Wellness Wednesday- Depression

Its WEDNESDAY!!! Which means we are that much closer to Friday. For the second addition of wellness Wedneday I decided to talk about depression.Depression is very common in males and females. However as progressive as society is there is still a stigmatism related to mental illness and a lot of those inflicted with depression tend to suffer alone, in silence. Those who are unfamiliar with depression or have never experienced do not understand why their friend or loved one cannot seem to “get over it…move on…cheer up.” It is hard to understand why some people struggle in dealing with daily life stressors. Clinical depression is much more than “feeling down.” It is a chemical imbalance that has to do with hormones. The clinical definition found in the Diagnostic Statiscal Manual of Mental Disorders or DSM is as follows:



 



 

 

 

A.   Five or more of the following symptoms have been present during the same 2 week period and represent a change from previous functioning: at least 1 of the symptoms of depressed mood or loss of interest.

1. Depressed mood.

2. Markedly diminished interest or pleasure in all or almost all activities.

3. Significant (>5% body weight) weight loss or gain, or increase or decrease in appetite.

      4. Insomnia or hypersomnia.

5. Psychomotor agitation or retardation.

6. Fatigue or loss of energy.

7. Feelings of worthlessness or inappropriate guilt.

                    8. Diminished concentration or indecisiveness.

       9. Recurrent thoughts of death or suicide.

B. the symptoms do not meet criteria for a mixed episode

C. The symptoms cause clinically significant distress or impairment in social, occupational or other important areas of functioning.

D. The symptoms are NOT cause by medical conditions or substance abuse

E. the symptoms are not better accounted for Bereavement, the symptoms persist for longer than 2 months or are characterized by marked functional impairment, morbid preoccupation with worthlessness suicidal ideation, psychotic symptoms, or psychomotor retardation

 

 

What this means is when you are bummed about a test, that extra pound on the scale, or whatever it is. You are NOT clinically depressed. It is important to note that the symptoms have to be occurring at the same two week time frame. For example of you are having an increase in appetite then 3 weeks later your appetite is back to normal but you are now sad (probably because of the weight gain) you are not depressed. Depression is very over diagnosed in some instances and under diagnosed in others.

It is over diagnosed as some people enter the clinic crying and naming all the symptoms and they clinician does not ask has there been any major change (death, loss of job etc). If there has been a major change and there were no symptoms prior then it is NOT clinical depression.

In other instances a person may have the symptoms and be the definition of depression but die to pride, cultural issues, lack of knowledge and many other reasons they never enter the clinic.

After reading this post you are NOT a professional. DO NOT try to self diagnose. However if this hits home for you or someone you know seek help within your community. Mental illness is serious and should not be taken lightly. There is nothing to be ashamed of if you feel depressed and struggle through daily life. There is no weakness in admitting that you need help. It is just the opposite, seeking out help when you need it shows that you are strong.

 

 

Wellness Wednesday

I have been scouring the blog world and what seems to be popular with moms and wives/ fiancés is we lose ourselves. I have read about 4 posts asking who am I…I too lose my own identity in the day to day hustle that is life.  So in an effort to stay true the Toya that is more than mini me’s mother or the Mr.’s fiancé I will be adding a little something each week to my blog…

 

 

As a mental health therapist in community mental health I see the worst of the worst. Think of the lowest of the socioeconomic status and the lowest level of education coupled with the highest level of illness. I am over worked highly underpaid and very much under appreciated. Let’s be clear no one ever gets into the helping profession for the money aside from doctors LOL. No seriously if you saw my check, and compared it to my work load, and expectations you would understand. Still I love helping others and I am passionate about mental illness. Mental illness is like the black sheep of the world. It gets the least amount of funding and attention. Think about it. When the election was happening did either candidate mention mental health? Education, homeland security, money, gay marriage, all very important and discussed to some degree but no one said boo about mental health. It was as if depression schizophrenia, depression, PTSD, addiction, anxiety, or paranoia we nonexistent. I could on and on about this for days but instead what I will do is weekly I will do a small education type post about mental health. These post will range from funny stories about my day to day grind, to education about specific illness, and just things that bug me in regards to mental illness…. We will start with the term “manic depressive.”  PLEASE PLEASE for the love of GOD, BUDDAH, BROTHER ROCK, and all things holy stop saying manic depressive. This is no longer an acceptable term. The correct term is bipolar (I will explain in a later post). Manic depressive was used in earlier versions of the DSM (another post) to describe a condition where the person goes from manic stages to depressed stages in there moods. This term is no longer appropriate and the only people who use it are those who do not know any better. Those of us in the field, or who have access to Google secretly laugh at you and think “Ha they are stupid who says that.”

 

So consider what are some things that bother you about your chosen profession? Is there anything in particular related to therapy or mental health you would like to see featured on one of these posts? Please comment and tell me what you think. I would love to hear from you.