Factsheet: Depression: What You Need to Know
Depression
Mood Disorders Clinical Depression is a common, real and treatable illness.
Basic Facts About Clinical Depression:
Clinical depression is one of the most common mental illnesses, affecting more than 19 million Americans each year.[1] This includes
major depressive disorder, manic depression and dysthymia, a milder, longer-lasting form of depression.
Depression causes people to lose pleasure from daily life, can
complicate other medical conditions, and can even be serious enough to lead to suicide.
-Depression can occur to anyone, at any age, and to people of any race or ethnic
group. Depression is never a "normal" part of life, no matter what your age, gender or health situation.
Unfortunately, though treatment for depression is
almost always successful, fewer than half of those suffering from this illness seek treatment.[2] Too many people resist treatment because they believe depression isn't serious,
that they can treat it themselves or that it is a personal weakness rather than a serious medical illness.
Treatments for Clinical Depression:
Clinical
depression is very treatable, with more than 80% of those who seek treatment showing improvement.[3] The most commonly used treatments are antidepressant medication,
psychotherapy or a combination of the two. The choice of treatment depends on the pattern, severity, persistence of depressive symptoms and the history of the illness. As
with many illnesses, early treatment is more effective and helps prevent the likelihood of serious recurrences. Depression must be treated by a physician or qualified mental
health professional.
Symptoms of Clinical Depression:
Persistent sad, anxious or "empty" mood
Sleeping too much or too little, middle of the night or early morning waking
Reduced appetite and weight loss, or increased appetite and weight gain
Loss of pleasure and interest in activities once enjoyed, including sex
Restlessness, irritability
Persistent physical symptoms that do not respond to treatment (such as chronic pain or digestive disorders)
Difficulty concentrating, remembering or making decisions
Fatigue or loss of energy
Feeling guilty, hopeless or worthless
Thoughts of suicide or death
If you have five or more of these symptoms for two weeks or more, you
could have clinical depression and should see your doctor or a qualified mental health professional for help.
Causes of Clinical Depression:
Many things can
contribute to clinical depression. For some people, a number of factors seem to be involved, while for others a single factor can cause the illness. Oftentimes, people
become depressed for no apparent reason.
Biological - People with depression typically have too little or too much of certain brain chemicals, called
"neurotransmitters." Changes in these brain chemicals may cause or contribute to clinical depression.
Cognitive - People with negative thinking patterns and low self-esteem are more likely to develop clinical depression.
Gender - Women experience clinical depression at a rate that
is nearly twice that of men.[3] While the reasons for this are still unclear, they may include the hormonal changes women go through during menstruation, pregnancy, childbirth
and menopause. Other reasons may include the stress caused by the multiple responsibilities that women have.
Co-occurrence - Clinical depression is more likely to occur
along with certain illnesses, such as heart disease, cancer, Parkinson's disease, diabetes, Alzheimer's disease and hormonal disorders.
Medications - Side effects of some medications can bring about depression.
Genetic - A family history of clinical depression increases the risk for developing the illness.
Situational - Difficult life events, including divorce, financial problems or the death of a loved one can contribute to clinical depression.
Factsheet: Schizoaffective Disorder
Schizophrenia Schizoaffective disorder symptoms look like a mixture of two kinds of major mental illnesses that are usually thought to
run in different families, involve different brain mechanisms, develop in different ways, and respond to different treatments: mood (affective) disorders and schizophrenia.
Symptoms of Schizoaffective Disorder
The two major mood disorders are unipolar depression and bipolar or manic-depressive illness.
Seriously depressed people:
Feel constantly sad and fatigued
Have lost interest in everyday activities
Are indecisive and unable to concentrate
Sleep and eat too little or too much
Complain of various physical symptoms
May have recurrent thoughts of death and suicide
People experiencing a manic mood are:
Suffering from sleeplessness
Compulsively talkative
Agitated and distractible
Convinced of their own inflated importance
Susceptible to buying sprees
Prone to cheerfulness turning to irritability
Indiscreet sexual advances, and foolish investments
Paranoia, and rage
People with chronic schizophrenia:
Appear apathetic
Are emotionally unresponsive
Have limited speech
Have confused thinking
May suffer from hallucinations and delusions
Perplex others with their strange behavior
And inappropriate emotional reactions
Difficulty In Distinguishing Illnesses
People with:
Affective disorders
usually appear normal between episodes of illness and do not become more seriously disabled with time.
