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.
- The association of symptomatic vitreous floaters with depression and anxietyby Nikolaos Gouliopoulos on May 7, 2024
CONCLUSION: Vitreous floaters have a negative impact on patients' psychological status, by the terms of enhanced depressive and anxiety levels. To the best of our knowledge, our study is the first in the literature to elaborate the aforementioned association, by assessing three different questionnaires simultaneously.
- Clozapine Efficacy and Adverse Drug Reactions Among a Nationwide Study of 1021 Australians Prescribed Clozapine: The ClozaGene Studyby Penelope A Lind on May 7, 2024
CONCLUSIONS: Our findings highlight the high rate of psychotic and metabolic symptoms and ADRs among adults prescribed clozapine in the general Australian population. Future genomic analyses will focus on identifying genetic variants influencing clozapine treatment response and side effects.
- Sex Differences Between Female and Male Individuals in Antipsychotic Efficacy and Adverse Effects in the Treatment of Schizophreniaby Megan Galbally on May 7, 2024
CONCLUSIONS: While overall sex differences were limited across efficacy and tolerability for antipsychotic treatment, there were some specific findings with risperidone. Further examination of sex differences within antipsychotic trials will be important to improve efficacy and reduce adverse responses across as well as individualising care for people with schizophrenia.
- Young Children of Mothers with a History of Depression Show Attention Bias to Sad Faces: An Eye-tracking Studyby Xiaoxue Fu on May 7, 2024
Maternal depression is a predictor of the emergence of depression in the offspring. Attention bias (AB) to negative emotional stimuli in children may serve as a risk factor for children of depressed parents. The present study aimed to examine the effect of maternal major depressive disorder (MDD) history on AB to emotional faces in children at age four, before the age of onset for full-blown psychiatric symptoms. The study also compared AB patterns between mothers and their offspring....