Depression Guide Support Blog

Soldiers returning home from Iraq are found to be suffering from depression during their first months at home, according to a new study. The number of veterans sustained brain injuries at about 320,000. They are caused by the post traumatic stress disorder and severe Chronic Depression. The soldiers suffer from depression and alcoholism. The symptoms appears after a months. The adjustment struggle was more profound for the National Guard troops and reservists than it was for the active-duty soldiers.

According to the study conducted by the Walter Reed Army Institute of Research, about 42% of the Guard and reserves compared to 20% of active-duty soldiers needed mental health treatment in two screenings. The first testing was immediately after return from Iraq and the second after six months. Problems became more severe in the second screening with rise in interpersonal problems and difficulty in adjusting in home.

The study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association found that over 88,000 returning soldiers showed signs of depression, posttraumatic stress disorder, conflicts in relationship and other problems after six months. The screening techniques for stress disorders are improved vastly.

According to the study some active soldiers avoid the diagnosis of mental health, fearing the negative consequences diagnosed with a stress disorder or depression and about an 19.5% veterans receive a traumatic brain injury during the combat tour. The suicide rate of soldiers is going on increases in Iraq war veterans.

To cope with the problem the US army has created a training program called Battlemind that helps soldiers and their families to prepare for the stress of war and what signs of war to watch for. After returning they have rapid medical triage and treatment. There are lot of care are taken like connect with the returning veteran,connect veterans with each other and family care. Along with these some therapies are done like exposure therapy, pharmacotherapy.

Some soldier suffered from brain injury, stress disorder, or both. Mental disorder is more prevalent. The veterans returning from Vietnam and Operation Desert Storm had higher death rate than for veterans who had not served in theater. Many soldiers ends up using drugs.

Thousands of US soldiers and hundreds of UK soldiers have been diagnosed with PTSD and also related to the depression. Some soldiers avoid a diagnosis of a mental health problem, fearing negative result. They worry about their military careers and relationships with coworkers.

Treatment of Iraq war veterans suffering from depression

The clinicians do the work with veterans with chronic PTSD by using their skill and experience with those which are return from Iraq war. The veterans suffering from the trauma will required educating patients and families about traumatic stress reactions, teaching skills of anxiety and anger management, facilitating mutual support among groups of veterans, and working with trauma-related guilt will all be useful and applicable for that.

First Iraq war patients will not suffer from the mental disorder but they have been suffered from mental health. After diagnosis it is clear that the condition caused due to PSTD. The department of veterans provide them a necessary care.

During treatment it is found that the patients work with a psychologist to address their traumatic memory, revisiting and examining it again and again upto the emotional response connected. About 42% of the guard and 20% of active-duty soldiers needed mental health treatment in two screenings.

Conclusion – The soldier which are return after Iraq battle they suffer from the depression. It is due to stress disorder. The number of veterans sustain from brain injury. The study found many members who take treatment face a death of healthcare providers with expertise in war-related mental disorders.

Depression has its fallout on the physic of the depressed as signified in a series of researches. An Archive of Internal Medicine study found that women suffering from depression are more prone to bone loss from osteoporosis compared with women who are not clinically depressed. Osteoporosis is metabolic bone disease characterized by bone fragility and bone fracture.

Osteoporosis is also internal disorder. Some scientist said that osteoporosis is a silent disease. There is a strong relation between depression and osteoporosis. Both these causes due to chronic vitamin D deficiency. This chronic vitamin D deficiency causes depression and bones become brittle which causes to the osteoporosis. Osteoporosis causes due to loss of bone mass.

It is known that women are more prone to both depression and osteoporosis than men, with half of all women compared with only one in five men suffering from bone loss after the age of 50. Blood and urine samples indicate that depressed women had overactive immune system that produces higher level of chemicals that promote inflammation. A protein IL-6 is responsible for triggering bone loss. The connection between brain and skeleton influences the depression on bone mass.

The After bone mineral density researchers found 17% had thinner bones in the femoral neck compared with only 2% of women who were not depressed. In the lumber spine area of the body, 20% of depressed women had low bone mass compared with only 9% of non-depressed women.

Mostly the higher chances of depression causes due to abnormal hormonal activity. The higher chances of depression in women is mostly due to a combination of gender-related differences in cognitive styles, some biologic factors and a higher incidence of psychosocial and economic stresses in women.

What are the risk factors for osteoporosis in women?

• High bone loss
• Smoking
• Depression
• Low calcium intake
• Lack of physical activity
• Poor nutrition.
• Soft drinks

What is the relation between depression and osteoporosis in women?

The women having mild depression have less bone mass than their nondepressed peers. The osteoporosis most prevalent bone disease causes due to high level of bone mass, smoking, low calcium intake and lack is physical activity. The depressed women have overactive immune system.

