Depression

[6431hoho]

I have several questions

 

1. What is the brain like when a person is depressed, scientifically?

2. How does the anti-depressant pills work? or other pills?

3. When having a talk-therapy, what is the brain like and how does it change?

4. What happened to a person's brain whose depressed without any reasons and what caused it in the brain?

 

If you could include anything else about depression that would be great.

In advance, thank you for answering

[Void]

These are questions that have been addressed by numerous books, and I cordially invite you to peruse the psychology section at you local bookstore. You might also try google, it works wonders.

[6431hoho]

Oh but I have. I've even rented a video but all they talk about are causes and cures, which is quite common sense. I've found one that explains scientifically, but I could not understand.

[MulderMan]

medically it is said that depression is linked to deficientcies with two neurotransmitters in the brain: norepinephrine and serotonin. simply put anti-depressants act on the flow of those two neurotransmitters. towards my understanding anyway. if chemical or psychotherapy is not effective a relatively new procedure is sometimes called in - electroconvulsive therapy. dont forget though there are alot of different families of antidepressents.

 

 

neurotransmitters alow electrical signals to travel accross the axon of one nerve cell to the neuron of another nerve cell as shown in the pic. a lack of neurotransmitters impairs the electrical signal, causing a breakdown of communication.

 

hope that helps.

[galaxygirl]

Mulderman's answer is good. You might also want to check out this site: http://cms.psychologytoday.com/topics/depression.html

[Sorcerer]

I thought electroconulsive therapy was old, it was used on heaps of mental paitients, in one case here in NZ it was reportedly used as a form of punishment in some mental hospitals.

[Flareon]

I thought electroconulsive therapy was old, it was used on heaps of mental paitients, in one case here in NZ it was reportedly used as a form of punishment in some mental hospitals.

 

Unfortunately, it is still very much in use, although it is usually done under anesthesia. A close friend of mine has been enduring them for about 3-4 years now, and only just recently stopped.

 

Although the treatment is controversial, it is sometimes the option that a patient has to be able to lead a somewhat normal life when all other treatments have proven futile.

 

I am not against it per se, but I do strongly believe it should be the absolute last resort. It has the unfortunate side-effect of memory loss.

[Coral Rhedd]

No kidding memory loss! A guy where I used to work had it done for intractable depression. We had known each other five months and chatted often. When he got back from the hospital after a several of these treatments, he smiled a bunch but he couldn't remember my name or that of many others. He also seemed unable to reestablish himself in his work routine. Eventually he quit and went on disability.

[Exordium]

No kidding memory loss! A guy where I used to work had it done for intractable depression. We had known each other five months and chatted often. When he got back from the hospital after a several of these treatments, he smiled a bunch but he couldn't remember my name or that of many others. He also seemed unable to reestablish himself in his work routine. Eventually he quit and went on disability.

 

How long ago was this?

 

This sounds like a typical case in that ect is often used as a last resort, after all other treatments have failed. It has some benefits other treatments do not have, such as immediate or almost immediate results. It is often used to treat elderly folks for depression.

 

Btw, forget what you've seen in "One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest": ect does not cause muscle spams or convulsions, despite its name -- not anymore. In fact, the patient doesn't really feel anything at all during it.

[Coral Rhedd]

How long ago was this?

 

This sounds like a typical case in that ect is often used as a last resort' date=' after all other treatments have failed. It has some benefits other treatments do not have, such as immediate or almost immediate results. It is often used to treat elderly folks for depression.

 

Btw, forget what you've seen in "One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest": ect does not cause muscle spams or convulsions, despite its name -- not anymore. In fact, the patient doesn't really feel anything at all during it.[/quote']

 

Yes, perhaps as a last resort. His mother later told me he had been diagnosed with schizophrenia as well, plus he had substance abuse problems. A tough case indeed. He had it several times over the space of a year. Each time he would be almost elated for a while and then it would wear off and he would be back to feeling suicidal. Last I saw him, he had taken up religion and was on some sort of new medication for schizophrenia. He seemed happy but said that every now and then he just had to drink.

 

I was surprised about the schizophrenia because he looked about thirty but then I realized he was a bit younger.

 

I have heard there are magnetic treatments to treat depression. Any comment on that?

[Exordium]

 

I have heard there are magnetic treatments to treat depression. Any comment on that?

 

I don't know much about this. The procedure is known as rTMS (repeated transcranial magnetic stimulation)' date=' and it is still considered an "alternative" treatment. Here's a Passage from [i']The Noonday Demon: An Anatomy of Depression[/i] by Andrew Solomon:

 

(rTMS) uses magnetism to create metabolic stimulation mych like that caused in ECT, but at lower levels. ... While electric current has to be turned quite to get through the skull and scalp to the brain, magnetic fluxes travel through quite easily. So ETC causes a brain seizure, and rTMS does not.

 

I found this article on the net which deals with using rTMS to treat schichophrenia:

 

http://info.med.yale.edu/psych/clinics/rTMS.html

[Asian Guy]

I have several questions

 

1. What is the brain like when a person is depressed' date=' scientifically?

2. How does the anti-depressant pills work? or other pills?

3. When having a talk-therapy, what is the brain like and how does it change?

4. What happened to a person's brain whose depressed without any reasons and what caused it in the brain?

 

If you could include anything else about depression that would be great.

In advance, thank you for answering[/quote']

 

One group of medications given for depression are the Selective Serotonin Re-uptake Inhibitors (SSRIs). These drugs include Prozac, Paxil, and Zoloft. What SSRIs do is cause natural Serotonin to remain in the synapses longer by blocking the receptors (or something to that extent) from absorbing the molecule. This causes the Serotonin concentration to increase. It takes from 4 to 6 weeks for these drugs to take effect. Also, there are some unpleasant side-effects, such as anxiety/restlessness, complete lack of sexual desire and impotence in males, nausea, etc

[Coral Rhedd]

Weight gain. And less often, amotivational syndrome, suicidal ideation, memory problems.

[Coral Rhedd]

 

I found this article on the net which deals with using rTMS to treat schichophrenia:

 

http://info.med.yale.edu/psych/clinics/rTMS.html

 

Thanks Exordium. Really interesting reading.

 

It makes me wonder. I have a vocational client who has enviromental senstivities. She claims the EMFs from computers cause nervous tension and headaches. Can this be true?

 

Don't lots of things have EMFs and why would they hurt people in some instances and be good in others?

 

Or am I all mixed up?