Depression
A mental health disorder characterized by persistently depressed mood or loss of interest in activities, causing significant impairment in daily life.
Possible causes include a combination of biological, psychological, and social sources of distress. Increasingly, research suggests these factors may cause changes in brain function, including altered activity of certain neural circuits in the brain.
The persistent feeling of sadness or loss of interest that characterizes major depression can lead to a range of behavioral and physical symptoms. These may include changes in sleep, appetite, energy level, concentration, daily behavior, or self-esteem. Depression can also be associated with thoughts of suicide.
The mainstay of treatment is usually medication, talk therapy, or a combination of the two. Increasingly, research suggests these treatments may normalize brain changes associated with depression.
Cluster Number:
Wiki Number: W058
Diagnoses: Depression
US Patients:
World Patients: 300Mil; 4.4%
Sex Ratio: M;W+
Age Onset:
Brain Area:
Symptoms: low mood and aversion to activity; loss of pleasure;
Effects: the leading cause of disability world-wide;
Causes: childhood adversity ,unequal treatment of siblings, abuse; adult work-or-family stress, medical diagnosis, unemployment
Medications: antidepressants should not be used with initial encounters; long-term depression can benefit from medical help
Therapies: exercise, fond memories; self-help books;
Youtube Video: “I’m Fine” Learning to Live with Depression
Amazon or Library Book:
The Upward Spiral
Amazon or Library Book:
The Vulnerable Man
Click the book to link or order from Amazon.
Click the book to link or order from Amazon.
Jim Lohr’s Download, Lifting My Depression, is available for sale
in the “Blue Box” in this website.
You can download this program from the “Blue Box”
in the right column of the website.
Support Group: dsballiance.org; 800-326-3632
(Depression and Bipolar Support Alliance)
Their website has support groups linked by zip-code
and by state; some face-to-face and some online.
Contact your local Social Security office for possible Disability Benefits through their Disability Determination Services, Section 12.04.
4 CURRENT ARTICLES
FROM PUBMED
The world-wide medical research
reports chosen for each diagnosis
Clicking each title opens the
PubMed article’s summary-abstract.
- Sex- and brain region-specific alterations in brain volume in germ-free miceby Shawna L Thompson on December 30, 2024
Several lines of evidence demonstrate that microbiota influence brain development. Using high-resolution ex vivo magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), this study examined the impact of microbiota status on brain volume and revealed microbiota-related differences that were sex and brain region dependent. Cortical and hippocampal regions demonstrate increased sensitivity to microbiota status during the first 5 weeks of postnatal life, effects that were greater in male germ-free mice....
- Impact of climate change on women mental health in rural hinterland of Pakistanby Umar Daraz on December 30, 2024
CONCLUSION: The study concludes that climate change significantly exacerbates mental health issues for rural women. It highlights the need for gender-sensitive, community-based interventions that address both climate adaptation and mental health. Strengthening community resilience, improving access to resources, and investing in healthcare and education are vital for enhancing well-being in the face of climate change.
- Compression Therapy for Prevention of Chemotherapy-Induced Peripheral Neuropathy: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Randomized Controlled Trialsby Zhanhai Wan on December 30, 2024
CONCLUSION: Moderate- to low-certainty evidence supports compression therapy's effectiveness in preventing CIPN and alleviating depression while showing no substantial impact on other outcomes.
- Relationship Between Physical Exercise and Risk of Depression: An Assessment of Intermediate Variables Through Self-Assessed Health Status and Life Satisfaction in the Chinese Family Tracking Survey (CFPS) Databy Chaoming Gong on December 30, 2024
CONCLUSION: Physical exercise not only negatively predicted the risk of depression, but also indirectly predicted the risk of depression through the independent mediating effects of self-assessed health status and satisfaction of life, as well as chain mediating effects. There were no differences in the effects of physical exercise on depression risk by age, gender and marital status. Significant differences in the effect of physical exercise on depression risk were found among groups with...