The Holiday Blues, the Good and the Bad

By Dominique Marguerite, Ph.D.

It is usually during the holidays that we are reunited with our families. Sometimes old patterns of interaction are repeated. A father will order his adult child as he did when she was little. At other times, and often at the same time, old emotional conflicts that are not resolved stand in the way of the person's current development. An emotional reaction, in an attempt to correct what's going wrong, is the result of the difficulty.

The Link Between Depression and Heart Disease

Depression can strike anyone. However, research over the past two decades has shown that people with heart disease are more likely to suffer from depression than otherwise healthy people and, conversely, people with depression are at greater risk for developing heart disease.

Encouraging Depressed Moms to Seek Treatment for Themselves

Despite all signs encouraging mothers to prioritize their own mental health, many suffer from untreated depression while managing treatment for their children's emotional or behavioral problems.

Trouble with Relationships? You May Have Attachment Issues

When a relationship ends, it's normal to feel sad, frustrated and even angry. You may even want to retreat into your own world for a bit and ignore your family and friends. But if the end of a relationship causes you to no longer be able to function or want to live, you may be dealing with deep-rooted attachment issues.

Relaxing with Reiki: An Effective Way to Treat Pain and Depression

Using their hands, Reiki practitioners identify places in your body where energy is blocked or not flowing properly. Through light touch, practitioners transfer energy to remove blockages so that your body can properly heal.

Defeating Desperation

By Libby Kessman, LCSW

How many people go about their lives feeling unfulfilled, empty, lonely, left out, and angry about their situations? Sometimes someone may know what he needs to do but has difficulty putting these actions into effect, while others are stymied by roadblocks they are experiencing in their lives.

Men and Sex Addiction: The Sexualization of Depression

By: Dorothy C. Hayden, CSW

In therapy, the addict is likely to experience strong feelings about the consequences of his acting out. The secret life is unveiled revealing affairs, exhibitionism, voyeurism, masochism or other behaviors comprising a particular sex addict’s modus operandi of sexual deviance. The real story about men, sexual acting out and depression is as complex as each of the wounded souls who enter treatment (or remain out of it). The impact of depression and sexual deviance on each of them is enormous.

Postpartum Depression is Widespread and Preventable!

By Colette Dowling, LMSW

A certain mystery seems to surround postpartum depression. Women fear it, understandably. Just at the time when they most need their strength and sense of wellbeing, after the birth of a baby, a dark mood can move in and take over.

Finding Your Way Back From Depression and Anxiety

By Susan Pazak, Ph.D.

Whatever you have been through, whatever symptoms you may be experiencing, can be addressed and modified by first identifying how you view your current circumstance or situation. If you sincerely desire change, seek out the necessary help to assist in the process.

Depressed About Feeling Depressed...

By John Fishbein, Ph.D.

Depression is like emotional quicksand. The more you struggle and fight to get out of it, the deeper you sink. One reason you may get stuck feeling depressed is that you don't realize there are two levels or layers of depression.

Men and Depression

Depression and other mood disorders cross all national, cultural, ethnic, and gender boundaries. Research shows the majority of Latinos fail to recognize the symptoms of depression. The National Institute of Mental Health is launching a new effort in their "Real Men Real Depression" campaign to inform the Latino community about depression and to encourage men who are depressed to seek help.

Depression, Bone Mass, and Osteoporosis

Scientists report a strong association between depression and osteoporosis. The literature suggests that depression may be a significant risk factor for osteoporosis, a progressive decrease in bone density that makes bones fragile and more likely to break.

Dealing With Depression?

Depression is caused by an imbalance of brain chemicals, along with other factors. When you're suffering with depression you can't just "snap out of it"--you need help, just as a diabetic needs insulin. Depression drains your energy, diminishes your interest in everyday activities, and if serious enough and/or left untreated, it can lead to thoughts of overwhelming despair or even suicide.

