Depressive disorders affect approximately 18 million Americans each year, with 80 percent of them not currently receiving treatment. This illness leaves a person feeling sad for no reason, causes problems with concentration and results in negative...
Severe depression, or major depressive disorder, is a disabling mood disorder characterized by feelings of sadness, hopelessness and loss of interest in daily activities. Antidepressant medications and counseling, or psychotherapy, are the most...
In cases of severe depression, medication can be helpful in managing symptoms. Antidepressants work by targeting specific neurotransmitters linked to mood and increase their levels in the brain. The first choices of medications for severe...
The American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry reports that approximately five percent of children and adolescents suffer from depression at any given time. Every child experiences periods of time when he feels sad or blue, and that is...
Omega-3 fatty acids may help severe depression and psychosis, states the National Institutes of Health. The Mayo Clinic indicates omega-3 fatty acids are more effective at treating severe depression, rather than mild or moderate symptoms. People...
Someone suffering from major depression, a serious mental health disorder, needs professional attention and needs to make lifestyle changes in order to decrease the severe symptoms. People who have major depression are at risk for suicidal...
Feeling down or sad once in a while is normal. However, when these feelings overtake your day-to-day life and impair your ability to work, eat, sleep and play, depression may be the culprit. There is no one single factor that can cause severe...
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...
Severe depression can affect every aspect of your life. From work to family and personal relationships, chronic and severe depression can make you feel hopeless and alone. While medications can help to alter your brain chemistry, lifestyle changes...
Severe depression, or major depression, causes feelings of hopelessness and helplessness. Feelings of worthlessness and inappropriate guilt may also occur, according to Medline Plus. These feelings can lead to inactivity or withdrawal from social...
Depression is a mood disorder characterized by feelings of despair, sadness, anger and hopelessness. Severe depression, more commonly known as major depression, is typically defined as an episode that lasts for at least two weeks but that tends to...
Depression is a common but serious mental illness that presents itself in many forms. Some are more severe than others, and the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM) defines these depression types. The three most distinct...
Therapy is a very effective treatment for severe depression, helping you to discover the causes of your unhappy emotions and treat the root of the problem. The most common type of therapy is cognitive-behavioral therapy, in which you work with a...
Depression is an illness characterized by depressive moods, such as sadness, loneliness or purposelessness, that have a major impact on your life. Symptoms may include difficulty sleeping or excessive sleepiness, weight or appetite changes, poor...
The National Institutes of Health characterize aspartame as an artificial sweetener that's 220 times sweeter than sugar. It's a combination of phenylalanine and aspartic acid. Both of these ingredients are considered amino acids, which can make...
Antidepressants help people with severe depression by altering brain chemicals to change moods. Doctors can prescribe several types of antidepressants. Patients may use one type of medication and switch to another if it does not bring improvement....
Depression is an illness that drains its sufferers of energy, hope and motivation, making each day difficult to get through. Overcoming this condition is far from easy. It takes a desire and willingness to see the light at the end of the tunnel,...
Depression is a major medical illness that can be treated with many different types of medications, including drugs that affect dopamine. Not everyone will react the same way to different medications, and your doctor will work with you to find the...
Depression is a serious mental illness. It's not a figment of your spouse's imagination or something that he can consciously stop feeling. He may experience symptoms such as anxiety, chronic sadness, hopelessness, changes in appetite or sleep...
Major depression is a diagnosis found in the DSM-IV-TR, the diagnostic manual used by mental health professionals, and is characterized by a persistent sad mood as well as other symptoms. The National Alliance on Mental Illness reports that 15...
It's normal to worry: Everyone experiences anxiety to some degree, be it when speaking in public, prior to a first date or at a job interview. However, when worries and fears get in the way of life---or when they lead you to feel profoundly sad...
Depression is a mood disorder characterized by depressed mood, loss of interest in enjoyable activities, sleeping too little or too much, excessive fatigue, changes in weight or appetite, concentration difficulties, and thoughts about suicide or...
Severe depression, irritability and tension that occurs 10 to 14 days before your period starts and goes away within a few days of its onset might indicate a condition known as premenstrual dysphoric disorder, or PMDD. If you suspect PMDD,...
Depression is a mood disorder characterized by feeling sad or down, loss of interest in pleasurable activities, changes in sleep, low energy, changes in weight or appetite, feelings of guilt, concentration difficulties, indecisiveness, and...
Electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) is often depicted in films and popular culture as an extremely archaic and disruptive form of psychological therapy that does little for the patients except make them into vegetables. Movies like "One Flew Over The...
Acute depression symptoms may appear slowly or suddenly, depending upon the person and circumstances. The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, also known as DSM, contains symptom criteria for major depressive disorder. The...
Depression is a widespread condition, particularly in the United States. More than 10 percent of adult Americans have depression that is sufficiently severe to require psychological or medical treatment, according to Drs. James Balch and Mark...
As you eat dinner alone on your couch, you can't help but feel empty and isolated from everyone else. You wonder if anyone cares, or if anyone would notice if you just left the country. If you're not careful, this sense of loneliness could turn...
Premenstrual syndrome, commonly known as PMS, is caused by a surge of hormone production and afflicts women in the days or weeks prior to their menstrual periods. Erratic levels of hormones, including estrogen and progesterone, also causes a...
Depression is fairly common among teens and can be difficult for parents and teens to understand. Learn how to help a teenager overcome depression in this parenting video.
