Posts Tagged ‘depression’

Clinical depression

is defined by experts in the field of psychiatry as a psychological disorder characterized by extended periods of sadness and melancholy and, quite often, unpredictable behavioral quirks.

A person who’s going around with a long face and being cheesed off with the world in general may not necessarily be suffering from clinical depression, as there’s bound to be bad moods now and then. However, if a morose and mirthless disposition, low self-worth and lack of happiness become routine, then it could prima facie be a case of clinical depression

That, of course, would be a very broad diagnosis which can be narrowed down further as per symptoms. There’s, for instance, manic or bipolar depression: it is characterized by extreme and unpredictable mood swings such that a person may be euphoric today and morose tomorrow without any apparent reason. Postpartum depression ails new mothers and is just a prolonged period of sadness, possibly as a result of exceptional physical stress during childbirth or an uncertain sense of responsibility toward the newborn.

Some other noteworthy forms are:

• Dysthimia is a less severe form of depression in which the symptoms are somewhat less pronounced, but the treatment should be done without any delay whatsoever.
• Seasonal Affective Disorder is characterized by falling in a rut during a particular season, i.e. winter, spring or summer. Mood swings may also happen during a specific season.

Hard to deal with as its sounds, clinical depression is far from incurable. Quite to the contrary, doctors are fairly positive regarding chances of recovery. The majority are of the opinion though that the best results are had when clinical depression is detected early and attended to immediately. Patients who’ve accepted their condition and actively sought treatment have invariably found themselves improving vis-à-vis the aforementioned condition.  Left untreated, clinical depression can not only lead to violent, often self-destructive  behavior, but the high degree of mental stress involved can also give rise to seemingly complications such as hypertension and diabetes.

Questions regarding clinical depression may be as basic as ‘do I have it’? Any or all questions you may have must be addressed to a professional. The temptation for a quick referral by reading journals or websites may be tempting but relying on these without professional help is strictly not advised. Self-medication could be very dangerous, so even if you’re aware of some of the medicines prescribed for your condition, please do not self-medecate. Clinical depression is best handled quickly and professionally so you can lead a better life.

Sometimes, chronic pain is the sign of a bigger problem inside the body. It can be caused by damage to any number of areas of the body. One common example is the anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) which is frequently damaged by participants in contact sports. Chronic pain can may also occur if a broken bone has healed but has not healed properly. For the elderly, things like arthritis can be a source of chronic pain. However, these examples all have a physical cause in common. There are rare cases when individuals will develop chronic pain for no physical reason. This mental health condition is often referred to as chronic pain syndrome.

Chronic pain syndrome or CPS is a mental health condition that causes the body to feel pain that is genuinely caused by neurological impulses. To put it in basic terms, the body is being fooled into feeling pain by the mind. However, pain is not the only effect that this particular condition has on the body. This problem has a few known side effects, with some of them being psychological in nature. One of the premier side effects is a change in lifestyle caused by the pain, as well as increased irritability and longer periods of anger. Anxiety and depression are also typical side effects associated with the syndrome by patients and medical professionals alike. The problem with diagnosing or treating CPS is that it is very difficult to concretely define and it has proven to be unresponsive to conventional methods of treatment.

Medical science has yet to define a concrete cause for CPS, though there are several theories. Some suggest that CPS develops after a particularly painful experience essentially “wires” the brain to feel pain in that given area. The neurological stimuli may or may not actually be registered by the body, but if the person acknowledges the pain as being there, CPS is reinforced. In theory, if the person acknowledges the pain despite the lack of actual physical stimulation, then this “behavior” is continued indefinitely by the brain and body. It is worth noting that pain caused by this condition does not manifest any visible physical signs, and often only causes a general feeling of pain rather than more specific sensations. However, the fact that the cause is unknown and the only consistent symptom is the pain itself has made it exceedingly difficult to pin down any one area to focus research on.

Treatment has also proven to be a challenge to pin down. Conventional pain killers are typically not advised, as they may have pronounced side effects due to the absence of any actual pain. Counseling and therapy have proven ineffective in most cases. They are able to help alleviate the more mental side effects of CPS, but no concrete evidence has surfaced that these methods are capable of alleviating the physical pain or removing the cause of the said pain.

At the moment, it is highly difficult to diagnose and treat CPS, mainly because of the nature of the problem. Some doctors may dismiss complaints of pain from people who don’t have any indication of a physical cause for pain, which can leave the problem untreated for prolonged periods. Some people may also resort to self-medication, which may only worsen the pain or cause other side effects.