Routine Screening For Depression Advised

An estimated 20 million Americans suffer from depression--and, because as many as half of all cases of this very common mental disorder are missed and still others are mistreated, a federal task force has recommended that all adults be screened for depression during their regular doctor visits.

Yoga Can Enhance Therapy

By Mary Lansing, Licensed Marriage & Family Therapist

Yoga is about healing the splits inside us, the places of separation and dislocation. Coupled with psychotherapy, it can become a pathway toward self-study that flows into an individual's everyday activities, allowing her to focus on her body rather than disturbing thoughts that keep her rooted in old complexes.

Fasting the Mind

By Gary S. Toub, Ph.D.

I have found that fasting the mind is equally important for myself and for my psychotherapy clients. Too often, we tend to follow old habits and programs, rather than remain open to the Unknown. If we are to benefit from the teachings of the Tao, we must learn to quiet the ego's constant chatter so the less audible voice of the Self can be heard.

When Young Kids or Teens Suffer With Depression...

When you think about someone being diagnosed with depression, a young child or teenager might not come first to mind--and yet, as many as one in 8 teens and one in 33 children are affected. Depression is a serious health problem that impacts a youngster's feelings, thoughts and actions, and can appear as a physical illness or behavior problem.

Health Care Costs Much Higher for Older Adults with Depression Plus Other Medical Conditions

Medicare participants who have diabetes or congestive heart failure as well as depression have significantly higher health care costs than their counterparts who do not have co-existing depression.

What illnesses often co-exist with depression?

Studies have shown that people who have depression in addition to another serious medical illness tend to have more severe symptoms of both depression and the medical illness, more difficulty adapting to their medical condition, and more medical costs than those who do not have co–existing depression.

More Americans Seeking Help for Depression

At some time in their lives, more than 16% of Americans--as many as 35 million people--suffer from depression that's serious enough to warrant treatment. New studies indicate that one important reason why people with depression fail to receive the help they need is that many turn to their family doctors, who often don't treat depression aggressively enough.

Can Exercise Chase Away the Blues?

Is exercise good for improving your mood? The simple answer can be summed up in two short words: "Yes, but..." It's an undisputed "yes" if you're in a low mood because of a bad day, and perhaps also if you meet the official criteria for major depression with mild symptoms. However, the "but" applies to several factors researchers and therapists are currently working hard to more clearly define.

Helping Someone Who's Seriously Ill

By Jim Weinstein, MBA, MFT

Illness carries with it a whole gamut of feelings: fear, anger, disappointment, hopelessness, grief, perhaps guilt or even shame. What someone who's seriously ill usually needs most is simply someone to listen sympathetically, be a loving witness to all of their feelings and emotions, and, in the process, help share the burden of their suffering.

Both Grief and Anxiety Can Lead to Depression

Grief and anxiety usually catch us off guard--and, in many cases, risk leading to depression. It's always a good idea to take the time to become more familiar with the symptoms of depression so you'll know what to look for, both for yourself and for those whom you care about.

Crossroads of the Seasons

By Dominique Marguerite, Ph.D.

Nested in the word holiday is an ancient meaning, suggesting that these days at the end of the year are "holy days," but also days of "wholeness, uninjured" and of "good omen." Yet so much is said by psychologists like me, and other healthcare professionals, about this time of year being full of stress and depression. We give recipes to "fix" what many people suffer each year as we approach the winter holidays. How is it that we have moved so far away from the ancient meanings of the season? Or have we?

Learn to Cope, Don't Mope

By Sherry Persky, CSW

Depression that is not biochemical is often caused by the critical or negative messages that we tell ourselves. We are our own worst critics. The negative messages we tell ourselves could stem from our childhood. Even though it is important to explore your past, you also have to learn to cope more effectively with the current symptoms.

Unemployment and Depression

When you’re in the throes of depression, it becomes harder to get another job, putting into play a cycle of defeat and despair that can only make your depression deepen. Instead of getting help for their symptoms of depression, too many too frequently try to make themselves feel better by "self medicating" with alcohol or drugs. This clearly makes things worse.

