end, it is a vicious cycle that can easily be halted when you request help from the guardian angels who are in your midst. They are available to you in the form of Godly energies, but they also come in the form of angels on earth. In other words, there are people who can help you to grow and expand who are placed in your life. Sometimes, they may have been put there years ago, while other times they could have been a sudden addition to your circle of friends.

With all of that said to you, it is important to retain the fact that anger, depression and similar emotions are just wasted energy. They delay your goal in life. That goal is the gift of yourself that was entrusted to nurture the soul within you. Through it all, you are loved and special in the eyes of the Creator. Accept this and you will start to heal. These are The Spoken Words of Spirit.

Psychiatric Drugs for Mood Disorder Patients? A Bipolar Patient's Point-Of-View

When positive-thinking and self-help books seem not to help anymore and individual or group therapy are no longer fruitful, it is likely time to head for a psychiatrist's office to seek drug therapy for anxiety, depression, mania, psychosis, SAD, PTSD, ADHD, OCD and whatever else may challenge the English alphabet. Okay, let us begin with the obligatory generalities.

The term "Pharmaceutical" comes from the Greek "pharmakon" or "medicinal drug." Most drugs are controlled by law and prescribed by physicians among civilized populations. They are prescribed for patients when over-the-counter (OTC) remedies are no longer effective in treating or offering relief from a person's illness or medical condition. Pharmaceutical companies develop prescription drugs for various maladies and diseases for a princely sum to offset development costs and to make a healthy profit for shareholders until the drug patent expires and less-costly generic equivalents are produced by competing manufacturers.

A medicine is almost always prescribed for its intended use; however, it sometimes is prescribed for a side-effect that will most benefit the patient. Every known medicine has side-effects, some good and some worse for a given patient. A single type of side-effect may affect either many patients or very few. The likelihood of a side effect affecting a patient according to double-blind testing required by the U.S. Food & Drug Administration (FDA) is expressed in terms of a percentage of drug side-effects to a percentage of equivalent placebo side-effects among a test population.

Medicines often do not get along with other medicines and the interference between them requires health care professionals to be wary and responsible for which combinations of them are either ineffective or dangerous. This is especially true of psychiatric (psychotropic) medicines prescribed for patients having behavioral disorders. Many of these potions carry potent side-effects and require extra-careful scrutiny when being prescribed by a psychiatrist or primary care physician.

There are five (5) main classes of psychiatric medications:

1. Antidepressants


2. Antiepileptics (Anticonvulsants)


3. Antipsychotics (you sure don't want any of us running around)


4. Anxiolytics (if reading this makes you anxious)


5. Mood Stabilizers

There are over 100 of these medicines in use today and many others that have fallen out of favor. This number of medications gives the doctor several ways to attack each disorder's multiple conditions and symptoms, and more importantly, to prescribe an effective medicine with the least amount of side-effects for each patient.

One antidepressant was prescribed for my clinical depression shortly after its introduction in 1985. There was much media hoopla for the miracle drug that could make people "happy." But the real breakthrough was intended only to raise the moods of folks who were suicidal, vegetative or otherwise crippled with incessant clinical depression by allowing the needed amount of the neurotransmitter serotonin to increase in the brains of patients. It worked wonderfully for me. Taking it permitted me to function almost normally (or whatever that was for me) again.

Once a psychiatric medication is prescribed, time-pressured physicians and pharmacists typically skim over the list of side-effects with the patient, placing the onus of discovery on that patient. The most prevalent cautions are usually relayed to the patient by his or her doctor or pharmacist. Regardless, the psychiatric patient needs to know them all, for many of these side-effects are debilitating or life-threatening and must be reported to a doctor quickly when discovered.

The patient or his or her domestic caregiver must have all of the drug information available for each prescription taken. I have found Wikipedia drug articles to be the most comprehensive, understandable, rich in detail and peppered with many related hotlinks. The best way to secure this information is to visit Wikipedia and type the drug name into its search window. Here is what you will find in each pharmaceutical article at [wikipedia.org] Select "English" if you can read this.

• General Description


• Medical Uses


• Adverse Effects (including contraindications with other drugs)


• Pharmacokinetics (how the drug works)


• Mechanism of Action (if you're studying to become a doctor or pharmacist!)


• History (not for the faint-of-heart)


• Other Brand Names (domestic and worldwide)


• In Popular Culture (books, movies, parades, etc.)


