Teenagers Depression : Understand It To Cure It
Wednesday, November 19, 2008Nowadays, teenagers are easily susceptible to depression. It is an age of high imaginations and big dreams and when they find it difficult to achieve then it results in depression. Prolonged sadness for a long time without any measure to recover also results in the same. However, if parents follow few safety measures then you can not only get rid of depression but can also lead a successful life.
Depression in teenagers often results in becoming negative and rebellious. They are unable to concentrate on studies, drop out of school and feel disconnected from family. The feeling of not being understood by family gives boost to of this feeling in teenagers. Sometimes adolescents get very aggressive and restless. If you have a teenager at home, you should notice them closely to know if they suffering from depression.
Common signs of depression in teenagers:
Generally, when we think about depression then pictures like sad and tearful face comes into our mind. But the situation is entirely different in teens. Teenagers look just as common people; they generally do not show or indulge in talking about hopeless feelings like adults commonly do. If your teenage boy or girl is suffering from depression then you will find him/her having problem with school work, friends and also with family. He/she may constrain in one's room and even resort to harmful activities like use of drug and alcohol. Teenage girls indulged in themes of death or dying and they do not pay attention to how they are looking. Apart from it depression in teenagers leads them to become self destructive and have poor self esteem.
How to recover from depression in teenagers:
With proper diagnosis and right treatment depressed teens can be cured easily. However, you can undertake some of the below mentioned measures to cure depression in teenagers
--Consult a professional and get complete evaluation about the reasons of depression in teenagers. Since lingering illness, viral infections and there can also be thyroid reasons for this.
--Increase the quantity of proteins in your teenager's diet.
--Try to include exercise in your routine and get time for walk for around 15 minutes or more.
--Teenagers should try to indulge in activities that give them pleasure.
--Take the help of counselors to help them come out of depression.
--Parents should also try to understand the changes taking place in their teenage children.
Depression is more than just few instances of bad moods. It is more serious and harmful for the general well being of adolescents. They can have eating disorder, low self esteem, engage in substance abuse, violence or even attempt to commit suicide. Don't wait long seek immediate professional help. Be patient and understand about depression to help your child out of this difficult time.
Depression and Heart Attack Recovery
There are several factors can lead to depression after heart attack. The stress of being in the hospital, the fear of another heart attack, time away from work can all contribute to feeling depressed, helpless, down and despondent.
Do many people suffer depression after heart attack?
Not surprisingly, the answer to this question is yes. Recent studies show that as many as 65% of people who have a heart attack report feeling depressed, down and despondent. A general state of despair. Moreover, women, people who have been depressed before, and people who feel alone and without social or emotional support are at a higher risk for feeling depressed after a heart attack. Two new Canadian studies have shown that More than twice as many women than men tend to fall into chronic depression after suffering a heart attack and are more likely to lead lives of poorer quality following their treatments.
Being depressed can also make it harder for you to recover. However, depression can be treated.
Being told by doctors that you should take up exercise, adopt a new diet, stop smoking, etc. can certainly make you feel helpless, in fact, you will probably have good days and bad days following your release from hospital. However, most people start to feel better as time passes. People that are quickly able to get back to their usual routines normally notice a drop in anxiety faster than those that don’t.
So what exactly is depression?
Depression, be it after a heart attack or not, is a medical illness, like diabetes or high blood pressure and not just somebody going crazy. This is important both for the sufferer and family members to understand. The symptoms of depression may include some or all of the following:
--Feeling sad or crying often
--Losing interest in daily activities that used to be fun
--Changes in appetite and weight
--Sleeping too much or having trouble sleeping
--Feeling agitated, cranky or sluggish
--Loss of energy
--Feeling very guilty or worthless
--Problems concentrating or making decisions
--Thoughts of death or suicide
Can heart disease trigger depression or depression trigger heart disease?
Either of the above may be true, one thing seems clear. The two are often found hand in hand, therefore controlling one may help control the other.
According to The American Academy of Family Physicians research has shown that people who are depressed and have pre-existing cardiovascular disease have a 3.5 times greater risk of dying of a heart attack than patients with heart disease who are not depressed. In a recent study, depression was shown to be associated with an increased risk of developing coronary heart disease in men and women. Depression was shown to increase mortality related to coronary heart disease in men but had no effect on mortality in women.
How can the risk of relapse be avoided?
The risk of relapses, be it of heart disease or depression, can be greatly reduced by living a healthy lifestyle, and your doctor will instruct you on this. However, some important lifestyle modifications are avoiding alcohol, illegal drugs, smoking, start a regular exercise program, eating a balanced diet, manage stress, join a club, meet new people or take courses in things that interest you, get enough rest and sleep.
