New Developements Towards Helping Depression

Mom, just posted a copy of Haley's school picture. Go look at it. I assume you'll want a copy. What size do you want?

My mother suffers from depression, but refuses to take medication for it. I really wish she would.

That's great!

That's great

thanks

Interesting!

(My GP said she couldn't help me with my depression/anxiety, so now I have to see a shrinky dink)

Very interesting! I suffer from Bipolar and Post Partum Depression that sometimes puts me down for days at a time.Thanks for the information!

I realize that I will need medication for depression for the rest of my life. This was very hard for me to accept for a long time, in spite of my work as a mental health professional and the knowledge I had of depression. Somehow I believed I must be ‘superwoman’ and handle this on my own...tough it out. Thank goodness, I finally listened to my doctor!!! :-(

I have suffered with it for years.. I hope it gets better for all of us soon.

thanks for the info

Interesting info...thanks for sharing.

I just went back on meds last month after taking nothing for almost a year. The changes are astounding and so far, the side effects are nil. Gosh I hope that this one works.

Like Norvona, the idea of taking these darn things forever is really daunting, so I try to live in the present. The side effects in the past have also been a real turn off. This time, I have a pill buddy of a sort. Art has started to take high blood pressure meds, so we check on each others progress.

I am usually against all of the NASA stuff, but if they can come up with anything to help us sufferers, I would change my tune!

Thanks for the info Connie! I too suffer from depression (also SAD) and have all my adult life. Depression is a serious and dangerous problem if not treated!! I cannot imagine starting my day with my meds. It is great to know that 'someone' such as NASA is taking an interest in depression!!!

that's interesting

We need so much research AND compassion to deal with depression.

That's good it's getting the research and funding it needs.

The research sounds promising, though I wonder about it's effectiveness for severe major depressive disorder. But anything that could possibly help is well worth the research. People don't realize how debilating depression can be and the daily struggles it entails

Cool Post! Thanks for sharing!

There are alternatives to medication for depression. Unfortunately pharmaceutical companies are about the biggest lobbyists in Washington, and insurance is medication oriented. Also congressional programs easily draw biased conclusions. The psychiatrist Peter Breggin provides important information that should be checked out prior to using these medications or recommending them to your family. Medical Doctors are often not good on this stuff, as they are also so heavily lobbied, to the tune of many thousands of dollars each. My Dad's doctor recommended medication for anxiety long term that, according to research, shouldn't be used more than about 2 weeks and is best only for 2-3 days. I got him off, intervened, and he got better. The meds were increasing his disorientation (he was 89) and causing other problems.

Please, look at Breggin on the actual research. Please do not rely on anecdotal testimonials for trying to get on these drugs or to push people on. Once you get on, if you try to get off, you'll have withdrawal. And then many people think they need the drug for the symptoms of withdrawal it causes. Breggin tells how to get off safely. Second, the drugs can cause what Breggin calls spellbinding. That is, the person using it may have diminished capacity to evaluate what it's doing to them, even though friends know it. The drugs can also cause mania, which in mild form seems like improvement to someone taking it. The brain reacts to the drugs, causing the same symptoms the drug tries to address. The complexity of the brain goes far beyond the general impacts of the drugs.

I'm reading Breggin's book: Psychosocial Approaches to Deeply Disturbed Persons. It's fascinating, like all his books. That points you toward alternatives. I've also used Lucinda Basset's self help program for Anxiety and depression on tape (or CD?) with my Dad. You may have seen it on late night TV. It's great, well worth the money. I found an extra copy at half priced books for $50. This is the thing to buy your family member. Breggin's book Toxic Psychology is what helped me get my Dad off the problem pills. See the research in his Brain-Disabling Treatments in Psychiatry, which I'm also reading. Breggin worked on legal cases, which got him access to drug company research that has never been published. He knows what they know. Check out The AntiDepressant Fact Book. Do it for someone you love.

I seem to be dealing with it more and more as I get older..not always sure if it is depression or stress!

Connie this was a good article and i hope things are better for you but I just want to make it clear that if depression did not exist there would be way too many 'manic-episodes' and other health concerns to be concerned over. I have dealt with 'depressed states' many times and rather than fearing them, fending them off with synthetic drugs and being told I am permanently disabled, I graduated from college with a bachelors degree in psychology and later went on to receive my masters in Transpersonal Studies that led me to 'embrace my depressive states and here is why . . .
Depression is good for you

It is great NASA wants to get this program rolling so others, besides future astronauts can beat this, but biofeedback and guided meditation is the key. I have a place at my domain you might be interested in . . .
our MINDS