• Online References


• External Web Links

One article for a popular antidepressant has 95 online references upon which it is based. This ubiquitous medicine is FDA-approved for treatment of clinical (major) depression, obsessive-compulsive (OCD), bulimia, panic and premenstrual dysphoric disorder. Adverse (side-)effect test result percentages are referenced to those of placebo test results and include discontinuation syndrome (going cold-turkey), suicidality in persons younger than age 25, nausea, insomnia, sleepiness, anxiety, tremors and sexual dysfunction.Then it lists warnings when taking it along with certain other medicines. One's pharmacist usually includes a data sheet with the medication; it will contain the most important information and cautions, but many patients do not take the time to read them.

Initially, I received two prescriptions for my bipolar disorder. They worked great, except for the fact, like a disproportionate number of pyschiatric drugs, one of them produced dramatic weight gain. The current and complex drug "cocktail" for my bipolar I disorder consists of 5 psychotropic medicines. I presently take 1 anticonvulsant, 1 mood stabilizer, 2 antipsychotics and 2 antidepressants. One of these was prescribed for me only for its side effect of weight loss in order to counter the weight-gain side-effects of three of my other medications. Whew! And so it goes. Who ever said psychiatry was a simple thing?

One common antidepressant is now available as a generic, making it a wonderful choice for needy patients. It is a good treatment choice for a clinically depressed patient since 90% of all suicides result from clinical depression. I am sure there are better choices today, but I have a long experience with it so I use it here as an example. It carries a 2% chance of suicide as a side effect-a regular sword of Damocles, right? How ironic. So how do we square this anomaly? The way I see it, a 98% survival rate beats the living daylights out of a 10% survival rate! Additionally, watchful patients and others around them can often observe the patient and obtain medical intervention well before the act of suicide is committed.

In practice, after a patient's initial dosing of a psychiatric medication, it requires 2-3 weeks to approach therapeutic levels. The patient often must be hospitalized for at least this critical period for his or her safety's sake. This characteristic is typical for psychotropic drugs. They require a lengthy ramp-up time to achieve efficacy and then a long weaning-off period if they are to be eliminated or tapered off as another medicine is simultaneously introduced and ramped-up to replace it.

Psychiatric drugs are numerous, complex, slow to take effect, fraught with ungodly side-effects, pretty darned expensive-since those most often prescribed are usually not generics-and often not covered by drug insurance plans. The ramifications of improper patient medication relate not only to the health of the patient, but to his or her relationships with family, friends and others. One caveat remains, however. A mental patient often fails to take his or her medication(s), including specified doses at the right times when raging, manic, disoriented, or distracted. The depressed patient simply forgets to take his or her medicines. Ideally, someone living with the patient must keep refills current with the pharmacy and then fill a weekly pill carrier to provide proper doses of each medication to administer at the right times of day. Then the patient must be reminded to take them or have the pills handed to him or her with a beverage with which to drink them down. My spouse lovingly either reminds me to take them or brings my meds to me, depending on the moment. But many times I do remember to take them! This ideal and idyllic thought I shall leave with you.

Review The Great Depression

Depression has always been a problem everybody has struggled to deal with at one point of their lives or another. Approximately fifteen percent of Americans have experienced it. Ninety percent of people of commit suicide have depression if not other diagnosable mental disorder.

It's natural to speak of how "depressed" people are. However, the occasional sadness everyone feels due to life's disappointments is very different from the serious illness caused by a brain disorder. Depression profoundly impairs the ability to function in everyday situations by affecting moods, thoughts, behaviors, and physical well-being. Manic depression, now more commonly known as bipolar disorder, is a condition where a person can be depressed and lethargic one minute, elated and overactive the next. Prominent figures such as Virginia Woolf, Theodore Roosevelt and Winston Churchill, to name a few, have been clearly diagnoses with having such a condition.

Virginia Woolf, the writer who came up with the famous novels: Mrs Dalloway, To the Lighthouse, and Orlando, was said to have had manic depression at an early age. She was driven to depression by incidents of deaths in the family and sexual abuse from her half brothers, After multiple breakdowns, she had been admitted to a nursing home to have people look after her. She was given antidepressants to get her to sleep. She attempted suicide by overdosing on her medication but was successfully revived. She recovered from her depression for some time, and when she felt that the dreaded condition is coming back, she tried to claim her life again. She finally succeeded by drowning herself.

Winston Churchill, a prominent British politician and a Nobel Prize winning author, also suffered from depression. Earlier is his life, his father and several other relatives had died young and were diagnosed as manic depressives. He grew paranoid about ending up with his father's illness that it triggered his own depression. His depression was not as grave as that of his father's, but it affected him enough to not want to speak in front of the Parliament. He sought refuge in colors by painting.

