From the monthly archives:

February 2009

Postpartum Depression

The term “postpartum depression” refers to depressive episodes following childbirth. These can occur after the birth of any child, not just the first. Depressive episodes can even follow a miscarriage or termination of a pregnancy. Many women experience postpartum blues, or baby blues, characterized by mild sadness, anxiety, irritability, fluctuating moods, and fatigue. These blues are considered normal and are short-lived, resolving themselves without medical help within about ten days after childbirth.

However, the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists estimates that in 1 out of 10 new mothers, these feelings escalate and go beyond the first few days. They can even appear several months after the birth. This may be full-fledged postpartum depression, in which the feelings of sadness, anxiety, or despair are so intense that the new mother has trouble coping with her daily tasks. Additionally, between 1 and 3 new mothers in every 1,000 suffer from an even more severe form of depression called postpartum psychosis, in which the mother has delusions or hallucinations that often focus on hurting herself or her baby. This latter condition requires immediate medical attention.

Causes of Postpartum Depression

There is no single clearly defined cause of postpartum depression. Both physical and emotional factors seem to be involved. One physical factor may be that in the first 24 to 48 hours after delivery, estrogen and progesterone levels drop sharply, to a point lower than before conception, creating an abrupt change in the physiological state of the body. This may trigger depression in much the same way as mood swings and tension are triggered before menstrual periods. The level of hormones produced by the thyroid may also drop after childbirth. This could result in symptoms that mimic depression. For these reasons researchers are calling PPD a “biochemical and hormonal disorder.” Interestingly, one medical newsletter suggests that postpartum depression may be caused by a nutritional imbalance, perhaps a B-complex deficiency.

Fatigue and lack of sleep can also play a role. In the period shortly after childbirth, lack of energy and an inability to sleep may make minor problems seem much more major. Some women might be frustrated to find that they have difficulty coping with things that they had handled well before delivery, without the baby blues, and with a full night’s sleep. Emotional factors such as an unplanned pregnancy, a premature birth, loss of freedom, concern about attractiveness and lack of support can also add to depression. Hence, with the many causes of this depression, it is then worthwhile to know the different postpartum depression treatments available for sufferers today.

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Manic Depression Treatment

Depression has devastating effects on teens. Indeed, experts believe that it plays a significant role in adolescent eating disorders, psychosomatic illnesses, difficulties at school, and instances of substance abuse. More tragically, depression has been linked to teen suicide. According to the U.S. National Institute of Mental Health, as many as 7 percent of severely depressed youngsters take their life. Even this does not reveal the full scope of the problem, since it is believed that for every youth who takes his or her life, many more attempt to do so. It is thus for good reason that a report by the Carnegie Council on Adolescent Development says that treating adolescent problems lightly today is to court disaster. Such neglect truly places a generation at risk.

Some find it hard to believe that teenagers can actually be depressed. A doctor once said that each successive generation worldwide since the opening of the [20th] century has lived with a higher risk than their parents of suffering a major depression; not just sadness, but a paralyzing listlessness, dejection, and self-pity, and an overwhelming hopelessness over the course of life. And those episodes are beginning at earlier and earlier ages.

Still, many parents might object that they made it through adolescence without becoming depressed. Why then is their child overwhelmed with negative feelings?’ But adults should not compare their adolescent experience with that of youths today. After all, individuals differ in the way they perceive the world around them and in how they react to it. Besides, today’s teens face an added challenge. They’re growing up in a world quite different from that of their parents’ youth. After citing a number of significant changes that have taken place in recent decades teens today feel less safe, less empowered and less hopeful than people did a generation ago.

Giving Your Child the Right Manic Depression Treatment Needed To Cure the Dilemma

With the high rocketing rate of teens taking suicide as an option to treating depression, today is certainly the right time for parents to keep focus on the different available manic depression treatment offered to hopeless individuals through the help of the experts. Every situation differs from the other. Hence, psychologists have developed different sets of manic depression treatment that would most become usable and effective in treating the different issues of manic depression among teens. To be able to give the right manic depression treatment to a sufferer though, it should be noted that the right diagnosis for the matter should be first released and understood.

