Depression and Anxiety Disorders

Depression and Anxiety are two forms of emotional disorders. Depression is a psychological problem which is caused by chemical imbalance in the human brain. Anxiety, on the other hand, is a type of an emotional disturbance caused due to imbalances in the body. In both the conditions, person becomes lethargic and his or her appetite decreases.

Depression and Anxiety disorders have a variety of symptoms. Feelings of hopelessness, negativity, persistent sadness, feeling of guilt, worthlessness, lack of concentration and decreased energy are few symptoms of Depression. The common symptoms of Anxiety are tension about daily problems, emotional tremors, feeling of dying, dizziness, light headedness, nausea, difficulty in breathing and constant fear of loosing control.

Depression and Anxiety disorders affect the life of a person in many ways. The person might get irritated or ill tempered due to Depression and Anxiety. The erratic behavior of the patient can take them away from the social life or friends. This further increases the problem. Many of the adults experience sleep disorders due to Depression and Anxiety. It is because they keep on thinking about the daily happenings or old problems before going to sleep.

Depression and Anxiety disorders can not be fully cured. But, they can be treated with the help of appropriate therapies and medical aid. Anti-Anxiety, Anti-Depressants and many other medications can be prescribed to the patients. The medical practitioners hold consultation sessions to understand the mental condition of the patient. This follows a proper treatment of the patient.

The most effective therapy used in the treatment of Depression and Anxiety disorders is Cognitive Behavior Therapy. Cognitive Behavior Therapy combines two effective types of psychotherapy: Cognitive Therapy and Behavior Therapy. The goal of Behavior Therapy is to weaken the connections between troublesome situations and ones habitual reactions to them. And the aim of Cognitive Therapy is focused on how certain thinking patterns cause or increase emotional reactions. All this helps patients to lower their Depression and Anxiety.

It hangs from the ceiling above your bed while you toss through the night hours. It waits inside the door of every employment office you enter. It dogs your footsteps as you pound the job search pavement. It lounges in an empty chair as you crawl through another desultory interview. It sits on your shoulder while you balance your checkbook’s alarmingly diminishing balance.

Its name is anxiety. It’s made up of fear, self-doubt, guilt, dread, and self-reproach. It ties your stomach in knots, makes sweat ooze from your pores, makes your head hurt, your memory blur, and your concentration dissipate. You can’t wash it away, will it away or beat it away. The only way to contain it is to embrace it, to make it your ally and your friend. How?

1. Although anxiety can unnerve you and make you feel paralyzed, consider its ability to energize you. Watch it carefully, without emotion or judgment distorting your vision, and you will see it raise the hairs on your neck, excite your thought processes, heighten your senses, stir your imagination and make you keenly aware of being alive. Trace its pathway through your body, coursing through your veins and touching every part of each extremity. Instead of fighting it, embrace it as if it were a natural amphetamine, a pill that makes you feel a little strange but also exhilarated.

2. Learn to recognize when it will come and anticipate its arrival with excitement. Without it, you are flat, beaten, dejected. Wait for it to come, welcome it, and view it as your body’s ally to focus yourself on the job search situation. Have your anxiety stay close to you, forcing you to be aware of your surroundings and ready to express your thoughts and feelings to a potential employer with enthusiasm and energy.

3. Talk to your anxiety as if with an old friend. Look at it as your best personal source of familiarity, camaraderie and support. Let it work for you, not against you and you have not only tamed the beast but have created a more enjoyable and positive environment for yourself. Your self-doubts will always linger but they are at a manageable level where you can calmly push them into the background while you concentrate on making a great self-presentation.

After a short amount of practice, you will find yourself almost in a panic before the anxiety arrives because you need that charge of energy to get you going and move you forward. Try it and see if it works for you.

About the Author

Dr. Bola operated a rehabilitation company, developing innovative job search techniques for disabled workers, for 20 years. A licensed clinical psychologist, she developed vocational programs for the mentally ill, served as a Vocational Expert for Social Security, Civil Court, and pioneered vocational testimony in Workers’ Compensation Hearings. She is author of The Wolf at the Door: An Unemployment Survival Manual (Authorhouse.com)

Does your child exhibit separation anxiety at daycare drop-off? Do you spend more than fifteen minutes struggling to calm your child’s fears? You are not alone. All parents at one time or another have experienced guilt, fear and remorse at the very thought of leaving their hysterical child in the arms of a non-relative.