What Every Woman Should Know About Depression

Depression is a pervasive and impairing disorder that affects both women and men--however, it seems women experience depression at roughly twice the rate of men. Researchers continue to explore how special issues unique to females--biological, life cycle, and psycho-social--may be associated with women's higher rate of depression.

After Disaster Strikes--What You Can Do

Whether or not you were directly affected by a disaster or violent event, it's normal to feel anxious about your own safety and that of your loved ones, to picture painful details of the event in your mind again and again, to experience nightmares, to feel hyper-alert and constantly on-edge, and to fearfully imagine how you would react in a similar emergency. The important thing is that you have someone you trust to confide in about such troubling feelings as sorrow, loss, anger, fear, guilt, confusion, and denial.

Tomorrow's Antidepressants

Serotonin, a brain chemical, is the ultimate target of several current medications for treating depression. New research suggests that imbalances in the activity of an enzyme called GSK3B may be closer to the root cause of depression than are low serotonin levels.

Premenstrual Cravings Can Be Tamed

By Colette Dowling, LMSW

When my daughter and I were researching PMS for our book, "You Mean I Don't Have to Feel This Way?", we wanted to know whether there were medical reasons for the pronounced cravings women experience premenstrually. To find out, we went to the scientists who were early researchers on the problem.

Re-shaping Negative Thoughts Shields At-Risk Teens from Depression

At-risk teens exposed to a program that teaches them to counteract their unrealistic and overly negative thoughts experienced significantly less depression than their peers who received usual care.

Getting Closer to Personalized Treatment for Teens with Treatment-resistant Depression

Some teens with treatment-resistant depression are more likely than others to get well during a second treatment attempt of combination therapy, but, as a newly-released study details, various factors can hamper their recovery.

Depression Patients’ Brain Circuitry Makes Them Vulnerable to Relapse

"The subjects in remission from depression experienced symptoms qualitatively similar to those they had during major depressive episodes," said Dr. Drevets. "Our findings suggest that depression is associated with persistent vulnerability for developing such responses to reduced dopamine and norepinephrine neurotransmission."

New Therapies Show Promise for Vascular Depression for the Elderly

Researchers see new treatments on the horizon for a type of depression related to blood vessels that affects the elderly, and have discovered why some elderly people fail to respond to current medications.

Mental Disorders Cost Society Billions in Unearned Income

Direct costs associated with mental disorders like medication, clinic visits, and hospitalization are relatively easy to quantify, but they reveal only a small portion of the economic burden these illnesses place on society. Indirect costs like lost earnings likely account for enormous expenses, but they are very difficult to define and estimate.

Maintenance Treatment Crucial for Teens’ Recovery from Depression

Long-term maintenance treatment is likely to sustain improvement and prevent recurrence among adolescents with major depression, according to an NIMH-funded study published in the April 2008 issue of the Archives of General Psychiatry.

Gene Variations and Depression

For what appears to be the first time in humans, scientists have detected an interaction between genes that may help prevent brain changes that increase vulnerability to depression.

Genetic Variants May Alter Developmental Effects of Extreme Childhood Distress

Study's results suggest that genetic differences in CRH-mediated neurotransmission may change the developmental effects that childhood abuse can have on the stress hormone system – developmental effects that can later raise the risk of adult depression.

Behavioral Program May Stabilize Stress Hormone Patterns in Foster Children

An newly-released study's results provide evidence of a distinct biological response to a behavioral intervention. “If improved caregiving follows early childhood neglect, disruptions in a child’s HPA axis functioning may be reversed or even prevented, giving the child a better chance at overcoming early-life challenges.”

Workplace Depression Screening, Outreach and Enhanced Treatment Improves Productivity, Lowers Employer Costs

According to an in-depth study published September 26, 2007, in the Journal of the American Medical Association, “It is in the interest of workers’ health and the company’s bottom line to ensure depressed employees are effectively treated.”