With the right diagnosis and assessment of the major causes of the emotional downfall being realized by one shall identify the right manic depression treatment that one is in need of receiving. It should be noted though that there are also other manic depression treatment approaches that could be used to treat postpartum depression issues.

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Signs of Manic Depression

In the general health aspect, the presence of health problems and illnesses are not always determined immediately. Every health issue always starts from their respective cause and then eventually develops towards becoming the problem itself and this process often take certain periods of time to occur. Understanding this nature is viewed as a significant concept in the social interest for health as most diseases and illnesses can only be treated during their initial stages thus, it is important to take treatment actions immediately.

Because of this nature, medical practitioners and health professional rely on another characteristic of health problems and issues for determining their presence namely through the signs and symptoms of the problem. For the case of manic depression illness, the same concept similarly applies as this is problem is not easily detectable and most individual afflicted with it are not even aware of their condition. As such, the most practical diagnosis approach for this problem is through knowing and observing the signs of manic depression.

Knowing the Signs of Manic Depression

Practically determining the presence of manic depression can only be done through observing the manifestations of its signs and symptoms which generally evident during the early stages of this condition. Often, these signs of manic depression are temporary but recurring wherein the person involved experiences several episodes of changes in his or her condition.

Some of these episodic signs of manic depression are increased energy leading to restlessness with conditions requiring only little sleep, occasions of having euphoric mood, poor judgment, spending sprees, distractibility, extreme irritability, racing thoughts which is also manifested in the person’s speech behavior, increased sex drive, aggressive behavior, being provocative and intrusive, and most importantly, denial regarding the changes in his or her condition. When some of these signs of manic depression occur in batches of three or more symptoms in day, nearly everyday, or for a week, then a proper diagnostic test is required to determine whether the person is indeed afflicted with this mental disorder. In this aspect, the only possible resort is taking the manic depression test.

The manic depression test likewise uses other plausible signs of manic depression including the previously stated ones in its observation approach while correlating also determinable facts from the family background check of the patient and  the course progress of the illness. Generally, the episodic manifestations of the signs of manic depression occur on a progressing manner starting from frequent attacks to becoming a regular condition. When the presence has been determined, it is important to seek immediate professional help for manic depression treatment both in the form of medication and psychological support system. In general, the most practical and effective diagnostic approach for manic depression is having a keen observation and understanding towards the behavioral condition of the person noting especially the signs of manic depression.

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Manic Depression Test

At some point in their life, each individual has experienced the feeling of depression or certain psychological and emotional conditions of feeling “down”.  During each depression situation, the person involved encounters mood swings, energy loss, irritability, and other unnatural manifestations. This type of situation is generally detrimental to the health condition of the person, his or her social relationship, and can even lead to poor performance at work. However, most of the people having this situation do not know their condition or are even aware of its presence, effects, and the manifestation of its symptoms. What they do not know is that their condition could already be manic depression of the bipolar illness.

The manic depression state of bipolar disease is a significant detrimental condition. This is mainly characterized by a distinct period or event of an elevated, irritable, and even expansive mood state. Determining this problem though is not easy generally because of two things: first is the personal factor prompting denial or unawareness and second is that this problem cannot be determined by any clinical procedure. For this aspect, manic depression test becomes the only possible and reliable resort.

Manic Depression Test: Primary Basis for Diagnosis

Manic depression is a significant brain disorder and its manifestations have a detrimental effect on the well-being and condition of the person involved. As such, it is important to determine its presence during the early stages of its onset and this can only be done through undergoing a manic depression test.

The manic depression test is not a typical clinical diagnosis procedure as this commonly involved psychological evaluation, observation, and even critical research. Generally, the manic depression test is made based on the symptoms, the course of the illness, and the family history of the patient. Determining the observable symptoms is an important approach for the manic disorder test wherein the depression attacks and periods of illness are noted whether they fall under the behavior of the manic depression cycle. Second, the course of the illness is likewise examined in this test whether the signs of manic depression are getting worst or if there is a factor aggravating the said condition. Third is the medical background of the patient and his or her family finding if the illness is hereditary or not. From the results of these studies and approaches, the manic depression test can effectively determine whether a person’s condition is rooted on a mental disorder or not.

