We Need More Words To Describe Depression By Tom Wootton

I was recently coaching a couple that had taken our Bipolar In Order workshop when the man said he was depressed. The woman asked for a better description, but he had no words to describe his emotions. I was reminded of how my wife Ellen used to ask me for more details when I said it was just dark. It seems that many of us can feel strong emotions, but have no words to describe them.
A good friend has the opposite problem. He cannot feel emotions. We watched the saddest movie I know, The Hours, but as hard as he tried he could not cry of feel sadness from it. The amazing part is that he suffered from depression many years ago, but had been taught that negative emotions are bad and should be avoided. He could not describe depression as a feeling since he could not feel it at all.
I often say that depression is a combination of physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual components. While we have no problem explaining the physical, mental, and spiritual aspects, we seem to be at a loss when it comes to describing the emotional part. What we need is a better vocabulary.
When I ask people to describe the physical feelings of depression, I get a huge list of pains from dull, throbbing, stabbing, sharp, and more, to low energy and exhaustion. When I ask about mental issues, I get descriptions of obsessive thoughts, suicide ideations, self talk, hallucinations, etc. The spiritual aspects include life having no meaning, what’s the point, there is no God, life has no value, etc. But with emotion, all I ever hear is sadness or despair. We need more words.
Perhaps if we all contribute, we can come up with a list for everyone to use. That way we can help not only those around us, but also become more clear ourselves about what is happening.
What words do you know that can apply to the emotional part of depression?

Tom Wootton - follow on Twitter - is CEO of Bipolar Advantage. Along with experts in complementary fields, including doctors teaching the next generation of therapists, their mission is to help people with mental conditions shift their thinking and behavior so that they can lead extraordinary lives. Tom is the author of three books: The Bipolar Advantage, The Depression Advantage, and most recently, Bipolar In Order: Looking At Depression, Mania, Hallucination, And Delusion From The Other Side.

Antidepressants May Be Missing the Mark By Rick Nauert PhD

A new study suggests most antidepressants do not target a key brain protein believed to be of importance in maintaining mood.

The protein is monoamine oxidase A (MAO-A), a substance that is highly elevated during clinical depression. The new study suggests this chemical is unaffected by treatment with commonly used antidepressants.

According to experts, the study has important implications for understanding why antidepressants don’t always work.

Researchers at the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH) used an advanced brain imaging method to measure levels of the brain protein MAO-A. MAO-A digests multiple brain chemicals, including serotonin, that help maintain healthy mood.

High MAO-A levels excessively remove these brain chemicals.

Antidepressant medications are the most commonly prescribed treatments in North America, yet 50 percent of people do not respond adequately to antidepressant treatment.

Dr. Jeffrey Meyer, the lead investigator, explains, “Mismatches between treatment and disease are important for understanding why treatments don’t always work. Rather than reversing the problem of MAO-A breaking down several chemicals, most antidepressants only raise serotonin.”

Understanding the Problem of a Persistent Illness

Depression ranks as the fourth leading cause of disability and premature death worldwide, according to the World Health Organization. Recurrent illness is a major problem. Even under the most optimal treatment circumstances, recurrence rates for clinical depression are at least 20 percent over two years.

The new study also focused upon people who had fully recovered from past episodes of clinical depression. Some people who appeared to be in recovery actually had high levels of MAO-A. Those with high levels of MAO-A then had subsequent recurrence of their depressive episodes.

This new idea of high levels of MAO-A lowering brain chemicals (called monoamines), then falling into a clinical depression is consistent with the historical finding that medications which artificially lower monoamines can lead to clinical depression as a side effect.

In the 1950’s some medications to treat high blood pressure also lowered monoamines and people began to experience depressive episodes. When the medications were removed, people recovered.

From Technology to Treatment

VP of Research Dr. Bruce Pollock highlights the study’s use of advanced brain imaging technology. “CAMH has the only positron emission tomography (PET) centre in the world that is dedicated solely to mental health and addiction treatment and research. As a consequence, we were able to develop this new technology to measure MAO-A levels.”

According to Dr. Meyer, “Since most antidepressants miss MAO-A, we are counting on the brain to heal this process of making too much MAO-A, and that doesn’t always happen. The future is to make treatments that tell the brain to make less MAO-A, even after the antidepressant treatment is over, to create better opportunities for sustained recovery.”

Monoamine oxidase inhibitors (MAOIs) are an older class of antidepressants used for the treatment of depression. While more commonly prescribed in Europe and other places, they are not commonly prescribed in the U.S. due to the potential for serious dietary and drug interactions. People who take a MAOI antidepressant must eat a restricted diet to ensure they don’t suffer from serious side effects.

The study is found in the current issue of the Archives of General Psychiatry.

Source: Centre for Addiction and Mental Health

Helping Yourself with Depression Help

Image via Wikipedia

If you're currently feeling so out of it, totally out of your normal system and just basically hating and ignoring almost, always everything and anyone that comes along, try to get yourself checked by a psychiatrist because you those little mood swings and erratic Ally McBeal-ish behavior that you're trying to ignore for some long may actually be symptoms of depression. Act fast because if you do, it'll certainly be a lot harder for you to be able to have yourself cured from this illness, especially once self-delusion starts to kick in.

Actually start by hauling your depressed ass into the hospital and get yourself diagnosed by a reputable psychiatrist, one that'll actually help you with your depression concerns, answer all the possible questions that you may have when it comes to depression as well as provide you with the best available to depression treatment that'll make you give yourself some good-old, yet extremly effective depression help. All it needs is the right attitude.

