THE HOLY BIBLE

Depression/PTSD

Before spiritual help can be offered and for it to be effective, there must first exist an understanding of the reality of the physical aspects of these problems. The following are excerpts from www.emedicinehealth.com to provide some perspective concerning the medical reality of these areas that some people will experience at some point in their lifetime.

Clinical Depression

Throughout the course of our lives, we all experience episodes of unhappiness, sadness, or grief. Often, when a loved one dies, or we suffer a personal tragedy or difficulty such as divorce or loss of a job, we may feel depressed (some people call this "the blues"). Most of us are able to cope with these and other types of stressful events.

Over a period of days or weeks, the majority of us are able to return to our normal activities. But when these feelings of sadness and other symptoms make it hard for us to get through the day, and when the symptoms last for more than a couple of weeks, we may have what is called clinical depression. The term "clinical depression" is usually used to distinguish "true" depression from "the blues."

Clinical depression is not just grief or sadness. It is an illness that can challenge your ability to perform even routine daily activities. At its worst, depression may lead you to contemplate or commit suicide. Depression represents a burden for both you and your family. Sometimes that burden can seem overwhelming.

There are several different types of mood disorders.

Major depression is a change in mood that lasts for weeks or months. It is one of the most severe types of depression. It usually involves a low or irritable mood and/or a loss of interest or pleasure in usual activities. It interferes with one's normal functioning. A person may experience only one episode, but often there are repeated episodes over the lifetime.
Dysthymia is less severe than major depression but usually goes on for a longer period, often several years. There are usually periods of feeling fairly normal between episodes of low mood. The symptoms usually do not completely disrupt one's normal activities.
Bipolar disorder involves episodes of depression, usually severe, alternating with episodes of extreme elation called mania. This condition is sometimes called by its older name, manic depression.
Seasonal depression, which medical professionals call seasonal affective disorder, or SAD, is depression that occurs only at a certain time of the year, usually winter. It is sometimes called winter blues. Although it is predictable, it can be very severe.

Adjustment disorder is distress that occurs in relation to a stressful life event. It is usually an isolated reaction that resolves when the stress passes. Although it may be accompanied by a depressed mood, it is not considered depression.

Some people believe that depression is "normal" in people who are elderly, have other health problems, have setbacks or other tragedies, or have bad life situations. On the contrary, clinical depression is always abnormal and always requires attention from a medical or mental health professional.

Clinical depression affects about 19 million Americans annually. It is estimated to contribute to half of all suicides. About 5-10 percent of women and 2-5 percent of men will experience at least one major depressive episode during their adult life. Depression affects people of all races, incomes, and ages, but it is 3-5 times more common in the elderly than in young people.

The good news is that depression can be diagnosed and treated effectively in most people. The biggest barrier to overcome is recognizing that someone is depressed and seeking appropriate treatment.

Depression Causes

The causes of depression are complex. Genetic, biological, and environmental factors can contribute to its development. Some people's depression can be traced to a single cause, while in others a number of causes are at play. For many, the causes are never known.

Currently, it appears that depression occurs as a result of abnormalities in the levels of certain chemicals in the brain.
- These chemicals are called neurotransmitters.
- The abnormalities are thought to be biological, and are not caused by anything you did.
While we still don't know exactly how levels of these neurotransmitters affect mood, we do know that the levels can be affected by a number of factors.
- Heredity - Certain types of depression seem to run in certain families. Research is ongoing as to exactly which genes are involved in depression. Just because someone is your family has depression, however, doesn't mean you will. Likewise, you can become depressed even if no one else in your family is known to have depression.
- Personality - People with certain personality traits are more likely to become depressed. These include negative thinking, pessimism, excess worry, low self-esteem, overdependence on others, and ineffective responses to stress.
- Situations - Difficult life events, loss, change, or persistent stress can cause neurotransmitters to become unbalanced, leading to depression. Even happy events, such as childbirth, can be stressful and cause postpartum depression.
- Medical conditions - Depression is more likely to occur with certain medical conditions. These "co-occurring" conditions include heart disease, stroke, diabetes, cancer, hormonal disorders (especially hypothyroidism, or "low thyroid"), Parkinson disease, and Alzheimer disease. Clinical depression should not be considered a "normal" or "natural" reaction to such illness.
- Medications - Some medications used for long periods, such as certain blood pressure medicines, sleeping pills, and even birth control pills in some cases, can cause depression.
- Substance abuse - While it has long been believed that depression caused people to misuse alcohol and drugs in an attempt to make themselves feel better ("self-medication"), it is now thought that the reverse is often the case; substance abuse can actually cause depression.
- Diet - Deficiencies in certain vitamins, such as folic acid and B-12, may cause depression. Low levels of these vitamins also may prevent antidepressant medication from working properly.
Certain people are more likely to develop clinical depression. The following are risk factors for depression in adults:
- Female sex
- Advanced age
- Lower socioeconomic status
- Recent stressful life experience
- Chronic (long-term) medical condition
- Underlying emotional or personality disorder
- Substance abuse (such as alcohol, sleeping medications, medications for panic or anxiety, cocaine)
- Family history of depression, especially in a close relative (such as parent, brother or sister, or child)
- Lack of social support
Many of these risk factors also apply to children. Other risk factors for depression in children include the following:
- Continual mental or emotional stress, at home or at school
- A recent loss
- Attention, learning, or conduct disorder
- Obesity
Risk factors for depression in elderly people include those listed for adults. Especially important are the following:
- Co-occurring illnesses - These become much more important risk factors in the elderly because of the higher incidence of these illnesses in older people. Diseases with which depression is more likely to occur include heart disease, stroke, diabetes, cancer, thyroid disease, Parkinson disease, and Alzheimer disease--all diseases that are much more common in elderly people than in other age groups.
- Medication effects - Like co-occurring illnesses, drug use is much more common in the elderly. Depression is a side effect of some medications in the elderly.
- Not taking medication for medical conditions - Some medical conditions, if untreated, may cause depression. An example is hypothyroidism (low thyroid).
- Living alone, social isolation
- Being recently widowed

Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)

What Is PTSD?

Posttraumatic stress disorder, also known as PTSD, is among only a few mental disorders that are triggered by a disturbing outside event, quite unlike depression or other mental disorders.

Many Americans will experience traumatic events ranging from car and airplane accidents to sexual assault and war. Such experiences also include domestic violence, natural disasters such as hurricanes, earthquakes, and tornadoes. Dramatic and tragic events as the terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon occur. Simply, PTSD is a state in which you "can't stop remembering."

In 1 out of 10 Americans, the traumatic event will cause a cascade of psychological and biological changes known as posttraumatic stress disorder. Wars throughout the ages often triggered what some people called "shell shock," in which returning soldiers were unable to adapt to life after war. And although wars renewed attention on this syndrome, it wasn't until the Vietnam War that PTSD was first identified and given a name. Now, mental health providers such as psychiatrists, psychologists, and other health care professionals can attempt to understand people’s response to these traumatic events and help them recover from the impact of the trauma.

Although the disorder must be diagnosed by a mental health professional, symptoms of PTSD are clearly defined. To be diagnosed with PTSD, you must have been in a situation in which you were afraid for your safety or your life, or you must have experienced something that made you feel fear, helplessness, or horror.

The worse the trauma, the more likely a person will develop PTSD, and the worse the symptoms. The most severely affected are unable to work, have trouble with relationships, and have great difficulty parenting their children.

Research has shown that PTSD changes the biology of the brain. MRI and PET scans show changes in the way memories are stored in the brain. PTSD is an environmental shock that changes your brain, and scientists do not know if it is reversible.

[biblical help references coming soon]

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