The women having ages 50 and over which regularly take antidepressants means selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors have double rate of fractures as the women which are not use such medications. The 17% women with depression show thinner hip bone while the 2% women with non-depression shows the same feature of bone thinness. This thinning of bones take place through out the life.

Depression is closely associated with increased risk for both low bone mineral density (BMD) and fractures. Depressed women has lower levels of inflammation fighting proteins than the control group. Mood and brain chemistry help to determine the strength of our bones.

In both condition depression and osteoporosis there is a common cause deficiency of Chronic vitamin D. The more idiotic media outlets are exposure that depression which causes to the osteoporosis. The depression causes to the loss of bone due to lack of calcium which increases the risk of osteoporosis.

Poor sleep also leads to the depression and associate with loss of bone which ultimately causes to the osteoporosis. Drug is not the treatment on this but reuptake of selective serotonin is common prescription for depression. Low level of cadmium is associated with an increased loss of bone mineral density. On research study indicate that the soft drinks can also increases the risk of osteoporosis.

Conclusion – The depression increases the high risk of osteoporosis. However, a question remains to be answered that whether the high rate of osteoporosis in depressed women can be attributed to their mental condition or it is the side effect of anti-depressant drugs taken by the women who participated in the study. The US study is silent on this issue.

Depression is illness in which children having sadness, hopelessness. Teenage depression is a bit difficult to handle as compared to depression in adults. Depression problem now a days appear in teens but it does not require any specialized treatment. The behavioral talk therapy is effective alternative to create new hope in depressed teens. On research it is conclude that kids on antidepressants have a higher rate of suicide ideation. Depression is a common problem generally associated with adults but recently it has become a big problem for teenagers as well. Depression symptoms which occur in teenagers and children includes irritability, unhappiness, despair, aggressive, short-tempered, often lack interest in enjoyable activities, aches and pains.

There are two causes of depression –

Unresolve grief – It causes due to death, loss of hopes and dreams and loss of relationship.

Emotional detachment – It causes due to fear and inability to connect with others.

Depression take place in teens because they feel very unhappy or sadness and cannot able to concentrate. It is vital to be conscious that up to 24% of teenagers undergo a main depressive illness permanent a few weeks to a few months at a few time. Depression in teenagers is frequently not recognized. You see real difference when you understand your child because in depression they want help and support of parents. Mostly teenage girls has high risk of depression. The depression in adult is differ than teens.

It is very difficult to communicate with teenagers when they feel very low and you cannot avoid or leave them to deal with their difficult situation. Depression in teenage is for a short time than the adults. A combination of cognitive behavior therapy and antidepressant drugs is a good way to ease depressive symptoms.

What are the treatment used for teens depression?

• When your child is in problem never ignore them, always take it seriously.
• Give confidence to your child and help them to think positive.
• The talk therapy is more effective to decrease the depression in teens.
• If they depressed then help them to find a right way.
• SSRI medications, psychotherapy help to reduce the depression.
• If your child is sad them ask several question.
• For teenagers counseling or psychotherapy treatment. In this treatment talking regarding your thoughts, feelings and your behaviors.
• Medication is helpful for depression.

Switching medications and adding behavioral talk therapy turned out to be the most effective alternative, although just switching medications also helped many individuals.

One caveat, however, is that there are few really good cognitive behavioral therapists out there, nor is there any way to distinguish clearly among them, Ripperger-Suhler stated. “To do cognitive behavioral therapy effectively you really need someone who is well-trained and there aren’t very many,” she said.

But other types of talk therapy might also be effective, she added.

Headache means pain and depression means sadness both are different but if any human being is suffer form both problem then it difficult to diagnosis. Headaches and depression both are just terrible. Headaches happen because of major depression. Everybody want a proper treatment for headache and depression.

The headache and depression both are complicated because headaches can lead to depression but those who suffer from depression absolutely they have the headaches problem. There are many type of headaches primary headaches which related with illnesses, tension, brain disorders, migraine headaches and cluster headaches. Headache occur because of more depression. Depression which extremely affects on your feelings, moods and causes physical problems. Depression occur when you are very sad or medical illness such as asthma or diabetes. Depression can take place once in a lifetime or it possibly ongoing on a constant basis. Depression is major problem for every human being and main symptoms of depression is headache.

Symptoms of Depression

• Depressed mood with thoughts of helplessness, sadness and hopelessness.
• Decreased enthusiasm.
• Loss of interest in the normal enjoyable activities.
• Difficulty in concentration.
• Sleep disturbances.
• Difficult in making any decisions.
• In depression you lot your self-esteem.

Symptoms of Headache

• Sinus nose diseases.
• Tiredness.
• Tension.
• Stare angrily
• Smoking and Stress.
• Reactions of certain foods.
• Hormonal imbalances.
• Genetic predisposition.
• Irritation in the neck muscles.
• Low energy.
• Noise.
• Frequent thoughts of death.
• Lack of confidence.