After actually being honest with yourself when it comes to actually being a patient who is suffering from depression, quit turning yourself into a victim and find out from these various types of depression the actual one that you're suffering from: Manic or Bipolar depression - characterized by sudden and extreme changes in one's mood wherein one minute he or she is in an elevated state of euphoria while the next minute (day or week) he or she is feeling to be in a personal hell, Postpartum depression - characterized by a prolonged sadness and a feeling of emptiness by a new mother wherein physical stress during child birth, an uncertain sense of responsibility towards the new born baby can be just some of the possible factors why some new mother go through this, Dysthimia - characterized by a slight similarity with depression, although this time, it's been proven to be a lot less severe, but of course with any case, should be treated immediately, Cyclothemia - characterized by a slight similarity with Manic or Bipolar depression wherein the individual suffering from this mental illness may occasionally suffer from severe changes in one's moods, Seasonal Affective Disorder - characterized by falling in a rut only during specific seasons (i.e. Winter, Spring, Summer or Fall) studies however, prove that more people actually fall in to a rut more during the Winter and Fall seasons and lastly, Mood swings, wherein a person's mood may shift from happy to sad to angry in just a short time. But in spite of how scary or how daunting a task is the road towards a sound mental health is, depression help abounds and is just up to you if you’re willing to take in some of that depression help, may it be from your family, friends, support group and mainly starting from yourself, there really is a lot of depression help to go around.

The old adage, slowly but surely greatly applies in trying to treat depression, as the patient continues taking the prescribed medicines for his/her depression treatment, as well as the corresponding therapy sessions with the cognitive behavior therapist, a patient being treated from depression needs all the support and depression help that he or she can get.

While being treated for depression, the patient as well as his or her family and other loved ones are advised to make realistic goals concerning depression wherein, to not assume that their depression can be easily treated in a snap. Depression help begins with trying to understand the patient’s situation and continue on being patient as well as always extending your help because depression help is never easy nor is the depression treatment itself, which is why both patients and loved ones need to help each other out through every step of the way. Never set goals that are high above your reach, give yourself some depression help by not being too hard on yourself, believe that you are good and strong enough to achieve your goals but only one step at a time.

Timothy Kendrick International

Depression: 5 Steps to Prevent Relaps

Image via Wikipedia

By Elisha Goldstein, Ph.D.

If you’ve struggled with depression in the past, you are likely all-too-familiar with how easy and subtle it might be to slide back into a depressive state. It can sneak up out of nowhere, kick you into auto-pilot and before you know it you feel like you are “back to square one.” When working with depression it is very important to get in touch with our relapse signatures that are the tell tale signs that we are beginning to slide. When I ask people to think of their signatures they say that more negative thoughts begin to visit them, there may be a feeling of wanting to isolate from friends and family, or the phrase “what’s the point” comes up over and over again.

Here is a step-by-step process of increasing awareness of when relapse is happening and what you can do to pre-empt it:

1) Relapse Signatures - Take a moment right now or make a plan to write down some of your relapse signatures just to increase awareness when they’re happening.

2) Breathing Space - When you notice one of these signatures occurring it is going to be important to ground yourself to the present moment so you can increase you chance of making a choice in that moment. Here is where you introduce mindfulness and bring your attention to the breath to anchor yourself to the present moment. Then take a moment to sense into the body to check-in with how you are feeling physically and emotionally.

3) Thoughts are not facts - It is important to remind yourself that thoughts are not facts. We know this because the same event can happen (e.g., a friend walking by us without saying hello) and our interpretation would be different depending on our mood. Therefore, it’s important to remind ourselves that thoughts are not facts, they are mental events in the mind that are temporary and mood dependent. What is a fact is that negative thoughts are circling and however we are feeling physically and emotionally.

4) Take Action - Now that we are grounded to the present moment and have come down from the mental rumination, we want to take action with 2 things that can support us in this moment. That is either an action that brings us pleasure or an action that brings us a sense of mastery or accomplishment. Here you want to make a list with two columns. Column 1 will include actions in your life that you consider to be pleasurable (e.g., having tea with a friend, taking a walk, giving yourself a manicure/pedicure). Column 2 will include those things that give you a sense of accomplishment (e.g., paying the bills, getting exercise, going to the post office). These lists may overlap in some areas, but have the list down so you have access to it and don’t have to think as much when you notice this relapse occurring.

5) A letter of encouragement - Sometimes when relapse is happening, the thought “what’s the point” comes on really fast. When you’re feeling well, write yourself an empathic letter spelling out the importance of engaging in this process. Be kind to yourself in this letter see if you can think of the words that would be supportive and helpful for you to here when in the midst of a slide into relapse.

Remember, this is a process to engage in when you are noticing yourself sliding into relapse and you have not fallen into the depths of depression. See if you can keep your lists and letter in a space that you can remember and have easy access to. Community is also an important aspect of this work, so share this plan with friend so they can gently help point out when they notice relapse signatures. Or look into online communities such as Therese Borchard’s Community at Beyond Blue.

As always, please share your thoughts, stories, and questions below. Your interactions here provide a living wisdom for us all to benefit from.

Elisha Goldstein, Ph.D. is a Clinical Psychologist and conducts a private practice in West Los Angeles. Check out Dr. Goldstein's acclaimed CD's on stress prevention, depression, and addiction -- "They are so relevant, I have marked them as one of my favorites on a handout I give to all new clients" ~ Psychiatrist. If you're wanting an interactive program to find relief from anxiety and stress, check out Dr. Goldstein's progressive online behavioral change program in Aliveworld. If you're wanting to integrate more mindfulness into your daily life, sign up for his Mindful Living Twitter Feed. Dr. Goldstein is also available for private psychotherapy.

Click Here For More Solutions