Clinical Depression Research Papers

First of all, this article isn't meant to be a substitute for professional medical care and advice. If you struggle with depression and/or suicidal thoughts please seek help immediately. No one need be ashamed of struggling with depression not should one be proud of it. Everyone struggles with something. The only good reason to write depression is to help other people; encourage those who live with it and perhaps give a little understanding to those who don't. Nearly everyone experiences situational depression at some point in life. That's depression that comes with the loss of a loved one, loss of a job, or experiencing some other tragedy. Situational depression goes away, clinical depression doesn't or at least rarely does but it can be
controlled. Clinical (chronic) depression is a very real physiological (organic) disorder that has been linked to improper neurotransmitter functions in the brain (though that's not the entire "cause" of depression). Anti-depressants help control neurotransmitter function and allow the patient to think more clearly, to be more normal. At this point there is still some trial and error involved in finding the right medication for any particular patient. Each type of anti-depressant works on a different neurotransmitter. Some depressives, such as the author, require two different anti-depressant medications. Do they work? For me the answer is yes; medications help. To what extent my personality is a function of depression and other "nature and nurture" factors is anyone's guess.
The fact remains my emotional and cognitive functioning has been better since I began medication many years ago than it was before. Are there side effects? Again the answer is yes but for me they seem to be minimal. The sex drive is dampened somewhat but a little taming of that is a good thing. I've never had very good sleep patterns so it's hard to say how medication has affected it. Overall I've not noticed any severe side effects. Depression is a debilitating disease. Many college counselors across the nation are now aware of the debilitating nature and are trained to recognize it in students. It's true that many of history's bright people were depressives; Abraham Lincoln, Winston Churchill, Theodore Roosevelt, and perhaps St. Paul. Winston Churchill called his depression the "black dog." However, there's no concrete correlation between depression and high intelligence. Celebrities with depression are of course better known than average people with depression. For that reason it's natural that depression would be equated with intelligence. Many celebrities today also struggle with depression; Terry Bradshaw, Marie Osmond, and Drew Barrymore to name a few. If you struggle with depression and/or suicidal thoughts please seek professional medical help
immediately. There's no shame in it.
We are studying manic depression by using the alphabet. We are to the letter "N." I have decided to use more than one word per letter. In this article we will use "nervous" and "needy." One day many years ago the company I worked for divided 35 managers into five teams of seven people. Each team was given some tools and a problem. They were to feed off of each other to create a solution. This was the beginning of "management by committee." However that isn't the reason I am telling you the story. The company that had been hired to create the management program videotaped all of us as we worked. This was to give us an insight into ourselves. I have manic depression and I was in a mania. When they showed the film I gave everybody a good laugh. When the camera panned to me I was moving around my teams table sticking my arms into every operation. People were giving me dirty looks. Some of these people were my close friends. However it was easy to see why they were getting agitated. I didn't give people a chance to answer if I asked a question. I "told" without listening and my tone was surly. The word that came to mind even then was "nervous." That explains mania very well. You not only have rapid thinking patterns but you are constantly changing direction. In other words let's say you are considering how to tie your shoes. You will begin by trying to tie a bow. However while you are doing that you notice that the shoe has a scuff. You go to get the polish to take care of that. While you are going to get the polish you notice that the dog's dish has no food. You go to get food for the dog and you see that your shoe is untied and so it goes. All of this is done in a very hurried, nervous way. It is loud. It is all about taking over and controlling. People are expected to wait while you go off on different tangents. Often they can't keep up with you. As a person moves deeper into a mania they may become mean and argumentative. They may get into an argument with a spouse. They will say mean things. In fact they will say whatever comes into their mind without considering the consequences. For example while arguing they might say "I want a divorce." If the other person reacts in kind and says "Fine, let's get a divorce," then the manic depressive will show another trait and that is neediness. If they think that they are going to be put in a position where a person is going to leave them or where their life is going to be changed they begin to beg to be forgiven. The other person is in shock, for awhile until they understand more about the illness. That is why there are so many breakups in the lives of manic depressive's. Not every spouse is willing to put up with the up and down behavior. Even though the manic depressive probably didn't mean the words, some spouses feel that it must be down there somewhere or as I said perhaps they get fed up. Here are two more traits that get in the way of a person with manic depression accomplishing and having a normal life. It is important to remember that these traits cause real emotional pain. Reference: Personal
We have been looking at manic depression "letter by letter" so to speak with the last letter being "d" for denial which is a major problem for people with manic depression.
Now we come to "e." The major word that starts with "e" and relates to manic depression is "euphoria." Euphoria is a synonym for mania. Perhaps it is a better word for mania when it comes to manic depression however because euphoria considers the feeling along with the thinking. Manic depression if you do not know by now is a mental disorder where a person travels between highs and lows. The highs are referred to as mania. During this period a person thinks they can do anything. They are in a constant good mood. They have unlimited energy. Sometimes they don't need to sleep and of course sooner or later this catches up with them. Manic depressive's do not fear anything including making any decisions because they have incredible confidence in themselves during this "mania." Unfortunately what completes the condition called manic depression is sadness or depression. During this depressive phase people often "pay" for their actions that they performed during their manic phase. However it also important to understand that this is a chemical roller-coaster ride that is occurring as well. When we examine the term "euphoria" we are actually looking at a more specific word for feelings and behavior than mania. Mania is an exaggeration. Euphoria constitutes a feeling of well-being, happiness and
confidence. There is a major problem with euphoria that I have experienced first-hand since I have had manic depression for years. When you have manic depression and you are happy people who know you immediately begin to question whether you are truly happy or having a "mood." This will make you angry. It is annoying never to be taken at face value and yet you can't blame them because they have been through the moods so many times before. At that point you further move into yourself and enjoy the happiness and don't want to share with others. That means your thinking becomes more isolated and untrustworthy. As these factors all play a role your euphoria moves to agitation and anger which is another aspect of mania. The medication that people take whether it is Depakote or Lithium is designed to prevent a person from moving into a euphoric state and ultimately a manic state. Unfortunately sometimes this results in a state that is robotic. To further fight this doctors often will give a combination of Depakote or Lithium and anti-depressive. The point I would like to get across to people about manic depression is that the psychiatrist will over-and-over again will each you that you cannot trust your feelings but must trust your thinking and even that must be bounced off others. Perhaps the euphoric trait that must be battled the most is being impulsive. A manic depressive must learn to avoid making decisions that will hurt them in the future. Unfortunately this means while they are feeling euphoric they must not go with their feelings. They must betray themselves when it is the most difficult to do so. References: http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/euphoria Personal Experience http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/2611065/manic_depression_from_az_counseling.html?cat=5