I agree that depression is a chemical process in the brain. I also agree that right before and after a person has lost someone close to them they can become depressed. They have done studies to track the hormone levels and brain waves, in people in these cases. It has been shown that there is a chemical change in the body. That's why they also did the study about the possibility's of dying of a broken heart, especially after a loved one has passed. Those studies also proved that there is a significant change in the body and reason to conclude it is possible. I'm not saying that we all need to jump on the waggon and get disability but for some it is a real source of depression and they should be treated properly.

Psychiatry as a profession seeks to label everyone that does not fit their textbook definition of normal. They make no room for differences in personalities that are natural, harmless things that do not require treatment. If psychiatrists had their way, we would likely never again see any great works of art music, etc. Most great artists, musicians, etc. have been a little off center when it comes to their personalities. It is this difference that allows them to see the world a little differently and come up with their great depictions and interpretations of what they see and feel. Psychiatrists would try and medicate them into "normalcy" and destroy that great vision and gift. Society needs to stop trying to label and treat everyone who is a little different and learn to just accept people as they are.

There is no test to see if a person has a chemical imbalance. That is a fabricated theory they came up with to try to give some scientific validity to their flawed science. When they finally did get the ability to do an actual study on live humans not cadavers to alter those chemicals in brains they found out the people did not get more or less depressed if they changed the chemical concentration. Oopps better ignore that study the drugs make too much money!

In a study ssri was no better than suger pills and yes the chemical imbalance is not fact its a theory but the drugs for Depression are a fix all for everything from PTSD even panic disorder i have took about all of them, xanax works and inderol works for PTSD but antidepressants nothing its a really big money maker but if you just wont to take something that works as good as a suger pill then take them

Give out some hugs, stop selling them addictive drugs.

anadrol,

you can't look at just one study. Look at the body of evidence, and it is favor of SSRIs. Sure there are people that do not respond for whatever reason-does not mean that the drugs are worthless

Trajectories of depression severity in clinical trials of duloxetine: insights into antidepressant and placebo responses.
Gueorguieva R, Mallinckrodt C, Krystal JH.

Source

Division of Biostatistics, School of Public Health, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, CT 06520-8034, USA. ralitza.gueorguieva@yale.edu

That's why they also did the study about the possibility's of dying of a broken heart, especially after a loved one has passed.

After 56 years together, my mother died from complications of a serious illness. My father, who was in very good health (had just had a complete physical, was told he was fine) died four months to the day after her.

I absolutely believe that one can 'die of a broken heart.' Dad may have been physically healthy, but half of his life was gone.

However, I don't think it's something that could be 'medicated away.' Anti-depressants have their place for some people, the ones that actually do have physical imbalance in their brain chemistry.

I agree with the concerns about 'medicalizing' everything. Just because someone may be a bit off from your definition of normal, does not mean they need drugs to fix it.

The "broken heart" syndrome is real. I know of a case where a young mother was killed in a accident. Her husband and children grieved horribly. Ten years later he would still break into sobs if he thought about it. The young woman was her mother's only child. Her mother was hospitalized after her daughter's death, and died within 6 months. (Even though she had grandchildren that needed her love.) Everyone said she died of a broken heart. It was as if her whole reason for being was gone. (Yes, she was married, and her husband lived for another 45 years.) So...who is to say that "broken heart" syndrome is not real??? It may be a big step beyond what is considered depression.

We don't need a change of definition.

If grieving has caused clinical depression then it will be quite evident.

This will be used as another excuse to prescribe unnecessary medications.

.

There are so many things that man just cannot understand at this time. A hundred years ago science looked at things differently, and a hundred years from now, science will also look at things differently.

I TOTALLY believe that there are many physical and mental issues that are yet to be understood, or even known. Mental illness is a real disease, and it effects thousands. For some, who's brain's don't quite fire just right, medication may help. For others, a good counselor is a tremendous help. For me, the latter was highly beneficial. I had the option of taking drugs, but I chose not to.

Through several years of counseling, I grieved, got angry, got sad, got mad, and worked my way through the pain. I wish others could do the same. We are all different, even if we are the same............I just think there are still mountains to climb, and discoveries to make when it comes to mental illness, depression, grieving etc. And I hope that people out there can get the help they need, whether it be a medication, or counseling. In either case, they all need support and encouragement.

Awwww. Makes you glad to be a human being~So sweet and just in time for Valentine's Day.

but i think it is pretty well knowwn that about two months after experiencing the death of a loved one, there is another wave of fresh grief. shock is wearing off, and you are hit with the reality.

Actually it is 2 weeks not 2 months. The person needs to show symptoms in 5 of 9 categories. I find a lot of this discussion laughable if it weren't for the persons whom suffer from this very debilitating disease.

Being married to a severe depressive for years, I can say with certainty that they would be happy if it was only a grieving issue. I do agree it has some of the same elements, but isn't anything like the miserable life of anxiety a person with severe depression goes through.

