Famous Depressed People

Depression is a common psychological condition that affects the mental and physical health of men and women. Studies reveal that many famous people have been affected by depression. People get depressed over divorce, political problems, the death of a loved one, business or financial reverses, or other major losses. Abraham Lincoln, Mike Wallace, David Bohm, Dick Cavett, Anne Rice, Trent Reznor, Georgia O'Keefe, Sylvia Plath, Rod Steiger, William Faulkner, Ernest Hemingway, and Mark Twain are some world famous personalities who suffered from clinical depression.

Abraham Lincoln, the 16th president of the United States, suffered from depression twice. He was first overcome by melancholia, today known as depression, in his mid 20s. During that time, his friends who were so caring towards him had to take away sharp tools from him in order to protect Lincoln from injuring himself. He was again afflicted with depression in the early 1840s. During that time he was under the daily treatment of a doctor for a long period.

A famous American journalist, Mike Wallace, best known today as a television correspondent, struggled from major depression during the 1960s. He got proper directions from a professional and took different drugs to treat his illness. Anne Rice, an American writer, is famed as the author of best selling horror books. She was another famed personality who experienced depression following her long illness and the loss of her husband.

Sylvia Plath, an American poet, novelist, short story writer, and essayist, suffered from severe depression throughout her life. She made her first suicide attempt in her junior year. Then she was admitted to a mental institution and recovered from this depression. However her chronic depression created problems in her marriage life and finally led to divorce. It also led to her suicide.

David Bohm, an American quantum physicist, suffered from depression throughout his life, which affected his health considerably. Trent Reznor, an official member of the Nine Inch Nails band, developed depression in the late 1990s. It led him to attempt suicide during this time.

How to Deal With Pregnancy Depression?

Many women suffer from pregnancy depression. Recent research shows that pregnancy hormones don't protect a woman from depression. In fact, a sudden rise in hormonal levels can trigger depression. This is why pregnancy depression is not as rare as you many think. Many women go through the same, but they are often undiagnosed because they don't always seek professional help or they believe the mood swings, anxiety and depression they experience are a normal part of pregnancy.

Who is at Risk?

All women can develop pregnancy depression, but there are some risk factors you might want to consider:

1. History of depression: If you have a personal or family history of depression, you're more likely to become depressed in pregnancy.


2. Problems with your pregnancy or previous pregnancies. If you experience problems in your current pregnancy or if you've had problems in your previous pregnancies, it's more likely that you'll become depressed.


3. Stress. Stressful events can trigger depression. It can be anything from death in the family, financial issues or problems in your relationship.


4. Other factors. Some of the other risk factors include: past history of abuse, being of a young age, being single, having an unplanned pregnancy or getting pregnant after a lot of trying or after a fertility treatment.

Feeling Depressed

If you suspect you might be depressed, it's important to accept it and work towards solving this problem. You may even take a pregnancy depression test online to see where you stand, but note that these tests are made for orientation only and can't be taken as a real diagnosis or a medical opinion. It's important to talk to someone about the way you feel. It can be a doctor or someone close to you, such as your partner or a friend. It's important to get some help or a treatment to feel better. Remember: you deserve better than to feel depressed during pregnancy.

After Pregnancy Depression

After pregnancy depression is called postpartum depression and it's triggered by sudden hormonal changes. After you give birth, your hormone levels get back to normal very quickly, which can lead to depression. This condition is somewhat common and it's not surprising. It's also estimated that about half of women who suffer from pregnancy depression will experience postpartum depression.

There are also some other factors which can lead to postpartum depression, such as difficult childbirth, feeling tired after delivery, lack of sleep, stress from changes in your daily routine because of the baby and more. One of the common complaints is doubting your mothering skills or having unusually high expectations of being a good mother.

Just like depression during pregnancy, postpartum depression is treatable. You should seek medical help if these feelings stay for too long, but you should always have a support network that will help you go through this difficult time. Your partner, family members and friends should be there for you. They can help you with the baby and they can support you. It's important for you to feel you have someone to trust. Another important thing is to always find some time for yourself, no matter how short it may be. This is a very good way of fighting against pregnancy depression and postpartum depression.