In 2nd Try to Treat Depression, Cognitive Therapy Generally As Effective As Medication

According to results of a trial published in the May 2007 issue of the American Journal of Psychiatry, switching to or adding cognitive therapy (CT) after a first unsuccessful attempt at treating depression with an antidepressant medication is generally as effective as switching to or adding another medication.

History of Childhood Abuse or Neglect Increases Risk of Major Depression

People who were abused or neglected as children have an increased risk of major depression, which often begins in childhood and has lingering effects as they mature.

Experimental Medication Offers Relief for Depression in Just Hours

In a preliminary study, individuals with treatment-resistant depression experienced symptom relief in as little as two hours with a single intravenous dose of ketamine, a medication usually used in higher doses as an anesthetic in humans and animals.

Switching to a third antidepressant medication may provide essential help with treatment-resistant depression

Nation's largest real-world study of treatment-resistant depression shows that patients had a moderate chance of becoming symptom-free when they switched to a third antidepressant medication, following two previously unsuccessful medication attempts.

New Strategies Help Depressed Patients Become Symptom-Free

A new study shows that people whose depression is resistant to initial treatment can achieve remission — the virtual absence of symptoms — when treated with a secondary strategy that either augments or switches medications. This is the first study to examine the effectiveness of different treatment strategies for those who did not become symptom-free after initial medication.

Maintenance Treatment Prevents Recurrence in Older Adults with Single-Episode Depressions

Study finds people age 70 and older who continued taking the antidepressant that helped them to initially recover from their first episode of depression were 60 percent less likely to experience a new episode of depression over a two-year study period than those who stopped taking the medication

Gene Influences Antidepressant Response

According to a new study, whether depressed patients will respond to an antidepressant depends, in part, on which version of a gene they inherit. Having two copies of one version of a gene that codes for a component of the brain's mood-regulating system increases the odds of a favorable response to an antidepressant by up to 18 percent.

Initial Results Help Clinicians Identify Patients with Treatment-Resistant Depression

A new effectiveness trial study on depression asks tougher questions than traditional efficacy trials. Effectiveness trials measure symptom reduction and patient function, and also take into account the often untidy realities clinicians face. For example, if a patient is not responding adequately to an initial medication in 4 or 6 weeks, what is the next best treatment option?

Becoming Fully Alive Through Bioenergetic Analysis

By Nicole Cardoza Dockter, LCSW

Bioenergetics explores the language of the body. In Bioenergetic therapy, one learns to "tune in" to bodily sensations, particularly as they accompany thoughts and emotions. One comes to understand how they relate to important issues and relationships. As bodily awareness grows, one forms a stronger, fuller sense of self.

Is Your Partner Depressed? Here's How to Cope

By Leslie A. Zeigler, MSW

There are a lot of articles and books written to help the depressed person. However, very little has been written to help those closest to them. If you are now living with a depressed person, you also need specific help with coping with the illness.

Actor-Patients’ Requests for Medications Boost Prescribing for Depression

Critics of direct-to-consumer marketing fear the advertisements lead to over-prescribing, while proponents believe they can serve a useful educational function. A new study addresses this issue of over- or under-prescribing.

Depression in the Teen Years

Before adolescence, there is little difference in the rate of depression in boys and girls. But between the ages of 11 and 13 there is a precipitous rise in depression rates for girls. By the age of 15, females are twice as likely to have experienced a major depressive episode as males.

What Causes Depression?

Genetics research indicates that risk for depression results from the influence of multiple genes acting together with environmental or other nongenetic factors. Studies of brain chemistry and the mechanisms of action of antidepressant medications continue to inform our understanding of the biochemical processes involved in depression.

Depression and HIV/AIDS

People with HIV, their families and friends, and even their physicians may assume that depressive symptoms are an inevitable reaction to being diagnosed with HIV. But depression is a separate issue that can and should be treated, even when a person is undergoing treatment for HIV or AIDS.