I go to all my spouse's appointments and have also found many healthcare "professionals" totally unprepared in dealing with the depression. The most honest answers I've ever gotten was from a GP doctor who admitted they don't have many answers or understanding. As far as just being a brain chemical issue, the serotonin is in fact probably up to 90% present in the intestinal tract and that is why depressives often have irritable bowel type syptoms too.

The meds, yeah my spouse is typical of many persons who ACTUALLY have severe symptoms and they have tried many types of meds with a lot of different side affects. Each person reacts differently. Some meds work for a while before you need to switch to others. It is a shell game and finding relief almost akin to winning a lottery.

Personally I find it very disgraceful to have ad after ad about needing these antidepressives on TV. If it were up to some of these folks and the pharmaceutical corporations, everyone including grandma would get their daily dosing along with the family dog. Unfortunately while there are qualified persons in this field it is hard to find one who really cares enough to help find answers as many times the issues is very convoluted

Grieving the loss of a child turns all of the time lines upside down. You barely get out of shock the first YEAR. And there is physical pain in your heart. I don't think it requires medication in most cases, but grief does need to be worked through, it is a long painful process, and masking the pain/depression with meds doesn't end it, it can mask it, but until it is processed and worked through, it is still there, lurking, waiting to be dealt with. And it can wait there for decades.

So how do YOU explain all that has been learned in just the last 5-10 years about our brains and how our brain chemistry forms and affects us?

Depression is not "just the blues" or "feeling sad." THAT is a fact which has been understood for a long, long time.

Maybe some refresher reading of current information about the subject would be interesting to you. Mythical and "gossiped" knowledge helps no one and actually does more harm than good.

to Anindividual....there are NO studies showing brain chemisty actually causes depression....it is all supposition that has never been proven. The antidepressant drugs "work" in a small number of patients, but that FACT has not stopped the FDA from approving them to be used on people. A recent study in fact showed that the strongest link to drug efficacy (effectiveness) was if the patient THOUGHT they were getting a drug, rather than a placebo. It was that thought of getting a drug that actually was coorelated with improvement. Stop buying into this crap, read the studies yourself, and understand that linkage doesn't necessarily mean causation.

tampacycler you said it much better than I did

tampa and anadrol,

you two are just ignorant of the data

Behav Brain Res. 2012 Jan 17. [Epub ahead of print]
Endogenous ciliary neurotrophic factor modulates anxiety and depressive-like behavior.
Peruga I, Hartwig S, Merkler D, Thöne J, Hovemann B, Juckel G, Gold R, Linker RA.

Source

Department of Neurology, St. Josef-Hospital, Ruhr-University Bochum, Universitätsstr. 150, Bochum, Germany.

Abstract

On a molecular level, depression is characterized by an altered monoaminergic neurotransmission as well as a modulation of cytokines and other mediators in the central nervous system. In particular, neurotrophic factors may influence affective behavior including depression and anxiety. Ciliary neurotrophic factor (CNTF) plays an important role in the regulation of neuronal development, neuroprotection and may also influence cognitive processes. Here we investigate the affective behavior in mice deficient for CNTF (CNTF -/- mice) at young age of 10-20 weeks. CNTF -/- mice displayed an increased anxiety-like behavior with a 30% reduction of the time spent in the bright compartment of the light/dark box as well as a significantly increased startle response. In the learned helplessness paradigm, CNTF -/- mice are more prone to depressive-like behavior. In the hippocampus of 20 weeks old, but not 10 weeks old, CNTF -/- mice, these changes correlated with a loss of parvalbumin immunoreactive GABAergic interneurons and a reduction of serotonin levels as well as 5-HT receptor 1A expression. Modulation of monoaminergic neurotransmitter levels via chronic application of the antidepressants amitriptyline and citalopram did not exert beneficial effects. These data imply that endogenous CNTF plays a pivotal role for the structural maintenance of hippocampal functions and thus has an important impact on the modulation of affective behavior in rodent models of anxiety and depression.

Copyright © 2012. Published by Elsevier B.V.

Eric...for some here it's not a case of ignorance but of trying to push their own social agenda.

"Maybe some people r born depressed."

Please share the basis for such a statement. (Site sources)

Definition of depression--"absence of an antidepression pill"

People who suffer from depression that reoccurs often have common elements present. They have a family history of dysfunctionlity and there was trauma. There is some belief that it is genetic predisposition and hereditary. The depressive person then needs to be exposed to trauma to have it a problem. It doesn't always happen of course. I have questioned many doctors about this and most conclude there is a deffinite link.Contrary to what some state here there are those that can not get thru the day without some of these anti depressives as many do contain seritonin. My spouse is one of them, they have tried everthing from highly respected medicine men of Mexico to smoking marijuana for years. The antidepressives are still necessary for them. So to those that say just do without, you haven't a clue about which your stating this.