Indeed, in the aspect of psychopathology, manic depression is the only reliable and effective resort to find onset and risk for manic depression enabling the involved patient to make efforts towards addressing the condition and treating it when still possible.

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Causes Of Manic Depression

Manic depression disorder is a condition that affects a person mental attitude and mood. The term manic depression disorder is used due to the shift on mood by the individual from normal to either mania or depression. This condition is also called bipolar affective disorder or just bipolar disorder and it is best described as a disorder where the individual executes bouts or episodes or mania and depression in a span of time between normal behavior. In most cases, there is a manic depression test done in order to diagnose or evaluate the condition of the individual. There are some mild cases of manic depression disorder where the individual does not experience any mood swings for months while there are severe cases where the bouts of depression and mania may alternate in just a few hours.

Many researchers blame our genes for this mental condition. Some people are more susceptible to the bipolar disorder than others due to this. There are some cases where the person with the disorder do not belong to those with the genes for this condition but still develop it.

Other causes of manic depression disorder include some possible physical defect in our brain processes which affect our mood. This kind of manic depression disorder can usually be controlled or managed by medication. Stress and emotional trauma can also trigger depression and mania in some people. In some individuals, the build up of stressful situations, predicaments and work can lead to the disorder while in others; exposure to a particularly stressful situation can be just the one thing that can trigger an episode of the manic depression disorder.

Signs

Symptoms of manic depression disorder include but are not limited to mood swings, specific to mania and depression, irritability, hyperactivity, listlessness and other symptoms depending on the mood.  These bouts of mania and depression can come in between periods of normal behavior for the individual which is how some therapists can diagnose manic depression disorder.

Psychotic symptoms such as the urge to laugh at something which may not be funny or amusing at all may also be a sign of the disorder. The individual may also show signs of being sad or depressed after a time of being ecstatic. Delusions can also occur in severe cases of manic depression disorder. These are cases when the individual senses things which are actually not there at all. Delusions are a sign of severity of the situation and the manic depression disorder should be addressed as soon as possible.

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What Is Manic Depression

Manic depression is also called bipolar affective disorder and is a mental condition where the individual experiences mania and depression consistently in his daily life. Usually, the bouts of mania and depression occur separately within hours or days of each other during times of stress. Many wonder, what is manic depression and what causes it? The answer to what is manic depression is that it is a state of mind wherein a person may alternate from mania and depression to an extent that it interferes with how this individual functions in society.

Causes:  There are no absolute answers to what causes this mental condition but there have been studies that show it may be genetic for most sufferers. Those who wish to know what manic depression is and what causes it may well look into their family tree for answers.

Manic depression disorder can also be caused by the influence of environmental factors as the individual is growing up or stress from events in one’s life. Emotional trauma and some eventful instances can contribute to what is manic depression, for many people. On the other hand, the way that our brain process work or are attached to each other can also be the cause of what is manic depression. This may be influenced by the way that our brain developed while we were children or in the womb as well as some brain trauma.

Signs Of Manic Depression : There are many different signs of this mental condition. In most cases, individuals with manic depression alternate from mania and depression in as little as a few hours or as long as a few days while others may not have bouts of this condition for weeks. The condition may not be initially noticeable and can be seen as hyperactivity or just exhaustion. The condition is easy to see when the person has bouts of both moods at the same time.
 
What Is Manic Depression Treatment? : Treatment for manic depression, otherwise known as bipolar disorder, is most likely session with a trained professional integrated with some medication recommended by the same professional or trained doctor. Alternative treatment for this mental condition is also available although many people prefer medication to his basically unproven alternative.

What is manic depression alternative treatment? Alternative treatment for this condition can be the ingestion of herbs that can positively affect the condition. Some herbs calm a person while other herbs lift the spirit and elevate depressed moods.

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