Depression and Parkinson’s Disease

People with depression who have Parkinson's disease have a different symptom profile than those without Parkinson's. The Parkinson's profile includes higher rates of anxiety, sadness without guilt or self-blame, and lower suicide rates despite high rates of suicidal thoughts. Hormonal imbalances such as hypogonadism and hypothyroidism, which can cause depressive symptoms, need to be looked at carefully in these individuals.

Stress and Depression

When it comes to stress, some people experience prolonged emotional, behavioral, and hormonal responses that eventually lead to depression. A form of counseling called cognitive therapy, in which an individual learns to temper their very personal responses to stress, can provide significant help.

Worried That Someone You Care About Is Showing Signs Of Depression?

Are you concerned about someone in your family, or maybe a friend of yours, and wonder if their recent behavior is an indication of depression? While you want to do whatever you can to make them feel better, are you unsure of just what to say or what to do that will help them the most?

Depression in the Workplace

Depression is not a passing mood. It is not a personal weakness. It is a major--but treatable--illness. No job category or professional status level is immune, and even a formerly outstanding employee can be affected. The good news is that, in more than 80% of cases, treatment is effective.

Moving Beyond Stigmas

According to findings in a just-released study, perceived stigmas surrounding mental health issues and available treatment not only keep sufferers of mental health disorders from getting the professional help they need, but the stigma-induced fears of being judged, criticized or discriminated against prevent many from confiding their concerns to even their closest friends.

Avoiding Weight Gain While Taking Antidepressants

Antidepressant medications can return a quality of life stolen by depression, but these medications are not without side effects. One such side effect — weight gain — affects about a quarter of patients who use antidepressants.

Depression Linked to Bone-Thinning in Premenopausal Women

Premenopausal women with even mild depression have less bone mass than do their nondepressed peers. The level of bone loss is at least as high as that associated with recognized risk factors for osteoporosis, including smoking, low calcium intake, and lack of physical activity.

Depressed Adolescents Respond Best to Combination Treatment

Depression in teens is a serious illness that can and should be treated aggressively. According to results from a major study published in the October 2007 issue of the Archives of General Psychiatry, a combination of psychotherapy and antidepressant medication appears to be the most effective treatment for adolescents with major depressive disorder—more than medication alone or psychotherapy alone,

Shyness: More than Just Feeling Afraid

A new imaging study suggests children with extremely shy temperament have heightened brain activity in response to any prominent event (whether the event is positive or negative) which can indicate a risk factor for the subsequent development of a mental disorder.

Cognitive Therapy Reduces Repeat Suicide Attempts by 50 Percent

According to a recent study, recent suicide attempters treated with cognitive therapy were 50 percent less likely to try to kill themselves again within 18 months than those who did not receive the therapy.

Depression Gene May Weaken Mood-Regulating Circuit

A brain scan study suggests that a suspect gene may increase susceptibility to anxiety and depression by weakening a circuit for processing negative emotion. People with the depression-linked gene variant showed less gray matter and weaker connections in the mood-regulating circuit.

Helping Depressed Elderly Reduce Suicidal Thoughts

Older Americans comprise 13 percent of the population but account for 18 percent of all suicides. The major risk factor for suicide in late life is major depression. Since most older Americans who kill themselves have seen their doctor within a month of the event, effectively treating depression in primary care is a preventive intervention that can save lives.

Important New Insight Into How Antidepressants Work

Results from a just-released study suggest that strategies aimed at stimulating hippocampal neurogenesis could provide novel avenues for the treatment of anxiety and depressive disorders.

The Link Between Depression and Cancer

As with other serious illnesses, such as HIV, heart disease, or stroke, cancer can be accompanied by depression and can affect mind, mood, body and behavior. Treatment for depression helps people manage both illnesses more effectively.