5 Signs That Your Relationship May Be Causing Your Depression

If relationship problems are making you feel down, then it is time for you to beat the depression. Romantic relationships are fun to be with, loving someone and getting back love in return is a beautiful thing. But when a relationship turns toxic for one or both partners, then there is reason to worry about it. If you are depressed and find yourself down in the dumps on more days than not, then you may have to do a re-think about whether you want to be in the relationship anymore. Following are 5 signs that your relationship may be the cause of your depression.

• You and your lover bicker all the time when you are together. It doesn't need a point of conflict, anything can start it. Everything, from the food you cooked, or the dress you wore, or about how to spend the evening or where to go and what to eat results in mindless bickering. In a healthy relationship, both of the lovers should be able to talk about everything, from simple to complex. When you find that bickering is replacing conversation in your relationship, then you need to fight the blues that come with it.

• True, life is busy these days. If both of you are holding full-time jobs, juggling work and love is not easy. But when you find that you or your partner is making an effort to stop spending time together, trouble must be brewing. An abrupt shift in the time spent together and a drastic lessening of activities you enjoyed doing together previously may want you to look for ways to fight depression and anxiety. Too much separation may lead to loss of intimacy.

• Do you or your lover insult each other all the time? When you are in the company of other people, do you find your lover insulting you and trying bring you down? Does he verbally abuse you and make you feel small? Does your lover raise doubts about your mental state and call you insane? Does your lover make an effort to make you feel bad about the way you look, dress, do things, cook, etc.? If this is the pattern of your relationship, then you must make a conscious effort to battle depression on your own.

• Your lover manipulates your sex life. Without bothering about what you are feeling or what you want, your lover wants sex from you whenever he/she wants it. A couple of times of this occurrence may be excused, but when it becomes an everyday affair, then you must know that it is not a normal relationship.

• Your lover is jealous for no reason. It is not that he/she is jealous of you flirting with other people but rather it is a result of a deep sense of insecurity and lack of self-esteem your lover may be suffering from.

Beating depression that arises out of a relationship may actually lead to a break up. It is for you to decide.

Can Sound Healing Ease Depression?

Understand Your Depression Symptoms

Feeling sad, unhappy, or down every once in a while is a normal part of life; we live in a demanding, fast paced and stressful time, and we often cope with little or no family or social support. The realities of life can be depressing, but when mild depression doesn't go away, you may be suffering from a deeper state of depression. Knowing the symptoms of depression can help you make intelligent choices in choosing depression self help books, treating depression without medication, or in seeking professional help and anti-depressant medication.

Emotional Depression Symptoms

* Changes in appetite
* Irritable or short temper
* Insomnia, or sleeping too much
* You can't control negative thoughts
* Thoughts that life is not worth living
* Feelings of hopelessness or helplessness
* You can't concentrate, or find easy tasks difficult

Physical Symptoms of Depression

* Back Pain
* Headaches
* Digestive problems
* Fatigue and exhaustion
* Muscle aches and joint pain
* Dizziness or light headedness

How Can Sound Healing Ease Depression Symptoms?

The symptoms of depression are wired by the nervous system into the brain; individuals with clinical depression often have over active right brain hemispheres. By using binaural beat sound, brain wave activity can be brought into balance, and symptoms of depression reduced. Those suffering depression often have too much "slow wave" brain activity, such as Theta or Alpha. Increasing faster brain wave frequencies, such as Gamma and Beta, can reduce symptoms of depression.

Binaural beat sound therapy can be used to "entrain" the brain waves, which means brainwaves will start to resonate at the same frequency as the binaural beat. Brainwave entrainment can change brain wave patterns temporarily, which has been shown to have a profound effect; it's been shown that binaural beats are very effective for meditative states. This is a breakthrough for anyone wants to relax or meditate, but did not have the time, or teacher. This type of meditation can balance your brainwaves and reduce your depression symptoms, and leave you feeling calm, centered and less depressed, day after day.

When to Seek A Professional for Depression Symptoms

Sound healing sound and depression self help books and supplements can be very useful, but if your depression is causing extreme symptoms, disrupting your daily routine, friends or family, then seek professional help. If you are have thoughts of suicide, please seek professional help immediately!

