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 Posted: Wed Nov 29, 2006 5:02 pm
[a trustworthy portrait]
i am
Alethea Syntache Parris
but you can call me
Alethea
candles
15
i like
Violin, classical music, soft fabrics, things with distinctive texture,
feeling pretty
i dislike
Color, weather, complicated room layouts, romantic poetry, uncomfortable things, mirrors
my disease is
Depression
my family is
a brother, two dead parents, many cousins
i am also
Quiet
my "awesome" life
pending
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Posted: Wed Nov 29, 2006 5:27 pm
Symptoms
According to the DSM-IV-TR criteria for diagnosing a major depressive disorder (cautionary statement) one of the following two elements must be present for a period of at least two weeks:
Depressed mood, or
Anhedonia
It is sufficient to have either of these symptoms in conjunction with five of a list of other symptoms over a two-week period. These include:
Feelings of overwhelming sadness and/or fear, or the seeming inability to feel emotion (emptiness).
A decrease in the amount of interest or pleasure in all, or almost all, daily activities.
Changing appetite and marked weight gain or loss.
Disturbed sleep patterns, such as insomnia, loss of REM sleep, or excessive sleep (Hypersomnia).
Psychomotor agitation or retardation nearly every day.
Fatigue, mental or physical, also loss of energy.
Intense feelings of guilt, helplessness, hopelessness, worthlessness, isolation/loneliness and/or anxiety.
Trouble concentrating, keeping focus or making decisions or a generalized slowing and obtunding of cognition, including memory.
Recurrent thoughts of death (not just fear of dying), desire to just "lay down and die" or "stop breathing", recurrent suicidal ideation without a specific plan, or a suicide attempt or a specific plan for committing suicide.
Feeling and/or fear of being abandoned by those close to one.
Other symptoms often reported but not usually taken into account in diagnosis include:
Self-loathing.
A decrease in self-esteem.
Inattention to personal hygiene.
Sensitivity to noise.
Physical aches and pains, and the belief these may be signs of serious illness.
Fear of 'going mad'.
Change in perception of time.
Periods of sobbing.
Possible behavioral changes, such as aggression and/or irritability.
Depression in children is not as obvious as it is in adults. Here are some symptoms that children might display:
Loss of appetite.
Irritability.
Sleep problems, such as recurrent nightmares.
Learning or memory problems where none existed before.
Significant behavioral changes; such as withdrawal, social isolation, and aggression.
An additional indicator could be the excessive use of drugs or alcohol. Depressed adolescents are at particular risk of further destructive behaviours, such as eating disorders and self-harm.
One of the most widely used instruments for measuring depression severity is the Beck Depression Inventory, a 21-question multiple choice survey.
It is hard for people who have not experienced clinical depression, either personally or by regular exposure to people suffering it, to understand its emotional impact and severity, interpreting it instead as being similar to "having the blues" or "feeling down." As the list of symptoms above indicates, clinical depression is a serious, potentially lethal systemic disorder characterized by the psychiatric industry as interlocking physical, affective, and cognitive symptoms that have consequences for function and survival well beyond sad or painful feelings.
Depression with Melancholic Features - Melancholia is characterized by a loss of pleasure (anhedonia) in most or all activities, a failure of reactivity to pleasurable stimuli, a quality of depressed mood more pronounced than that of grief or loss, a worsening of symptoms in the morning hours, early morning waking, psychomotor retardation, anorexia (excessive weight loss, not to be confused with Anorexia Nervosa), or excessive guilt.
Depression with Psychotic Features - Some people with Major Depressive or Manic episode may experience psychotic features. They may be presented with hallucinations or delusions that are either mood-congruent (content coincident with depressive themes) or non-mood-congruent (content not coincident with depressive themes). It is clinically more common to encounter a delusional system as an adjunct to depression than to encounter hallucinations, whether visual or auditory.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clinical_depression
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Posted: Wed Nov 29, 2006 5:30 pm
[Celexa: Citalopram]
Citalopram is safe and well-tolerated in the therapeutic dose range of 20 to 60 mg/day. Distinct from some other agents in its class, Citalopram exhibits linear pharmacokinetics and minimal drug interaction potential, making it a better choice for the elderly or comorbid patients.[4]
Citalopram can have a number of adverse effects. In clinical trials, over 10% of patients reported fatigue, drowsiness, dry mouth, increased sweating (hyperhidrosis), trembling, headache, dizziness, sleep disturbances, cardiac arrythmia, blood pressure, nausea/vomiting, diarrhea, heightened anorgasmia in females, impotence and ejaculatory problems. In rare cases (around over 1% of cases), some allergic reactions, convulsions, mood changes, anxiety and confusion have been reported. Occasionally, panic attacks, thoughts of suicide or self-harm may occur or increase in the first few weeks, before the antidepressant effect starts.[5]
Citalopram and other SSRIs have been shown to cause sexual side effects in most patients, both males and females[6]. Although usually reversible, these sexual side effects can sometimes last for months, years or possibly indefinitely even after the drug has been completely withdrawn. This disorder is known as Post SSRI Sexual Dysfunction.
Citalopram is contraindicated in individuals taking MAOIs. It is considered relatively safe in overdose, although fatal cases of dosages 840 mg to 1960 mg have been reported.[7]
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Posted: Wed Nov 29, 2006 5:33 pm
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Posted: Wed Nov 29, 2006 5:35 pm
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