Battling Depression

By Nancy Hine

These days hardly a week seems to go by without my hearing some news item relating to depression. You would have to have your head buried in the sand not to be aware that diagnosis is increasing, that prescription of antidepressants has reached an all time high and that the effectiveness of antidepressants is being challenged.

So how does all this affect you if you are depressed? Despite NICE guidelines recommending counselling rather than antidepressants for mild to moderate depression, you are still likely to find your GP offering you antidepressants. If your doctor is enlightened enough to refer you for counselling you are likely to face a wait of several weeks, or perhaps even months, for an initial assessment and then sometimes a further wait of weeks to start your therapy. The counselling itself is then likely to be limited to six to twelve weeks, although the Department of Health’s own report in 2001 stating that ‘often 16 sessions or more may be required for symptomatic relief and longer therapies may be required to achieve lasting change in social and personality functioning’.

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By Joanne King

If you experience Anxiety & Panic Attacks it may very well be a “secondary” condition to another physical illness.

Of course, the only way to know for sure is to be as open and honest with your doctor about your symptoms and your lifestyle as possible (even if it is embarrassing).

There are so many things that can contribute or have caused your anxiety disorder and panic attacks that the list is just incredibly long.

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By Joanne King

One common myth about aging that many people believe is that as you grow older, you have a significantly greater risk of suffering from depression. That is simply not true, just because you are aging, does not mean you have to suffer from depression as well. All of us have to face difficult situations as we age, the loss of loved ones, the inability to do the things we once could, health issues, etc., but there are ways of dealing with all of these problems without letting yourself succumb to depression.

Current depression studies indicate that out of all adults who are at least sixty-five years young, only about fifteen percent show any symptoms that could be associated with depression. Since many of the symptoms that accompany depression can limit one’s ability to perform even daily care tasks, factor that in with the similar problems that come with aging, and many of those adults end up needing help in caring for themselves. So, if you are a senior citizen, it is important that you find ways to deal with your depression before it impacts your life, especially if you value your independence.

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