Depression

Depression

ORGANIZATIONS: SUPPORT AND ADVOCACY Depression and Bipolar Support Alliance
1-800-826-3632
Education, research, advocacy, and support
Find a support group in your area

Emotions Anonymous 651-647-9712
Assists individuals who want to achieve and maintain emotional health by understanding and utilizing the 12 Steps in their daily lives.

National Hopeline Network
1-800-784-2433 24-Hour Hotline
This organization works to prevent suicide and educate people about depressive disorders. Through its hotline and outreach activities, the National Hopeline Network connects people who are depressed or suicidal -- or those who are concerned about someone they love -- to a crisis center and/or crisis counselor.

National Mental Health Consumers Self-Help Clearinghouse
Consumer-run national technical assistance center serving the mental health consumer movement that helps connect individuals to self-help and advocacy resources, and offers expertise to self-help groups and other peer-run services for mental health consumers.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------- INFORMATION: ARTICLES AND RESEARCH Antidepressant-Induced Suicidality and Violence (pdf) ~ Dr. Peter Breggin's report presented at the FDA Hearings Press Conference in 2004. Antidepressant test sees 5th suicide ~ In the same week the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) held hearings to look into whether some antidepressants cause suicidal behavior in children and teenagers, a college student taking part in a clinical trial by Eli Lilly Company for the antidepressant, Cymbalta, took her life. Antidepressants for Children...Unsafe? A Better Question Might Be: Why Are So Many Children Depressed? ~ Is our social culture making children depressed? If so, what can we do about it? Antidepressants Hazardous to Health Care Coverage ~ Most Americans with health insurance are covered through their employer and have little problem getting coverage for antidepressants, but almost 10 percent of those insured have individual policies because they are self-employed, unemployed or work for a company that doesn't offer insurance. The Assassination of Our Youth ~ SSRIs are causing dozens of murders, thousands of psychoses and are altering the minds of millions of users. All but a very few of the latest "Mass Murderers" have been on these drugs. The blue season: Diagnosing seasonal affective disorder ~ Seasonal affective disorder, or SAD, was first described in 1984 by Norman Rosenthal, M.D., a researcher at the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH). SAD has many of the same symptoms as major depression: loss of energy, change in appetite, tendency to oversleep, difficulty concentrating and irritability. But unlike major depression, it occurs seasonally, usually beginning in September or October and lasting through March or April. A person who has suffered these symptoms for two consecutive winters, but does not have symptoms of depression during the spring and summer months, probably has SAD. Cause of depression remains a mystery ~ Think depression is just a chemical imbalance? Think again. The Christian and Depression ~ If one is to learn how to conquer, or at least control, depression, there are certain attitudes he or she must learn to identify and avoid — attitudes that have a tendency to nurture the moods in which depression can flourish. If depression is not properly and urgently addressed by the Christian, with the solutions to one’s problems being sought in the Word of God, the tragic situation can result in spiritual stagnation and, sometimes, even suicide. Depressed Teens Smoke More ~ Researchers found that such factors as family history of criminality or drug use (including cigarette smoking), association with delinquent peers, and feelings of low self-worth all contribute to increased rates of depression in teens. These increased rates of depression were mirrored in increased rates of smoking as well. Depression Can Break Your Heart ~ Depression is a risk factor for heart disease along with high blood cholesterol and high blood pressure. Depression and mental health disorders can be prevented and treated with simple healing foods ~ Healing foods are affordable and readily available. Is your doctor telling you how your eating habits affect your mental health? Depression and the Narcissist ~ Depression is a big component in the narcissist's emotional make-up. But it mostly has to do with the absence of Narcissistic Supply. Depression and Nutrition ~ Serotonin, whether created in the gut or in the brain, begins on the end of your fork. Depression Tied to Hypertension by Family History ~ How depression influences heart disease is not entirely clear. The connection may have both behavioral and biological components. P eople who are depressed may act in unhealthy ways, like smoking or not taking their medicine, which leads to heart disease. Depression may also work more directly within the body by triggering or inhibiting substances that endanger the heart, either immediately or over time. Depression and Suicide ~ Almost all people who kill themselves intentionally have a diagnosable mental disorder with or without substance abuse, which in itself, is often a result of attempted self-treatment for the symptoms of depression. Approximately two-thirds of individuals who complete suicide have seen a physician within a month of their death. Emotional Choices ~ What story you choose to believe about antidepressants reveals a deeper truth about who you are. Emotional Distress Leads Children to Doubt Their Competence ~ Children who experience emotional distress from depression and anxiety are prone to viewing themselves and their world in a negative light - and this thinking leads them to underestimate their abilities. A Fatal Flaw ~ When anti-depressants hurt more than they help, even doctors might not recognize something is wrong. Here's what you need to know to prevent a tragedy. Government Plan Calls for Mandatory Mental Health Screening ~ Under the 'New Freedom' plan, mental health screening of adult Americans is slated to occur during routine physical exams while that of young people will occur in the school system. Pre-school children will receive periodic "development screens." He Never Said Goodbye (pdf) ~ The tragic story of Matthew Miller and Zoloft. How was Prozac ever approved? ~ Information