Depression

If you have wanted to be of help to others but didn't know how to go about it, look no further. Befrienders Worldwide shows you how to set up an emotional support service that can help many, many people.

Listening is a tremendous skill. Not everyone listens well, but it's a matter of learning how and then staying mindful.

If you have ever wondered how good your listening skills are, take a look at these do's and don'ts of good listening and see if there is any room for improvement.

A new study published June 15, 2006, in the European Journal of Pain found that female patients with painful long-term conditions, such as arthritis and back pain, suffer from higher level of depression and report greater disability than men in the same situation.

For years in this country, treatment for depression was invariably handled by psychiatrists, and until very recently insurance companies would not reimburse for anything else.

Times have changed. Many alternative and complimentary therapies have proven their worth, and even HMOs are now reimbursing for some of them.

Recently, I was listening to a TV show which recounted the feelings this woman was feeling after her husband’s death. She cried all the time, crying herself to sleep on most nights. When she did awake in the morning, which was usually in the early hours of the morning, she just couldn’t gather the muster needed to actually get out of bed, but would lie there listless for hours. She isolated herself from all friends, sometimes, breaking times for social meetings only minutes before she was suppose to be there, as she simply could not face seeing anyone. She felt incredible feelings of sadness which she could not shake.

The Internet has a significant potential in our lives to decrease social isolation and/or loneliness. But does it? Most people have read only the horrors of internet social interactions, such as sex predators hooking up with their victims, malicious and intentional lying about one’s self and/or others, and on line affairs which have caused divorces (or if not divorce, certainly very hard feelings within the married relationship).

What Should You Do for a Child With Depression?

A child or adolescent with MDD should be carefully and thoroughly evaluated by a doctor to determine if medication is appropriate. Psychotherapy often is tried as an initial treatment for mild depression. Psychotherapy may help to determine the severity and persistence of the depression and whether antidepressant medications may be warranted. Types of psychotherapies include "cognitive behavioral therapy," which helps people learn new ways of thinking and behaving, and "interpersonal therapy," which helps people understand and work through troubled personal relationships.

What Do We Know About Antidepressant Medications?

The SSRIs include:
• fluoxetine (Prozac)
• sertraline (Zoloft)
• paroxetine (Paxil)
• citalopram (Celexa)
• escitalopram (Lexapro)

What Did the FDA Review Find?

In the FDA review, no completed suicides occurred among nearly 2,200 children treated with SSRI medications. However, about 4 percent of those taking SSRI medications experienced suicidal thinking or behavior, including actual suicide attempts—twice the rate of those taking placebo, or sugar pills.

Depression is a serious disorder that can cause significant problems in mood, thinking, and behavior at home, in school, and with peers. It is estimated that major depressive disorder (MDD) affects about 5 percent of adolescents.