Schizophrenia rarely seem normal, and their condition tends to deteriorate, at least in the early years of the illness.
This distinction is not always as obvious as the
description suggests. Emotion and behavior are more fluid and less easy to classify than physical symptoms. Seriously depressed and manic people often have hallucinations and
delusions. Mania can be impossible to distinguish from an acute schizophrenic reaction, and psychotic or delusional depression is important enough to rate its own classification by
some psychiatrists. Mood changes occur both as symptoms of schizophrenia and as reactions to its devastating effects; for example, depression after a schizophrenic episode
(post-psychotic depression) is common and often severe, and it is during this time that a person suffering from schizophrenia is most likely to commit suicide.
Schizophrenic
apathy and an incapacity for pleasure can also be mistaken for depression. Often a diagnosis has to be changed from one kind of major mental disorder to the other. In a recent study
of more than 936 people with a severe psychiatric disorder who were hospitalized at least four times in a seven-year period, investigators found that about 25% of those originally
given other diagnoses (including bipolar disorder) and 33% of those originally given other diagnoses (including bipolar disorder) had a final diagnosis of schizophrenia.
Signs That May Help Define Schizoaffective as the Diagnosis
The illness usually begins in early adulthood
It is more common in women
A person has difficulty in following a moving object with their eyes
A person's rapid eye movement (dreaming) begins unusually early in the night
However, the research is inadequate and the results have been confused by varying definitions
Choice of Therapies
If a person is in a psychotic state, a
neuroleptic (antipsychotic) drug is most often used, since antidepressants and lithium (used for bipolar disorder) take several weeks to start working. Antipsychotic drugs may cause
tardive dyskinesia, a serious and sometimes irreversible disorder of body movement, so people are asked to take them for long periods only when there is no other alternative. After
the psychosis has ended, the mood symptoms may be treated with antidepressants, lithium, anticonvulsants, or electroconvulsive therapy (ECT). Sometimes a neuroleptic is combined with
lithium or an antidepressant and then gradually withdrawn, to be restored if necessary. The few studies on drug treatment of this disorder suggest that antipsychotic drugs are most
effective. The greater effectiveness of these new drugs may be partly due to their activity at receptors for the neurotransmitter serotonin, which is not influenced as strongly by
standard antipsychotic drugs.
Other Resources
NARSAD: The Mental Health Research Association
60 Cuttermill Rd, Suite 404
Great Neck, NY 11021
Toll-Free Number: (800) 829-8289
Fax Number: (516) 487-6930
Email Address:
info@narsad.org
Website URL: www.narsad.org
National Institute of Mental Health Public Information and Communications Branch
6001 Executive Blvd, Room 8184, MSC 9663
Bethesda, MD 20892
Phone Number: (866) 615-6464
Website URL: www.nimh.nih.gov
For More Information:
For help finding treatment, support groups, medication information, help paying for your
medications, your local Mental Health America affiliate, and other mental health-related services in your community, please click here to access our Frequently Asked Questions and
Answers. If you or someone you know is in crisis now, seek help immediately. Call 1-800-273-TALK (8255) to reach a 24 hour crisis center or dial 911 for immediate assistance.
Factsheet: Stigma: Building Awareness and Understanding
Content Usage and Reprint Requests
Mental illness can strike anyone! It knows no age limits,
economic status, race, creed or color. During the course of a year, more than 54 million Americans are affected by one or more mental disorders.
Medical science has made
incredible progress over the last century in helping us understand, curing and eliminating the causes of many diseases including mental illnesses. However, while doctors continue to
solve some of the mysteries of the brain, many of its functions remain a puzzle. Even at the leading research centers, no one fully understands how the brain works or why it
malfunctions. However, researchers have determined that many mental illnesses are probably the result of chemical imbalances in the brain. These imbalances may be inherited, or may
develop because of excessive stress or substance abuse.
It is sometimes easy to forget that our brain, like all of our other organs, is vulnerable to disease. People with
mental illnesses often exhibit many types of behaviors such as extreme sadness and irritability, and in more severe cases, they may also suffer from hallucinations and total
withdrawal. Instead of receiving compassion and acceptance, people with mental illnesses may experience hostility, discrimination, and stigma.