on the story of Prozac's approval by the FDA from material provided through the Freedom of Information Act. Is Depression a Disease? ~ Transcript from debatesdebates, a nationally-broadcast public television show produced and directed by the late Warren Steibel at HBO studios in New York City. The participants argue that depression does not refer to anything physiological, it refers to how a person conducts himself, or moves in the world. Job on Prozac: The Pharmaceutical Option ~ In the Biblical story, God tests his faithful servant Job to see whether Job will stay devoted to God even if God takes everything away from him. Now you don’t lose your family, health and possessions, as Job did, without falling into a terrible funk. It’s possible, then, to understand Job’s story as being about remaining true to God through a devastating depression. Suppose that Job had had a prescription for Prozac to help lessen his pain. Would it have been cheating to take a couple of tablets a day while God was tossing all manner of pestilence at him? Let Them Eat Prozac ~ This website explores threats to public safety and academic freedom surrounding the SSRI group of drugs – Prozac, Zoloft (Lustral), Paxil (Seroxat/Aropax). The Lilly Suicides ~ Next to Big Tobacco and the marketing of cigarettes, the selling of the SSRIs is perhaps the deadliest marketing scandal of our time. Link between acne and depression ~ Researchers found that the prevalence of active suicidal thoughts among psoriasis and acne patients was higher than the prevalence reported among general medical patients. The Link Between Parental Alcoholism and Childhood Mood Disorders ~ This article reviews several key findings regarding risk for depression in children of depressed or alcoholic parents and the risk for alcoholism in parents of depressed children, and suggests a unifying hypothesis for the observed pattern of illness in these families. Listening To Depression ~ When we are depressed we may believe we are not lovable or valuable. At its deepest level, this is one of the wounds that depression reveals to us - our need and longing for love is one of depression's most important messages to us. All of us need to know that we are loved and valued by God and by others. The Medicalization of Unhappiness ~ Medical science "helps" unhappy people by clouding their thoughts, by making them less aware of the world, and by sapping their urge to see themselves in a true light. Natural Remedies for Depression ~ Correcting vitamin and mineral deficiencies often relieves depression. However, even if a deficiency cannot be demonstrated, nutritional supplementation may improve symptoms in selected groups of depressed patients. Postpartum Depression Overview ~ Postpartum depression is the single most frequent serious complication of pregnancy. It affects one in ten new mothers; or 400,000 new cases per year in the United States alone. Prozac use reports more likely to list suicide ~Internal documents from Eli Lilly and Co. appear to indicate that the drug maker had data more than 15 years ago showing that adverse-effect reports for Prozac were far more likely to list suicide attempts and violence than reports for other antidepressants. Schizophrenia and Other Psychoses in Children and Youth ~ One half of children diagnosed with schizophrenia have received prior diagnoses, including pervasive developmental disorders (PDDs), ADD/ADHD, and depression. Serotonin and Depression: A Disconnect Between the Advertisements and the Scientific Literature ~ SSRI antidepressants are advertised directly to consumers in the United States. These highly successful direct-to-consumer advertising campaigns have largely revolved around the claim that SSRIs correct a chemical imbalance caused by a lack of serotonin - a theory for which there is no clear or convincing evidence. Nonetheless, this advertising has expanded the size of the antidepressant market, and SSRIs are now among the best-selling drugs in medical practice. Serontonin Syndrome ~ Serotonin syndrome is most often reported in patients taking two or more medications that increase CNS serotonin levels by different mechanisms. The most common drug combinations associated with serotonin syndrome involve the MAOIs, selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs), and the tricyclic antidepressants. SSRI Wrongful Death Cases ~ The bottom line is that even though a patient took one of these anti-depressants and hurt himself or others, and even though the drug companies knew of this problem and didn’t warn U.S. consumers or their doctors about it, litigation is recommended to less than 5% of those individuals and families who inquire about the possibility. The deck is stacked overwhelmingly in favor of the giant pharmaceutical industry, and tragically, the civil justice system usually collapses under the weight. St. John's Wort -- Effective with Caveats ~ St. John's Wort is as effective at relieving mild-to-moderate depression as the most commonly prescribed antidepressants, the selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs). However, one serious side effect of St. John's Wort is its potential to trigger mania in people with bipolar syndrome. Study looks at loss, its role in depression ~ The events that send people into major depression are not merely losses, but humiliating ones that drive at a person's self-esteem -- most typically, being abandoned by a romantic partner. Suicidality, violence and mania caused by SSRIs (pdf) Teen Screen ~ A front group for the psycho-pharmaceutical industrial complex. Think yourself out of depression: The cognitive model ~ The cause of your depression may be your own irrational and self-defeating thoughts, according to the principles of cognitive-behavioral therapy. Why Anxiety And Depression Are Over-Diagnosed And Over-Treated ~ Understanding the underlying problems may lead to a non-pharmacological cure which will work far more effectively than drugs (and last longer) because it offers a fundamental solution which strikes at the very root of the problem instead of merely papering over the cracks. Winter Depression ~ This research group studies associations between natural daylight variations and seasonal affective disorder (SAD), depression, quality of life, eating disturbances, sexual interest, sleep disturbances, personality traits, cognitive performance, and light treatment.