Separation anxiety affects both parents and children. Children display their discontent and fears by throwing temper trantrums, clinging onto parents for long periods and ignoring attempts by their daycare provider to calm their fears. Parents display separation anxiety by hesitating to exit the daycare, clinging onto their child for prolonged periods and performing disappearing acts when their child is not looking.

To help ease separation anxiety, change must start with the parents. Parents must first calm their own fears and insecurities. When children see parents more relaxed and confident at drop-off they begin to slowly warm up to their daycare provider and adjust to their new daycare setting. Parents can plan ahead of time by using some of these creative ideas to help ease separation anxiety.

Temporary Tatoos …

Visit your local grocery store and ask your child to choose a temporary tatoo of his favorite cartoon character. At bedtime discuss going to daycare with your child. Offer to place the tatoo on his hand as a special reminder that you are with him always. Remind him at drop-off that when he looks at the tatoo, he will know that you love him dearly and will soon pick him up after work.

Popsicle Treats …

Popsicles, especially on hot days, are a great treat for children. Purchase a pack with a variety of primary and secondary colors. Use the popsicles to teach him about secondary colors. Show him that two primary-colored popsicles can combine to form a secondary-colored popsicle. At daycare drop-off ask your child which color he would like to have at the end of the day. Ask him which flavor he thinks is associated with that color. Reassure him that he will be receiving his treat at the end of the day and that you will share precious time with him after returning from work.

Surprise Boxes …

Keep surprise boxes in your vehicle. Explain to your child that he may open the surpise box if he is good throughout the week. The surprise box may contain baby photos of your child, his favorite storybook, a favorite snack and a simple craft item that he can quickly put together.

Healthy Snacks …

Visit your local grocery store with your child and ask him to choose a variety of healthy kid snacks that he will pack and carry to daycare. Many children who are adjusting to daycare need something familiar to hold onto as they try to feel secure and comfortable being away from parents. If your daycare provider prepares meals, gradually reduce the number of snacks in your child’s lunch box until your child starts eating the foods prepared at the daycare.

Bedtime Stories …

Visit your local library and borrow books that focus on children going to daycare. Read these books at bedtime. From the pictures in the storybook your child will see other children going to daycare and will understand that he is not the only one experiencing separation anxiety. Ask your child about his day at daycare and try to determine if he is adjusting slowly or not adjusting at all. After a week or two most children adjust nicely to new daycare settings. For some children it may take longer.

If you suspect that your child is still not adjusting try to drop by the daycare unannounced to see if your child is interacting with the other kids. Look at his interaction with the daycare provider and the types of activities he is engaged in. Discuss any of your concerns with your daycare provider and allow time for adjustment. If there is no change after about a week or two try looking into other childcare options which may be better suitable for your child.

About the Author

Nicole Brekelbaum is the director at Young Achievers Inc. - A home-based learning center for aspiring youth located in Pflugerville, Texas. She has been providing childcare in her home since her career switch from working engineer to childcare director and mom.

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About the Author

Teacher: Keeper of the Flame

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Title: DO YOU LOVE SOMEONE WHO SUFFERS FROM DEPRESSION?
Author: Dave Turo-Shields, ACSW, LCSW
Email: mailto:editor@overcoming-depression.com
Copyright: by Dave Turo-Shields, ACSW, LCSW
Web Address: http://www.Overcoming-Depression.com
Word Count: 978
Category: DEPRESSION - FAMILY - HOME LIFE

DO YOU LOVE SOMEONE WHO SUFFERS FROM DEPRESSION?

Relationships in which one individual is depressed are nine
times more likely to divorce. Wow, the normal divorce rate
is already over 60% nationally! But, it’s not always a
spouse who is depressed, sometimes it is a child or an
extended family member.

In this article, however, we’ll be focusing on depressed
partners. Most people agree that marriage should be 50/50.
We all know this is an ideal, and, with the ebb-and-flow of
marriage, the percentages slide up and down but should do
so in both directions. For instance, one week the wife
gives 70% and the husband 30% and another week the husband
give 80% and the wife 20%. This is the way “ideal”
marriages work.

Unfortunately, this is not the case when chronic depression
enters the marriage. Let’s say that the husband has
chronic depression. The wife may pick up many of the tasks
that would customarily fall to the husband. Depending on
how long this goes on, an avalanche of negative momentum
begins.