Why does stigma still exist?
Unfortunately, the media is responsible for many of the misconceptions which persist about people with mental illnesses. Newspapers, in
particular, often stress a history of mental illness in the backgrounds of people who commit crimes of violence.
Newspapers, in particular, often stress a history of mental
illness in the backgrounds of people who commit crimes of violence. Television news programs frequently sensationalize crimes where persons with mental illnesses are involved.
Comedians make fun of people with mental illnesses, using their disabilities as a source of humor. Also, national advertisers use stigmatizing images as promotional gimmicks to
sell products.
Ironically, the media also offers our best hope for eradicating stigma because of its power to educate and influence public opinion.
What Is A Mental Illness?
A mental illness is a disease that causes mild to severe disturbances in thinking, perception and behavior. If these disturbances significantly
impair a person's ability to cope with life's ordinary demands and routines, then he or she should immediately seek proper treatment with a mental health professional. With the proper
care and treatment, a person can recover and resume normal activities.
Many mental illnesses are believed to have biological causes, just like cancer, diabetes and heart
disease, but some mental disorders are caused by a person's environment and experiences.
The five major categories of mental illness:
Anxiety Disorders
Anxiety disorders are the most
common mental illnesses. The three main types are: phobias, panic disorders, and obsessive-compulsive disorders. People who suffer from phobias experience extreme fear or dread
from a particular object or situation. Panic disorders involve sudden, intense feelings of terror for no apparent reason and symptoms similar to a heart attack. People
with obsessive-compulsive disorder try to cope with anxiety by repeating words or phrases or engaging in repetitive, ritualistic behavior such as constant hand washing.
Mood Disorders
Mood disorders include depression and bipolar disorder (or manic depression) symptoms may include mood swings such as extreme sadness or elation, sleep and
eating disturbances, and changes in activity and energy levels. Suicide may be a risk with these disorders.
Schizophrenia
Schizophrenia is a serious disorder that
affects how a person thinks, feels, and acts. Schizophrenia is believed to be caused by chemical imbalances in the brain that produce a variety of symptoms including
hallucinations, delusions, withdrawal, incoherent speech and impaired reasoning.
Dementias
This group of disorders includes diseases like Alzheimer's which leads
to loss of mental functions, including memory loss and a decline in intellectual and physical skills.
Eating Disorders
Anorexia nervosa and bulimia involves
serious, potentially life-threatening illnesses. People with these disorders have a preoccupation with food and an irrational fear of being fat. Anorexia is self-starvation while
bulimia involves cycles of bingeing (consuming large quantities of food) and purging (self-inducing vomiting or abusing laxatives). Behavior may also include excessive exercise.
Common Misconceptions About Mental Illness
Myth: "Young people and children don't suffer from mental health problems."
Fact: It is estimated that more than 6
million young people in America may suffer from a mental health disorder that severely disrupts their ability to function at home, in school, or in their community.
Myth: "People who need psychiatric care should be locked away in institutions."
Fact: Today, most people can lead productive lives within their communities thanks to a variety of
supports, programs, and/or medications.
Myth: "A person who has had a mental illness can never be normal."
Fact: People with mental illnesses can recover and resume normal
activities. For example, Mike Wallace of "60 Minutes", who has clinical depression, has received treatment and today leads an enriched and accomplished life.
Myth: "Mentally ill persons are dangerous."
Fact: The vast majority of people with mental illnesses are not violent. In the cases when violence does occur, the incidence typically
results from the same reasons as with the general public such as feeling threatened or excessive use of alcohol and/or drugs.
Myth: "People with mental illnesses can work low-level jobs but aren't suited for really important or responsible positions."
Fact: People with mental illnesses, like everyone
else, have the potential to work at any level depending on their own abilities, experience and motivation.
How You Can Combat stigma:
Share your experience with
mental illness. Your story can convey to others that having a mental illness is nothing to be embarrassed about.
Help people with mental illness reenter society. Support their efforts to obtain housing and jobs.
Respond to false statements about mental illness or people with mental
illnesses. Many people have wrong and damaging ideas on the subject. Accurate facts and information may help change both their ideas and actions.
Other Resources
Resource Center to Address Discrimination and Stigma
http://www.stopstigma.samhsa.gov/
1-800-540-0320 (English/Spanish) |
