Archive for the ‘Understanding Depression’ Category

How can I help myself if I am depressed?

Wednesday, April 1st, 2009

You may feel exhausted, helpless and hopeless. It may be extremely difficult to take any action to help yourself. But it is important to realize that these feelings are part of the depression and do not reflect actual circumstances. As you recognize your depression and begin treatment, negative thinking will ...

How can I help a friend or relative who is depressed?

Wednesday, March 25th, 2009

If you know someone who has depression, the first and most important thing you can do is to help her get an appropriate diagnosis and treatment. You may need to make an appointment on her behalf and go with her to see the doctor. Encourage her to stay in treatment, ...

How Family and Friends Can Help

Monday, March 16th, 2009

The most important thing anyone can do for a man who may have depression is to help him get to a doctor for a diagnostic evaluation and treatment. First, try to talk to him about depression­help him understand that depression is a common illness among men and is nothing to ...

How does depression affect older women?

Saturday, February 28th, 2009

As with other age groups, more older women than older men experience depression, but rates decrease among women after menopause. Evidence suggests that depression in post-menopausal women generally occurs in women with prior histories of depression. In any case, depression is NOT a normal part of aging. The death of a ...

How to Help Yourself if You Are Depressed

Sunday, February 22nd, 2009

“It affects the way you think. It affects the way you feel. It just simply invades every pore of your skin. It’s a blanket that covers everything. The act of pretending to be well was so exhausting. All I could do was shut down. At times you just say ‘It’s ...

How does depression affect adolescent girls?

Monday, February 16th, 2009

Before adolescence, girls and boys experience depression at about the same frequency. By adolescence, however, girls become more likely to experience depression than boys. Research points to several possible reasons for this imbalance. The biological and hormonal changes that occur during puberty likely contribute to the sharp increase in rates ...

Depression in Boys and Adolescent Males

Wednesday, February 4th, 2009

Only in the past two decades has depression in children been taken very seriously. Research has revealed that depression is occurring earlier in life today than in past decades. In addition, research has shown that early onset depression often persists, recurs, and continues into adulthood, and that depression in youth ...

What illnesses often coexist with depression in women?

Monday, January 26th, 2009

Depression often coexists with other illnesses that may precede the depression, follow it, cause it, be a consequence of it, or a combination of these. It is likely that the interplay between depression and other illnesses differs for every person and situation. Regardless, these other coexisting illnesses need to be ...

Depression in Elderly Men

Monday, January 19th, 2009

Men must cope with several kinds of stress as they age. If they have been the primary wage earners for their families and have identified heavily with their jobs, they may feel stress upon retirement­loss of an important role, loss of self esteem­that can lead to depression. Similarly, the loss ...

What causes depression in women?

Wednesday, January 7th, 2009

Scientists are examining many potential causes for and contributing factors to women's increased risk for depression. It is likely that genetic, biological, chemical, hormonal, environmental, psychological, and social factors all intersect to contribute to depression. Genetics If a woman has a family history of depression, she may be more at risk of ...