Depression

Gaining Perspective On Perceived Gloom and Doom

So you’ve completely screwed up this time, you’ll be demoted by tomorrow, fired the day after tomorrow, lose your license, renounced by friends, homeless, sentenced to debtors prison, without even a glimmer of a future in sight. If or when you find yourself harboring this mindset, write about it in a “gloom and doom” journal. Yes, refer to it as this, for now. Just purchase a simple, blank, no frills notebook to record these “end of the world” thoughts and [...]

2018-08-31T00:52:51+00:00

Depression is a Thief

It robs those affected by it of their capacity to place their value and talents on display. Much like the stock market, for example, and the rhythm of life in general, depression is cyclical for most people who have it – bouts of short term duration for some, extended for others. And then there are those who remain mired in its depths very long term – folks on a path of steady deterioration sadly displaying a life not well lived [...]

2014-08-28T14:19:33+00:00

Depression and Pregnancy

Depression is a common phenomenon during pregnancy with between 10-15 percent of pregnant women meeting criteria for major depression and up to 70 percent reporting some symptoms throughout the pregnancy term. Postpartum depression is the most prevalent complicating event, occurring in about 15 percent of women, on average. Untreated or unrecognized depression is significantly associated with poor pregnancy outcomes. Premature birth rates are higher and the risks of low birth weight infants, as well as postnatal complications, are increased. Also [...]

2019-08-26T01:48:00+00:00

Reactive Depression: What Works; What Doesn’t

Think of reactive depression as a maladaptive response to a specific external event or events. More formally from a DSM perspective, this is an Adjustment Disorder with Depressed Mood. Typical examples are difficulty adjusting to a recent divorce, being downsized from a job or the loss of a cherished loved one. Also, there are no measurably significant changes in physical functioning such as sleep patterns or appetite and energy levels with this depression type. […]

2014-02-26T18:40:22+00:00

Joe’s 6-Point Plan for Treating Depression

Get depressed clients thinking and behaving is such a way that they are better able to thrive. Encourage them to stop talking “overwhelm,” “the world’s out to get them” or “it’s somebody else’s fault.” That’s all negative nonsense which serves as a vehicle for self-sabotage, keeping them in the “doom loop.” Get them in the “success loop” by encouraging them to socially isolate less, improve their attitude and better understand the unrealistic aspects of their fears. All of these demons [...]

2014-01-27T19:57:47+00:00

Depressed, or in a Rut?

The cultural bar for what is considered depression continues to get lower and lower. And fueled by direct-to-consumer-advertising, people are lured into a false sense of security when, as a result of antidepressants, they see presumably happier people dancing in green pastures or enthusiastically petting their dog in the backyard. Such is the lure of a pill for our ills. […]

2013-01-29T08:21:39+00:00

Initiating Antidepressant Selection: What’s Important

For clients being prescribed an antidepressant for the first time, here are some important considerations: How the depression presents. There are some 12 subtypes of major depressive disorder, but none of them are reliable predictors of antidepressant response. Nevertheless, there needs to be a starting point for the selection process. For example, is the client’s depression accompanied by anxiety and insomnia or is it characterized by melancholia, hypersomnia and a vegetative state? In the first example, any of the SSRIs [...]

2012-01-08T19:14:23+00:00

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