SUBJECT: Depression

see also: Alternate non-medical approaches

ASPECT/PERSPECTIVE: basic information-medical model

SUMMARY: This is an overview from the net:

Depression FAQ

This FAQ (Frequently Asked Questions) is now almost identical to the version released by Cynthia Frazer late on July 1994. I have made minor corrections and added some comments, as well as tiny bits of information for non-US readers. The book list of this FAQ is extended from the original. The actual contents were last modified: Sun Aug 14 20:27:46 EET DST 1994. Contents:

• Depression primer (definitions, concepts)
• Causes
• Treatment
• Medication
• ECT
• Relation to substance abuse and alcohol
• How to seek help and find a doctor
• Resources: books, Internet...

You can also download the entire alt.support.depression FAQ as an ascii file.

Depression primer

• What is depression?
• What is major depression?
• What is dysthymia?
• What is bipolar depression (manic-depressive illness)?
• What is Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD)?
• What is Post Partum Depression?
• How is bereavement different from depression?
• What is Endogenous Depression?
• What is atypical depression?
• What are the typical symptoms of depression?
• What are the diagnostic criteria for depression?

Causes

• What causes depression?
• What initiates the alteration in brain chemistry?
• Is a tendency to depression inherited?

Treatment

• General
  • How can I help myself get through depression on a day-to-day basis?
  • How may I measure the effects my treatment is having on my depression?
  • What sorts of psychotherapy are effective for depression?

• Medication
  • Do certain drugs work best with certain depressive illnesses? What are the guidelines for choosing a drug?
  • How do you tell when a treatment is not working? How do you know when to switch treatments?
  • How do antidepressants relieve depression?
  • Are Antidepressants just "happy pills?"
  • Will my personality change when I'm on Prozac?
  • What percentage of depressed people will respond to antidepressants?
  • What does it feel like to respond to an antidepressant? Will I feel euphoric if my depression responds to an antidepressant?
  • What are the major categories of anti-depressants?
  • What are the side-effects of some of the commonly used antidepressants?
  • What are some techniques that can be used by people taking antidepressants to make side effects more tolerable?
  • Many antidepressants seem to have sexual side effects. Can anything be done about those side-effects?
  • What should I do if my antidepressant does not work?
  • If an antidepressant has produced a partial response, but has not fully eliminated depression, what can be done about it?

• ECT
  • What is electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) and when is it used?;
  • Exactly what happens when someone gets ECT?
  • How do individuals who have had ECT feel about having had the treatments?
  • How long do the beneficial effects of ECT last?;
  • Is it true that ECT causes brain damage?;
  • Why is there so much controversy about ECT?

• Interactions
  • May I drink alcohol while taking antidepressants?
  • If I plan to drink alcohol while on medication, what precautions should I take?
  • What's the relationship between depression and recovery from substance abuse?;
  • What does the term "dual-diagnosis" mean?
  • Is it safe for a person recovering from substance abuse to take drugs?

• Seeking help
  • How do you know when depression is severe enough that help should be sought?
  • Where should a person go for help?
  • Where can I find help in the United Kingdom?
  • Where can I find out about support groups for depression?
  • How can family and friends help the depressed person?
  • What should you look for in a doctor? How can you tell if he/she really understands depression?

Resources

• Books
• Famous people who suffer from depression and bipolar disorder
• Electronic resources on the Internet related to depression
• How can I post anonymously to Alt.support.depression?

Original Intro (of Alt.support.depression and this FAQ) and Information sources used & Acknowledgements from the original FAQ are also available.

Like in movies, the important people are listed here at the end:

Alt.support.depression FAQ maintainer: Cynthia Frazier (cf12@CORNELL.edu) Major contributor: Dr Ivan K. Goldberg (psydoc@psycom.net) Book list: Dan Ash (danash@aol.com) etc ... see the list of original contributors for more.

Last modified: Mon Mar 11 09:49:33 1996

SUBMITTED BY: Cynthia Frazier (cf12@CORNELL.edu)

Major contributor: Dr Ivan K. Goldberg (psydoc@psycom.net) Book list: Dan Ash (danash@aol.com)

REFERENCES & LINKS: http://www.psych.helsinki.fi/~janne/mood/mood.html http://www.psych.helsinki.fi/~janne/asdfaq/#concepts

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