Depression is brought about by many things. It can be hereditary, where the depressive tendency runs in the family; drug-induced, caused by over-consumption of depressants, or "downers", which are chemical agents that diminishes function or activity of a specific part of the body; or caused by external factors such as pressure from work among other things.

Overcoming depression is better than just treating its symptoms. Many health professionals encourage a combination of drug therapy and psychotherapy, but studies show that medication is unnecessary if the sufferer receives the right sort of help. Clinical diagnosis of symptoms is the initial steps required to determine the level of depression the sufferer is experiencing. Psychotherapy for depression wherein patients are explained the facts of their disease and how to cope with it through counseling. During counseling sufferers will learn to cope with negative emotions, identify and change how they think, improve their relationships with others, and deal with their problems constructively. The underlying causes of the depression will also be explored. it can be pursued in an individual, group, couples, or family setting. This is not considered the most efficient therapy as it sometimes makes the depression worse. If talk therapy doesn't work, antidepressants are given to control the depression. It usually takes 4-6 weeks to gain optimum effectiveness.

Depression is not something to be taken lightly. Some have died because of uncontrollable, chronic depression. It may be just a simple case of the blues now, but if it continues for no reason at all, and it starts disrupting the way you live, you might have clinical depression. Like the quote says, "for every cloud there's a silver lining," so don't feel depressed for every little thing that goes wrong.

On a Scale of 1-10, How Much Do You Believe in YOU?

Friends,

I'm on a roll, because every day I experience more and more the power of what I know, in terms of how it can revolutionize lives like yours - if you're struggling with anxiety or depression or frustration. Jack Canfield has a couple of pivotal quotes in Chapter 4 of his great book, "Success Principles," that you might benefit from considering. Here they are:

"The number one problem that keeps people from winning... is lack of belief in themselves," said Arthur L. Williams (the dude who sold A. L. Williams Insurance to Primerica in 1989 for a cool $90 million).

"Sooner or later, those who win are those who think they can," said Richard Bach (best-selling author of Jonathan Livingston Seagull).

A hundred, a thousand, a million more quotes are available, from people who are highly, highly successful because they believe(d) in themselves... but those two will suffice for today.

So what's your 1-10 answer today - with respect to your passion, your burning desire, the love of your life - what's your number between 1 and 10 with respect to my question in the above title: How much do you believe in you?

I use the term "burning desire" because you will have different 'scores' for different areas of your life, and I'm inviting you to go to the heart of what matters most to you TODAY.

Maybe you're a 10 with regard to sales and making other people feel worthy, but a painful 2 with regard to your body image and / or the personal relationships that matter the most to you. Maybe you're a 10 in parenting but a 2 in the business success you long for.

Be honest with yourself. Tick, tock, tick, tock...

What if you had a profound, simple, unique "self-esteem unblocking tool" that could let the natural belief you have in you, emerge? Rather than dragging it out, let it out! Uncover it! It's already in you! And you can easily use it on yourself for no cost.

I didn't create the tool de novo (defined as from the beginning, anew). I stood on the shoulders of giants (Drs. Hal & Sidra Stone), doing my own inner work, and helping others professionally to do theirs, since the mid-1990s... then - pow! An "overnight" breakthrough, ha!

You can use this simple yet powerful tool over time, to enable you to modify the above two quotes as applied to YOUR life, as YOU share YOUR story with others someday, maybe like this:

"The number one reason I was able to become a big winner is because I developed an iron-clad belief in myself." Is that you talking?

"The reason I won was because I knew I could." Is that you? If so, hurrah!!

The essence of this phenomenal self-esteem unblocker tool is comprised of "Six Simple Self-Talk Statements" (SSSS) where you sooth and separate from the Inner Critic-Judge part of you. It's amazing how much better you feel, and how much more clearly you think, when that 'voice' is quiet.

Requirements?

>A desire for radiant confidence in yourself
>A desire for relief from criticisms of yourself (low self-esteem) and judgments of others (anger)
>A desire to experience the personal empowerment and feeling of life choices that naturally emerge
>A little understanding
>A lot of awareness (of when you put yourself or others down)
>A lot of practice using the SSSS

Later in Chapter 4 of the above-mentioned book, Jack Canfield says, "It helps to have someone else believe in you first." Would that help? If so, may I have that honor?