Chiropractic is most famous treatment for headache. Chiropractice treatment is use when human being is suffer from post-shocking, tension type and migraine headaches. Acupuncture is another treatment for headache. Biofeedback is called as relaxation therapies useful for those who suffer from migraine and also who suffer from headache pain. Exercise regularly will help you to reduce your stress. For constant headaches then please consult your physician. Aroma therapy and meditation both are helpful for headache and also for depression. Avoid continues taking pain relief drugs. Eat a healthy balanced diet which will maintain your health. Daily yoga also helpful for headache and depression.

A new study has raised the question whether or not too many people are being diagnosed as having depression. While Professor Gordon Parker, a psychiatrist from Australia says that the threshold for clinical depression is too low, Professor Ian Hickie says otherwise.
Prof Parker carried out a study, following 242 teachers. 15 years into the study, he noted that 79% of the people had met the symptom duration criteria for major, minor or sub-syndrome depression. This caused him to conclude that it is normal to be depressed, reports the BMJ. He also warned that over diagnosis of clinical depression could lead to a diagnosis of it becoming less creditable.

However, Prof Hickie states that if increased diagnosis and treatment has actually led to demonstrable benefits and is cost effective, and then it is not yet being over diagnosed. He insists that diagnosis and treatment has led to a reduction in suicides and increased productivity. He also adds that due to this, there has been a reduction in the stigma attached to being depressed. 

The brain is made up of anatomical sections and numerous circuits (the latter like railroad tracks). If, for example, the basal ganglia (the brain centres refining motor performance) and the pre-frontal cortex (a structural region at the front of the brain) are disrupted, there are three principal effects: depressed mood, observable PMD and cognitive problems.
Disruption of these circuits can occur in response to stress or even spontaneously. We can presume that certain neurotransmitters (these modulate mood and other mental states) have been ‘turned off’. Many factors may influence neurotransmitter function.
In melancholic depression (and, less clearly in psychotic depression) there is often a family history of depression, suggesting a genetic influence. People with melancholic depression will commonly report a significant stress prior to their first, or first few, episodes. Subsequent episodes tend to appear more spontaneously and are less clearly related to stressful events. Therefore, certain genetic influences may create a vulnerability that initially requires a stress event to trigger the depressive state.
Physics provides a useful analogy with Hookes’ Law, which states that if elastic objects are stretched within their limitations, they will ‘bounce back’ to their previous state. If, however, they are stretched beyond a certain point, their elasticity is lost. In melancholic depression, for example, it seems that initial elasticity allows the vulnerable individual to be unaffected by stressful events-for a period at least. However, once a formal episode has occurred, the elasticity is lessened and future episodes may occur without the individual being ‘stretched’ or ‘stressed’. Vulnerability has been manifested and is no longer latent.
Certain drugs and some diseases can also act like environmental stressors, in that they have the capacity to disrupt some of the brain’s neural circuits linking the basal ganglia and pre-frontal cortex (presumably by using differing pathways and affecting mechanisms). In older people, the effects of the aging brain may disrupt the circuits in other ways. There are parallels between these depressive conditions and Parkinson’s disease (which causes changes in the basal ganglia and other parts of the brain), including depression and a movement disorder.
These parallels provide some understanding of biological depressive disorders such as melancholia. In psychotic melancholia, the disruptions in the brain’s circuitry are more severe and extend to other brain circuits and regions, causing delusions and hallucinations as well as severe PMD.

The Mood Disorders Unit suspects that non-melancholic disorders are primarily caused by psychological processes reflecting an interaction between stress and the individual’s personality. A central feature of ‘depression’ is loss of one’s self-esteem (that is, thinking less of oneself or being increasingly self-critical). Any event, therefore, that impacts on an individual’s sense of self-worth risks precipitating depression.
A common stress event to impact on self-esteem is the break-up of an intimate relationship. The event itself is irrelevant- it is the individual’s response to the event that is crucial.
Consider an individual who responds to a marital break-up with, ‘My wife has left me for another man as she thinks I’m a jerk, and everything recently just confirms what a hopeless human being I am.’ Contrast this with somebody who says, ‘My wife-what a jerk-has left me. Great. I can get on with life again.’ The chance of developing depression is greater for the first respondent than the second. This is because the event differed in terms of its impact on each individual’s self-esteem levels or because they ‘processed’ the event differently as a result of their differing personalities.
Stressful events can be acute (a marital break-up) or ongoing (a dysfunctional marriage), but both have an impact on an individual’s self-esteem.
Many people who develop a non-melancholic disorder have such a low ongoing self-image, or their personality type is such, that any stressful event is likely to trigger depression. In a sense, some people actually create their own triggers. For example, a woman who thinks that everyone rejects her may misinterpret a remark at a party and become immediately and distinctly depressed.