Yeah, right, great idea, Let's have them cover the "bargaining " stage....If my doggie comes back I will get a new BMW for him to ride in, when is my insurance check for the bimmer going to arrive in the mail? LOL

I am sorry that you feel that way. I think you probably have some kind of genetic predisposition towards depression. My ex-husband is this way too, he never really had a point in his life where he was truly happy. I feel very sad for people like you and pray you find peace.

someday, you DO need to be there for your kids. Don't give up, go find another doctor and read books to start taking steps to change your thinking. It is possible to reprogram your negative thoughts. You have good reasons for feeling depressed, but you don't have to let them dictate your entire life. And you may not have fully grieved your mom, who was probably the source of your strength and now she is gone you feel even more alone. Some grief support groups can help (and if the first one doesn't, find another one). One of the best ways to feel better about yourself is to help others who need it. There is always somebody else who has it worse than you, and even when it is hard, one step at a time works. I hope you work through this, and your kids can be a huge motivator.

I'm so sorry that you had to and are going through the loss of a child. It's a grief that no one should ever feel. Bless you and I understand what you mean about enduring the pain.

It's a horrible thing to go through. I have two kids and can only imagine the grief you must go through. But it is NOT a medical problem caused by disordered brain chemistry, and drugs are not the answer. Time, and space are the only true answers and no matter how much time passes, there will always be occasional episodes of grief when you remember your child. These will become less frequent, you will find new things to do in your life. NOT a replacement for your child, but rather a distraction from all the good memories that you have of her/him before the loss. Most people do eventually function quite well, it just takes time, more so for some than others. Be with people who love you, care about you, and are interested in things that you are. Don't hang with the shrinks who want to medicate you, and charge you a fortunate and a lot of your time to have you pour out your sex history to them. I am a physician and I am telling you this! Take charge of your life, admit that it won't be easy (such a loss never is) don't try to explain or blame it on yourself or anybody, and realize that it will take a while, but that each day will be a little better.

Sorry to hear about your loss! Taking an SSRI has not been shown to delay grieving and in some cases if it's severe such can help, but protracted distracting, denying, or other ways of avoiding the grieving process in some cases has been shown unhelpful. That said, I don't support just medicating someone for grieivng until psychotherapy has been tried.

I also believe that depression often is a symptom of grieving and at some point it can become a disorder. An example: A man who loses his family in a motor vehicle collision. He grieves for years and eventually loses his job and home and becomes homeless. He's also suicidal. In that case it's not hard to see how grief transitioned from normal grieving to a major depressive disorder.

One of the most common questions is How long is it appropriate to grieve? There is no exact answer to that question. It depends on the culture and the person. Turning the question around is helpfuland asking, how much longer do they feel that they should so severely lament the loss of their loved one? It sets someone up to think that it's ok to eventually release some of that grief. Some may say 1 month, one week, forever, or it has been going on too long. That's often after they've been grieving for months and are seeking help. From there with therapy they can then work to prepare for that time to or restart their lives.

The important thing to remember is that you don't have to suffer alone, there is a professional out there who can help, and just because you seek out help does not mean that you have a mental illness.

What if I had chosen to live in a medicated fog as people thought I should? Would it just delay the full process of grieveing? I mean, you have to really feel to grieve don't you? It's an honest question so if you have an answer I would love to hear.

So sorry about your daughter, I know how you feel, I lost my daughter 5 years ago and I think about her EVERY day, without trying. I suggest The Compassionate Friends (grief group for the loss of a child). As to your question on anti-depressants, I can tell you there are people that have come into the group who have not dealt with the grief fully (some used anti-depressants, some didn't) and 20 years later are still in the beginning stages of grief that weren't dealt with when it happened. I personally felt physical pain associated with my grief, a broken heart really hurts. I live my life fully, but the grief is part of me, and probably will be the rest of my life, I've just learned to deal with it as best I could and live WITH it. The loss of a child is the worst grief, and there is no time line and no right or wrong way to grieve, but you must go through that painful process if you want a real life back, even if it will never be the same life you used to have, and probably not as good (as hard as that sounds). It can still be a good life. I don't see how a person can circumvent the grief process though.

yep and the Republican National Committee can continue to kiss my ass!!

that @!$%# really isnt funny @!$%#, I live in Kansas!

Dianetics? Are you a Scientologist?

I don't think ANYTHING can just "erase" grief, especially when it concerns the loss of a child. Maybe it can help dealing with it, everybody needs to find their own way.

just hope everyone that you love are not taken from this earth instantly,while you are left to go on. The little bit of welfare didnt even help jackass.

So right, Marsha. My BF's father suffers from depression. It took him a long time to find the right drug cocktail, but the side effects induced Parkinson's disease. Now, he has depression and Parkinson's and I feel terrible for him. It's very hard to get medications right for both diseases.

If you ask him, he'll tell you that he would prioritize reducing his depression over the Parkinson's meds because he'd rather have his mind right than his body. People really don't understand how tragic real depression is and how hard it is to manage.

I hope he never has to make a choice. I hope the doctors can find a way to manage both diseases for him so that he can have a tolerable quality of life.

Thank you Anita, I thought I was 'depressed' really. I put my dog down August of 2010 and its still very hard for me to think of her without crying. According to this article I am taking 'too long' to get over it. I can't possibly accept that the 'powers that be' want us to 'get over a grievous loss' in 'just one month' by using medication?