Depression and Diabetes

Depression can strike anyone, but people worldwide with diabetes--more than 16 million here in the U.S. alone--may be at greater risk. In addition, individuals with depression may be at greater risk for developing diabetes. Treatment for depression can help people manage symptoms of both disorders.

New Report Finds More Than 13% of America’s Teens Think Suicide

According to a just-released government survey--the first of its kind ever done--three million American teenagers have thought seriously about or even attempted suicide. Depression--a treatable condition--is considered the main cause of suicidal thoughts. Only 36% of the teens who considered suicide in 2000 received mental health treatment or counseling…

Research Exploring Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy to Prevent Depression in Pregnant/Lactating Women

Given the limited number of completely effective treatments for depressed pregnant or lactating women, new research efforts, with a focus on CBT, are underway to prevent maternal depression before it becomes disabling.

The Numbers Count

An estimated 22.1% of Americans ages 18 and older--about 1 in 5 adults--suffer from a diagnosable mental disorder in any given year. In addition, 4 of the 10 leading causes of disability in the U.S. and other developed countries are major depression, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, and obsessive-compulsive disorder.

Heart Disease & Depression are Common Companions

While it's estimated that 1 in 6 people will experience an episode of major depression at least once in their life, the number rises to one in 2 for people with heart disease. Knowing what the symptoms of depression are and getting help at the very first signs of the condition can prevent untold emotional pain--and could also protect your heart.

Which Came First: Marijuana Use or Depression?

By Meghan Vivo

Marijuana has adverse effects on the brain, heart, and lungs--and mounting evidence also suggests a correlation between marijuana use and depression. The question experts on all sides want answered is, which came first? Marijuana use or depression? Do depressed teens smoke pot to relieve their symptoms, or does smoking pot actually cause depression?

Chances of Beating Depression Diminish as Additional Treatment Strategies Are Needed

A study published on November 1, 2006, concludes that a patient with persistent depression can get well after trying several treatment strategies, but his or her odds of beating the depression diminish as additional treatment strategies are needed.

Coping With Traumatic Events

There are as many responses to crisis as there are people affected. Most individuals have intense feelings after a traumatic event but soon completely recover from the trauma; others are more vulnerable — especially those who have had previous traumatic experiences — and will need additional help for such conditions as anxiety, PTSD, and depression.

Mutant Gene Linked to Treatment-Resistant Depression

A mutant gene that starves the brain of serotonin, a mood-regulating chemical messenger, has been discovered and found to be 10 times more prevalent in depressed patients than in control subjects. Patients with the mutation failed to respond well to the most commonly prescribed class of antidepressant medications.

Depression Traced to Overactive Brain Circuit

New research has found that an emotion-regulating brain circuit is overactive in people prone to depression — even when they are not depressed. Additionally, since brain function appears to be disregulated even when individuals suffering with depression are in remission, they need to continue long-term treatment beyond the symptomatic phase of their illness.

Students: Are You Concerned That a Friend's Recent "Down" Behavior Might Be Depression?

The high school and college years can be complicated and demanding. So, it isn't surprising that from time to time you or one of your friends feels "down" or discouraged. But what about those times when a friend's behavior and outlook on life seems to remain depressed for weeks?

Depression and Stroke

Depression can strike anyone, but people with serious illnesses such as stroke are at greater risk. Appropriate diagnosis and treatment of depression can bring substantial benefits to persons recovering from a stroke by improving their medical status, enhancing their quality of life, reducing their pain and disability, and even shortening the rehabilitation process.

Thinning Tissue in Right Half of Brain Signals Increased Risk of Inherited Depression

Some types of depression run in families, and certain changes in brain structure and function have been observed in people with the disorder. However, until recently, scientists have been unclear on the exact relationship between these brain changes and depression.

Suicidal Thinking May Be Predicted Among Certain Teens with Depression

"Because the suicidal events tended to happen early in the treatment process, interventions that address safety, emotion regulation and family conflict should be some of the first to be implemented."