Depression is a difficult disorder to have and to treat. Symptoms can vary from person to person, and often what is actually depression is misdiagnosed for something else. One way to make it easier for physicians and mental health workers to determine whether or not a patient is suffering from depression may be to do…
Antidepressants usage is on the rise, with more than half the U.S. population taking some form of antidepressant to treat either depression or anxiety. The country’s over reliance on pills comes at a price – not only are several antidepressants very expensive and not covered by insurance but certain types of antidepressants have side effects…
Certain stress hormones appear to have a stronger effect on women than men, so that the same low levels of stress are more likely to induce depression in women than in men. This finding represents the first evidence that there may be a biological basis for the higher rates at which women are diagnosed with…
Depression is common among those suffering from Multiple Sclerosis (MS) and the reason may be directly related to the way MS acts on the brain. MS sufferers are 50 percent more likely to suffer ongoing depression throughout their lives, and it’s possible that brain atrophy is the cause of the increasing feelings of despair during…
Cancer patients undergo extensive treatment to deal with the physical aspects of their disease, including chemotherapy, radiation, and invasive surgery. However, one of the most overlooked symptoms cancer patients suffer – depression – often gets ignored and is rarely treated. A new study reported in the Journal of the American Medical Association demonstrated that telephone…
Depression can severely limit a person’s ability to function effectively, with symptoms that include sadness, anxiety, hopeless, and helplessness as well as feelings of guilt and worthlessness. The symptoms can be accompanied by physical symptoms such as aches and pains, headaches, and digestive problems. One drug that has offered a way to combat both the…
Depression and anxiety are on the rise, and sharply affecting the number of people experiencing symptoms of depression and anxiety is the continued pressure and strain on household finances from the recession. As fears increase that the country may be headed into a double dip recession, with economic recovery seeming impossibly far away, those numbers…
When beginning therapy with antidepressant medications, the advice has generally been not to expect a change in mood for a few weeks. New research suggests that at the right dosages, certain antidepressants can provide almost instant relief, improving mood and reducing anxiety within hours. The study was reported this week at the Royal College of…
According to Canadian researchers, a large clinical trial using Omega-3 supplements to treat major depressive disorder shows that, for some patients, Omega-3 oil treatments can be as effective as traditional antidepressant medications. The treatment was found to be effective for patients suffering major depressive disorders who did not also suffer from anxiety disorders. The study…
Researchers at the Centre For Addiction and Mental Health in Toronto have identified an enzyme in new mothers that gobbles up the feel-good neurotransmitters, including serotonin, dopamine and norepinephrine, apparently creating depression. Psychiatrist Jeffrey Meyer is a professor at the University of Toronto specializing in neurochemical imaging. Dr. Meyer says that after a woman gives…