The longer this process goes on, the more the wife begins
to feel resentful, hence, there is less compassion for the
one struggling with depression. Yet, for the wife, it’s
like being a single mother while married. I’ve been told
by many spouses that it would be easier to be a single
parent than to live with a spouse struggling with
depression, because it’s like having a special-needs child
in addition to all the other responsibilities.

I do not make any of these remarks to assign blame or
heighten anyones sense of being victimized. It’s very
important to understand that EVERYONE suffers when
depression attacks a loved one. Blame only functions to
create animosity and distance between two loved ones.

Sometimes the spouse of a depressed partner becomes
depressed as a result of living within a “depressed
lifestyle” for too long. Depression is said to be
contagious and can become a shroud over the spouse or
family. It’s also vital to consider that depression may
not only be genetic, but it can also be taught. You heard
me right. For instance, our children’s most powerful
classroom is the home. Both “Nature and Nurture”
contribute to depression.

Depression works its way into your moods, attitudes,
behaviors, tone of voice, posture, life outlook, personal
hygiene, work ethic, spiritual beliefs and so on. If you
live in a “depression atmosphere” you are constantly
modeling and teaching how to be depressed. I hope this
serves as inspiration for change, not shame. Shame only
feeds the power of depression.

The first step in a plan of action is to know that it is
actually depression that you’re dealing with. I won’t go
into those details here. You can find those answers at the
listed in my biography below.

Naming and accepting the problem is half the battle, for
BOTH spouses. Why? Well, when folks are depressed, there
is no obvious scientific evidence to prove it. And yet
people have an instinctive need to what is causing such
pain. The depressed person may project their negative
feelings onto those closest to them, i.e. a spouse, a boss,
the children, the neighbors etc. If you’re married to a
depressed person, at times you may question your own sanity.

You might blame external sources for your spouse’s
suffering. Without understanding, you might attack your
spouse, assuming they do not care or are lazy. What
appears to be marital problems, may, in fact, be depression.
But certainly marital problems can develop over time when
depression goes untreated.

Another important fact to point out is that men and women
experience depression differently and each will respond
differently when their spouse is depressed. This requires
two separate articles just to begin to respectively cover
gender issues involved in depression.

Here’s what to do. First and foremost, realize that
depression is the foe, not your spouse. Developing a “we”
instead of an “I” approach to depression treatment is vital.
A good recovery motto might be best summed up from the
cartoon, Bob the Builder: “Can WE do it? Yes WE can!”

Do everything you can to learn about depression. Seek
professional advice. If depression has been present for a
long time, both the relationship and the depression will
require attention.

Have individual and marital recovery plans. It’s the
surest way to give depression the one-two punch that can
knock it out of your lives. Write your recovery plans down
and spend time reviewing, modifying and noting progress
made.

Once depression is stabilized, create a list of “red
flag” symptoms. This serves as your safety net. If these
symptoms recur it would indicate that prompt attention is
required. Then list solutions you each are willing to act
on if you notice symptoms reappearing. Commit to this in
writing and each of you sign it.

Create external support systems. Note that I did not say
external griping sessions. There’s a major difference
between griping and purging. The former only feeds
righteous resentment, and deepens the depression problem
overall, and the latter helps clean you out.

Support pillars can be comprised of friends, colleagues,
churches, support groups and any place you decide is safe
to disclose to. Do not hide your dirty laundry in the
closet, so-to-speak. Depression loves to isolate
individuals, marriages and entire families. It’s one of
the primary ways it grows strong.

Do recovery activities together. Attend therapy or
psychiatry sessions together. Participate in online
counseling together. Read a depression recovery book
together. Exercise together, pray together or keep a mood
log together. If your children are at the appropriate age,
educate them about chronic depression. There are good
childrens books on chronic parent illness.

Most importantly, develop the “WE!” It’s you and your
spouse against this powerful depression foe. Together you
can do this!

Best recovery wishes and always let me know if I can be of
any help.

About the Author

Dave Turo-Shields, ACSW, LCSW is an author, university
faculty member, success coach and veteran psychotherapist
whose passion is guiding others to their own success in
life. For weekly doses of the webs HOTTEST success tips,
sign up for Dave’s powerful “Feeling Great!” ezine at
http://www.Overcoming-Depression.com