If you have physical symptoms of depression, get a medical checkup. Your doctor can evaluate if your depression is caused by a medical condition. Many drugs and supplements can cause depression symptoms, so tell your doctor about any over the counter medications, herbal remedies, vitamins, recreational drugs or prescriptions you are using.

If your doctor rules out a medical cause, the next step is to seek out a therapist with experience treating depression. The therapist will work with you to determine the underlying cause of your depression, and help you to cope and overcome it.

Common SSRI Antidepressants and Their Effectiveness in Treating Depression

SSRI antidepressants are a commonly used group of drugs used to treat the symptoms of clinical and situational depression. There are many different groups of antidepressants and they all work in different ways. SSRIs work in a different way than other groups of medication because they only work on the neurotransmitter serotonin, and not on other neurotransmitters. Additionally, SSRI antidepressants offer benefits over other types of antidepressants and have proven to be quite beneficial in the treatment of depression.

Overview of SSRI Antidepressants

SSRI stands for selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors. The name actually explains what the drug does. They help to stop the absorption of the neurotransmitter, serotonin. Abnormal absorption of serotonin is thought to be one of the main causes of depression as normal amounts of this substance contribute to maintaining a positive mental state.

SSRIs are used mostly to treat depression, but have also been used to treat other mental illnesses such as panic disorder, anxiety, obsessive compulsive disorder and post traumatic stress disorder.

SSRI's side effects are considered to be less severe than those of other depression treatment drugs. Common side effects include nausea, joint pain, upset stomach, insomnia and rashes. These are usually very mild and do not stop a patient from taking the drug.

SSR's have also been linked with two very serious side effects, but these are also very rare. The causes are known, so these are avoidable. Serotonin syndrome is caused by dangerous levels of serotonin in the brain. It causes confusion, hallucinations, and seizures and can lead to a coma. It is usually a result of drug interaction, which can be easily avoided with proper guidance from a qualified medical provider.

The other issue is that, in some cases, SSRIs can cause an increase in depression or suicidal thoughts. This occurs usually as a result of changing doses and, with careful monitoring by a doctor, can be resolved.

The use of SSRI antidepressants is often the first option considered by doctors. The patient is heavily monitored when beginning the medication for side effects. If no side effects occur the treatment continues and usually is effective as a depression treatment.

History of SSRI Antidepressants

SSRI antidepressants are considered a new class of antidepressants. They were first introduced in 1987 with the first type of SSRI to be used and still the most commonly prescribed is fluoxetine, sold under the brand name Prozac.

SSRI antidepressants became rather popular due to the relative safeness of the drug and lack of severe side effects. There is a low risk of overdose with a rare risk of death by overdose, and SSRIs are not addictive as are other depression treatment drugs. They are now a commonly prescribed treatment for depression.

Common Types of SSRI Antidepressants

There are five types of SSRIs:

Citalopram - sold as Celexa
Escitalopram - sold as Lexapro
Fluoxetine - sold as Prozac
Paroxetine - sold as Paxil
Sertrline - sold as Zoloft

The different types of SSRIs all have been proven to provide the same treatment affects. The main difference is the possible side effects a person may have. Usually the choice of SSRI is based solely upon the reaction of the patient to the medication.

Effectiveness of SSRIs as treatment for Depression

SSRIs are often used because they carry fewer risks than other treatment methods. However, patients need to work closely with a doctor when changing medications, or deciding to stop taking SSRIs due to withdrawal symptoms.

Chronic Depression Caused By Over Stressing At Work - Symptoms And Cure

Life today is very fast and with every step you take, you find a competition for yourself. Survival of the fittest is what it's exactly all about. But among these neck breaking struggle at every step of your life, whether you win or lose, you cannot escape one thing and that's, depression. The professionals especially are prone to suffer from depression and most of the times, chronic depression. This is caused by work pressure and taking of excessive stress.

People who work under excessive stress have higher chances of suffering from chronic depression than others. A very common reason of chronic depression other than stress is non-co operation of colleagues or employees at the work place. As well as too much indulgence in thoughts or fear of losing to a competitor or job performance. Those working under intensely stressed environment or under too much stress, have the risk of high- blood pressure and cardiac related ailments. Professionals working under stress are vulnerable to chronic depression and it may lead them to hazardous consequences.