Depression and Rage - A Painful Psychological Partnership

Depression and rage are intricately intertwined with one another. Both depression and rage are predisposed, although the exact calculus is still unknown. Beneath depression, whether it is readily observed or darkly obscured, there is rage. Rage can wait decades to erupt. Rage lies at the bottom of the psyche and appears to be dormant or non-existent. When the timing is right, it moves with the force of a psychological juggernaut.

Most of us admit that from time to time that we are depressed. We have low energy, are aggravated with ourselves and others, have problems getting motivated and feel sad and listless. There are many legitimate reasons to be depressed in our high stress, demanding, fast-paced, often alienating contemporary world.

Clinical depression is different. It is a psychophysiological state that is characterized by some of the following symptoms and behaviors:deep sadness, insomnia, problems with concentration, low motivation, fatigue, a sense of isolation, and emotional irritability. The experience of clinical depression is deep and disruptive to our relationships, our work and our lives.

Anger is "a feeling of displeasure resulting from injury, mistreatment, opposition, etc., and usually showing itself in a desire to fight back at the supposed cause of this feeling." Anger is specific to a particular issue and is generally time limited. Rage travels a different trajectory. Rage is an intense volatile, unrestrained anger that appears to have no redress.

The roots of depression and rage begin to fuel in early childhood. Infants and children who are emotionally and/or physically deprived, neglected and abused, believe that no one cares about them because they are unwanted, worthless, or defective. In many instances the child turns himself inside out to become the perfect little person that the disturbed parent expects him to be. In order to fulfill parental demands, the child unconsciously disregards the core of his authenticity, the real self. The child is forced to live behind a false self that is acceptable to the parent to avoid abandonment and abuse. This false identity that the small child is forced to play to survive, returns to consciousness and is acted out in the parallel dance of depression and rage.

Out of the depression that is enervating and immobilizing, unexpressed unconscious rage that has been waiting at the bottom of a pool of conflicting emotions, rises to the surface and depression and rage coalesce to create a psychologically toxic mixture.

When depression persistently intrudes on an individual's personal and professional life, it is vital that he/she seek professional psychological consultation. There are a variety of effective ways to treat depression today. Depending on its severity, some individuals benefit from different forms of psychotherapy, including psychoanalytic psychotherapy and cognitive behavioral therapy. Other patients require the advice of a psychiatrist who is an expert in psychopharmacological medications. The new serotonin re-uptake anti-depressants have shown to be very effective in treating many patients suffering from clinical depression. Treatment requires patience and cooperation between psychiatrist and patient. Finding the exact medication and dosage may take some time. The knowledge, understanding and empathy of the therapist is essential to successful treatment together with the cooperation and positive attitude of the patient.

Bipolar Mania, Hypomania, and Cyclothymia

Many people are familiar with the main types of bipolar disorder - bipolar I disorder and bipolar II disorder. However, not as many people are familiar with the other types of bipolar disorder: hypomania and cyclothymia.

If you have three or more of the following symptoms listed below most of the day -- nearly every day -- for one week or longer, you may be having bipolar mania:

• Excessive happiness (elation), hopefulness, and excitement
• Sudden changes from being joyful to being irritable, angry, and hostile
• Restlessness, increased energy, and less need for sleep
• Rapid talk, talkativeness, interrupting other people's sentences
• Distractibility
• Racing thoughts
• Increased sex drive
• Tendency to make grand and unattainable plans
• Tendency to show poor judgment, such as deciding to quit a job
• Inflated self-esteem or grandiosity -- unrealistic beliefs in ability, intelligence, and powers; may be delusional
• Increased reckless behaviors (such as excessive spending, risky sexual behavior, substance abuse, and/or ill-advised business decisions)

Hypomania is simply a less intense (severe) form of mania. The person may seem to be in a better mood than usual, but not exhibit the extreme elation found in a manic episode. They may experience a greater sense of well-being and feel as if they are more productive.

One of the problems for the person experiencing hypomania, however, is that it can fool them. Hypomania can turn into full-blown mania, or can also lapse into a bipolar depressive episode.

Cyclothymia is another type of bipolar disorder and, according to the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-IV) by the American Psychiatric Association, a diagnosis of cyclothymia is based on the following:

1. Individual has had many periods of both hypomania and depression, for a period of at least two years.

2. Individual has experienced no periods of normal mood lasting longer than two months.

3. Individual has experienced no major depression, manic or mixed episode during the first two years of symptoms

4. Symptoms are not attributable to either Schizophrenia or Psychotic Disorder

5. Symptoms are not due to effects of medication, illicit drugs or medical condition.

6. Individual experiences significant distress or impairment in daily living.