Prescription medications can help improve symptoms of depression and in many cases attempt to restore the balance of chemicals in the brain that were imbalanced and often the cause of symptoms. Several medications are useful in treating the...
According to the National Institutes of Health, about 2 million of the 35 million Americans age 65 or older suffer from depression. Another 5 million suffer from less severe forms of depression. Drugs called antidepressants work to normalize brain...
According to the National Institutes of Health, more than 20 million people in the U.S. have some form of depressive disorder. Everyone experiences a down or depressed mood now and then, but true depression is a serious mental illness and involves...
Characterized by long periods of low mood, clinical depression prevents the person who suffers from it from taking pleasure in usually pleasurable activities including socializing, eating and sex. When depression occurs with anxiety disorder,...
Depression and anxiety are two different forms of mental health disturbance with distinct symptoms. However, MayoClinic.com notes that the presence of both types of disorder may prevail, with one disorder potentially triggering symptoms of the...
The National Institute of Mental Health reports depression as one of the diseases commonly associated with suicide in older adults (see Reference 1). Unfortunately, most depression in the elderly goes unrecognized and untreated. Older adults can...
Depression is a mental disorder characterized by feelings of inadequacy, sadness and a dejected mood. Most doctors choose psychotherapy as the main mode of treatment for depression. Medications are used as an optional treatment to control some of...
Cholesterol is a waxy fat-like substance that occurs naturally in all parts of the body. High levels of cholesterol in the blood can increase the risk of heart disease. High amounts of cholesterol stick to the walls of the arteries and cause...
People who experience both depression and social anxiety can benefit from the same medication in many cases. Antidepressant drugs developed for depression also work successfully in the treatment of anxiety disorders, including social anxiety, also...
In 2004, the Federal Drug Administration (FDA) issued a warning stating that antidepressant drugs may cause increased risks of suicidal behavior, particularly in children and adolescents. Although most antidepressant medications take about two...
Depressant drugs depress the central nervous system and bring on muscle relaxation, sedation, drowsiness and, in the extreme, coma. They can disinhibit emotions and impulses. They may also create a "high." Opiates, sedative-hypnotics and alcohol...
Approximately 20.9 million American adults suffer from a mood disorder, states the National Institute of Mental Health. Moderate to severe cases of depression are treated with a combination of therapy and antidepressant medications. Mild forms of...
Manic depressive disorder is a component of bipolar disorder that describes a form of depression that can sometimes cause distorted thinking, hallucinations or delusions. These symptoms are generally referred to as psychosis, or psychotic...
Depression is a psychological disorder marked by persistent feelings of sadness and low mood. While there are a number of pharmaceutical options for treating depression, many can cause unwanted side effects, such as weight gain or decreased sex...
A mood disorder, depression causes patients to feel helpless or hopeless, and affects their perception of the world. For example, depressed patients can feel worthless even if they live productive lives. Many factors can contribute to the onset of...
Postpartum depression is a common complication of childbirth, occurring in as many as one in eight women, the March of Dimes reports. Postpartum depression is more severe than the "baby blues" caused by rapid hormonal changes after delivery, which...
Depressive disorders are commonly treated with medications that target emotional or mood symptoms. However, the pain sensations associated with depression have only recently been considered problematic enough to require further research for...
Depression is considered by most physicians to be a chronic illness that needs to be treated over the course of a patient's life. Although psychotherapy is effective at treating mild depression, many patients also benefit from the use of certain...
Up to 50 percent of people who experience depression also experience physical pain, according to a 2002 article in Psychology Today. Pain occurs because the neural pathways that regulate mood also regulate pain perception. Research has also...
Bipolar disorder, also known as manic depression, is a severe mental disorder that causes extreme shifts in mood and can severely affect the ability to carry out day-to-day tasks. First signs of bipolar disorder usually emerge during the late...
According to Medline Plus, more than 20 million people in the United States have ongoing depression. Symptoms of depression can include sadness, reduced or loss of interest in pleasurable activities, reduced energy or severe thoughts such as death...
Seasonal affective disorder refers to a type of depression that occurs at the same time annually. The Mayo Clinic says that most people with affective disorder display symptoms from the fall to the winter months. In the fall to winter months,...
Major depressive disorder, a condition characterized by intense feelings of sadness and hopelessness, affects approximately 14.8 million adults in the United States, according to the Depression and Bipolar Support Alliance. Depression often occurs...
The most commonly prescribed medications to treat depression are a class of drugs called selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs). Well-known SSRIs include fluoxetine (Prozac), citalopram (Celexa), and sertraline (Zoloft). Seratonin and...
Depression is a complex and common disorder. Major symptoms are generally a feeling of sadness or anhedonia, a lack of pleasure in activities usually found pleasurable. Other psychological symptoms may include feelings of guilt or thoughts of...
Disease, malnutrition, injury and exposure to toxins can cause nerve damage, a condition also known as neuropathy, which can impede the ability of nerve impulses to travel between the brain and the various organs of the body. Neuropathy is...
All depression drugs, regardless of their type, have been shown to be effective in treating elderly patients. First-generation antidepressants, the oldest type, have been used since the 1950s. Dangers associated with them resulted in development...
Clinical depression is a serious mood disorder that involves the brain. Clinical depression involves feelings of sadness that affect normal day-to-day activities. Patients with depression also experience a variety of physical problems. Most people...
The experience of depression in children and teens is somewhat different than that of adults. Depression in childhood is more likely to lead to the continuation of depression in adulthood, as well as other, more serious mental illnesses. When...
Post traumatic stress disorder, or PTSD, is an psychiatric disorder most often associated with any serious psychological trauma. Learn more about the causes, symptoms and treatments for PTSD in this medical video.