The symptoms of chronic depression are restlessness, you feel very impatient. The loss of sleep or insomnia is another indicator of you suffering from depression. Losing your temper and getting easily irritated, loss of memory, a feeling of running behind the schedule or fear of not completing work before deadline are also signs of chronic depression. A constant fear of losing job or low job performance, mood swings and getting bored of something which you love the most, all of these symptoms are of depression.

First thing to avoid this suffering for long is to identify it. Once you identify the symptoms go for a professional help from a trained professional psychotherapist or psychiatrist. The therapy used by them is called psychotherapy. They give counselling which helps in solving of the problems. It's also called 'talk therapy'. Something which you can do on your own is, decreasing your in take of coffee or caffeine and tea, have tea which doesn't contain caffeine.

The anti-depressant medicines provide much relief for the depressed person. The majority of people having anti-depressant drugs recovered completely from depression. These are most effective. But sometimes high dosage of anti-depressant medicines causes insomnia.

Vagus nerve stimulation or VNS is also a way to treat depression. It requires an implanted device to stimulate the vagus nerve.

Another way of treating depression is electroconvulsive therapy or ECT. The person suffering from depression is given brief electrical pulses on the head.

However, there is a new method now, to beat depression, called Linden's Method with success rate of 96% and more than 120,000 people have benefited from it already. The Linden Method is an instructional and guidance program that finds its roots in research of the Cognitive Behaviour Therapy.

When one purchases the Linden Method Program one receives material guidance goods, full quality support and a wealth of information. The package includes an E-book or a instructional publication of 200 pages. It also includes 10 CDs with audio programs and a DVD with a video program. The package also brings with it phone assistance and counselling for a year, with no limit on the amount of times or duration that one can call for.

All this comes with a money back guarantee that promises to return the cost price of the product to the buyer if he/ she does not experience any change after the prescribed one year of the program application.

Depression With Asperger's Syndrome and Autism

Does having Asperger's or autism mean you can't be suffering from depression as well? Absolutely not! Just because you've been diagnosed with an Autism Spectrum Disorder, that doesn't mean that you're not also dealing with other mental health issues, like depression, other mood disorders, or anxiety, as well.

As a therapist who specializes in working with individuals with Asperger's Syndrome and autism, I frequently talk with clients who think that because they have an Autistic Spectrum Disorder (ASD) they can't be suffering from any other psychological problem. And that's a problem, because the painful symptoms resulting from depression, other mood disorders, or anxiety can be treated. Both psychotherapy and medications can be effective.

I think some confusion arises from terminology. Children with ASDs are frequently treated with a range of different types of "therapy", from behavioral, to relational, to social skills therapies. All of these can be effective in dealing with the behaviors and symptoms of ASDs, but they are very different from "therapy" - meaning psychotherapy - aimed at dealing with various psychological issues. Certainly, there can be an overlap. For example, I often do some social skills "therapy" when working with depressed clients dealing with social isolation. But the difference is that psychotherapy typically deals with psychological issues, such as feelings of sadness or anxiety, whether or not the patient has an ASD in addition.

It's also confusing because so much of the information and research about autism and Asperger's is about children. But that doesn't mean that there aren't many adults with ASDs. And many of these adults have never been formally diagnosed. Some people may think that their feelings of sadness or anxiety are just a part of having the ASD. But that's not true. Many individuals with ASDs live happy and healthy lives.

There's little data about psychological issues and ASDs. Probably the most extensive research is from Mohammad Ghaziuddin. He's published a number of peer reviewed journal articles, as well as the book Mental Health Aspects of Autism and Asperger Syndrome. Although the data is scarce, it appears that the rates of depression, anxiety and other mental disorders disorders are actually higher in individuals dealing with ASDs.

So, what should you do if you suspect you've got an ASD and another psychological disorder as well? Get help. Find a trained professional, such as a doctor, a licensed therapist or psychologist to work with. It's best to focus on professionals who are familiar with ASDs and who enjoy working with individuals on the autism spectrum. With the appropriate help, you can be feeling much better.