Manage Depression And Anxiety With Menopause
Wednesday, November 12, 2008Right at the outset a misconception must be cleared out. In women going through amid life crisis, their approaching menopause is not the cause of all the mood swings and depressions that she undergoes. On the contrary, it is a fluctuation in quantities of estrogen secreted by the hormonal glands that causes such an emotional overhaul. This can be a difficult time for a woman. And this fluctuation of the hormone levels occurs more in women than in men, and therefore women may face twice as many emotional problems as men would. In case one has a family history of such a condition, the levels of depression may also depend on that.
Another misconception that comes with the onset of menopause is that depression is a normal thing during these phases. Yes, it is normal, but it need not necessarily occur. The depression levels can be easily controlled if one accepts the various alterations that are happening within the human body. Menopause or the dropping of the estrogen levels does not directly cause mood swings or depression. On the contrary, it is the inability to cope up with such changes that leads to such a mental condition.
Some of the symptoms to look out during the menopause are:
* anxiety
* irritability
* changes in body temperature
* sleeping problems
* tiredness due to weakening of bones
* mental fatigue
* forgetfulness
However, all of the above are just the resultant manifestations of the actually menopausal onset. Once a woman enters her mid thirties to mid forties the ovaries produced by the womb decrease considerably. Ovulation becomes erratic as a result of which the monthly menstrual cycle also fluctuates from the normal time period.
Many women who undergo severe depression during this time do so because they are unable to understand the changes within their body. The body had been used to a particular pattern for about 25 to 30 years of a woman's life. Now suddenly the disruption of such a routine pattern may result in anxiety. This inevitably leads to a feeling of hopelessness of approaching old age. This is what leads to depression.
Even though a positive mental outlook and taking the changes in one's stride can go a long way in countering such a condition, medical help must be sought in case the problem persists or aggravates. Problems related to the heart and bones are most commonly prevalent during menopause. The prescription of anti depressants by doctors and the undergoing of the hormone replacement therapies are the two most common approaches taken to cure such symptoms.
Adolescent Depression
Monday, November 10, 2008The pressures of modern living are also having a detrimental effect on our adolescent youth. Take a look at the following statistics and be amazed.
Figures never lie and they are perhaps the best means to highlight certain facts and when they are brought to the notice of the general public leave a lasting impression. It is important to gain the attention of all who want to learn about what the statistics are saying. There are no doubts that statistics are nothing more and nothing less than concrete concepts that have the power to sway even the most skeptical of minds, and it will even show the young generation the true picture with respect to adolescent depression.
Twenty Percent Of Teenagers Sufferers From Depression
The first thing that will make you sit up and take notice about statistics pertaining to adolescent depression is the news that nearly a fifth of the teenage population in the US has experienced a form of clinical depression, even before having gained full adulthood.
Not only that, but there are about ten to fifteen percents of teenagers that have shown symptoms of adolescent depression and another five percent of the teenage population will have suffered from significant depression.
Secondly, another alarming aspect to adolescent depression is the fact that there is not much social acceptance when it concerns teenagers with such a condition, and what's worse is the fact that as many as eight percent of teenagers will have experienced the re-occurrence of depression at least once a year. This is alarming because only a mere five percent of the national population suffer from depression.
When a person suffers a bout of adolescent depression it will generally last for about eight months and teenagers are also at risk that the subsequent attack of adolescent depression will strike them within a mere two years and the chances of this happening are about twenty to forty percent, and there is also a seventy percent chance that they will experience another attack of adolescent depression before they have even reached full adulthood.
Thirdly, another feature of adolescent depression is that quite a few teenagers will suffer from attacks of seasonal depression. This form of depression is most likely to strike during the wintertime, it is also found in places where the altitude is on the high side. Even the weather can play a significant part in the onset of seasonal depression, which means that teenagers also need to be aware of these external effects on the state of mind..
Fourthly, other figures related to adolescent depression reveal that dysthymia or a mild form of depression that lasts for a long time will affect about two percent of teenagers and a like percentage of teenagers are also likely to suffer from bipolar depression when they grow older. In fact, it is thought that as many as fifteen percent of teenagers that have suffered from major depression will later on be at risk of developing bipolar depression.
Thus, it is safe to say that adolescent depression will affect teenagers no matter their social background, income level, gender as well as race or even their achievements and that adolescent depression is very common mental health problem affecting teenagers in the US.