Mental Health: Depression

Depression is a dysregulation of the brain function that control emotions (or moods). It is a mood disorder characterized by intense and persistent negative emotions. These emotions negatively impact people’s lives, causing social, educational, personal and family difficulties.

Depression is different than feeling sad or down. It is a medical condition affecting the way mood is controlled by the brain. Someone with Depression can’t just “snap out of it.” Depression affects the way he or she thinks, feels and acts. It becomes a negative lens through which he or she sees and experiences the world. 

When Depression happens, it often lasts for many months and then sometimes gets better. This is called an episode of Depression. Most people who get Depression will experience many episodes during their lifetime. Depression is often called Major Depressive Disorder (MDD).

Sometimes a negative event (such as the loss of a loved one, or severe and prolonged stress) will trigger an episode of Depression but often episodes will occur spontaneously. Depression is not caused by the usual stresses of life. Depression is often accompanied by feelings of anxiety and causes significant problems with family, friends, work or school. 

How can you tell if someone you know might have Depression?*

Depression, and other mental disorders, should only be diagnosed by a medical doctor, clinical psychologist, or a trained health provider who has spent time with the teenager and has conducted a proper mental health assessment. Diagnoses are complicated with many nuances. Please do not attempt to diagnose someone based on the symptoms you read about in magazines or on the internet. If you are concerned, speak to a trained health professional.

It can be confusing when people use the word “depression” to mean different things. We should try to save the word “depression” to mean the mental disorder of Depression, and use other, more exact words to describe the negative emotions that we feel. 

Use the Right Words!
USE RIGHT WORDS
There are 3 types of depressive disorders:
Major Depressive Disorder (MDD)

Someone with MDD will experience episodes of intense depression (lasting weeks to years), separated by periods of relatively stable mood. When people refer to Depression, they usually mean MDD.

Persistent Depressive Disorder (formerly Dysthymia) 

People with Persistent Depressive Disorder will experience depressive episodes that are less intense than in MDD but last much longer. For teenagers, these depressive episodes last at least one year and for adults, they last two years or more

Disruptive Mood Dysregulation Disorder

Children up to 18-years-old can be diagnosed with Disruptive Mood Dysregulation Disorder if they have persistent irritability and frequent episodes of unreasonable verbal and physical aggression.

To determine if someone you care about may be at risk for Depression, consider the following questions:

  • Does the person feel sad or low most of the time?
  • Has the person lost interest in activities he or she usually enjoys?
  • Does he or she have trouble concentrating?
  • Does he or she feel fatigued or tired much of the time?
  • Does he or she feel hopeless or worthless?
  • Does he or she experience much less enjoyment in life?
  • Has this behaviour lasted at least two weeks, and been present every day for most of the day?

There are three areas of symptoms that often present in youth experiencing depressive episodes. Here are some things to watch for:

Mood
  • Feeling persistently depressed, sad, unhappy or something similar
  • Feeling a loss of pleasure, or a noticeable disinterest in all or almost all activities
  • Feelings of worthlessness, hopelessness or excessive and inappropriate guilt
Thinking
  • Diminished ability to think, concentrate or make decisions
  • Suicidal thoughts/plans or preoccupation with death and dying

Body Sensations
  • Excessive fatigue or loss of energy
  • Significant sleep problems (difficulty falling asleep or sleeping excessively)
  • Physical slowness or, in some cases, restlessness
  • Significant decrease or increase in appetite that may lead to noticeable weight change

If someone in your life has five of the above symptoms (with at least one of them being a mood symptom) present every day for most of the day during the same two week period, then he or she may be experiencing Clinical Depression (MDD). Talk to your family doctor about your concerns. This behaviour cannot be due to a substance, medicine or another illness and must be different than the individual’s usual mood state.

*In accordance with the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, 5th Edition.

Remember, you cannot diagnose someone with Depression without a proper mental health assessment conducted by a properly trained health provider.

http://teenmentalhealth.org/learn/mental-disorders/depression/

Mental Health: Bipolar Disorder

Bipolar Disorder is a type of mood disorder. However, unlike in Depression, the problem in Bipolar Disorder is in the brain’s regulation of the usual ups and downs of normal mood. In Bipolar Disorder, people cycle between periods of Mania (i.e., feeling really elevated or irritable) and periods of either normal mood or Depression (i.e., feeling really sad and low). These cycles (sometimes called episodes) of Depression and Mania may be frequent (daily) or infrequent (years apart). Although adults in a manic episode can act euphoric and grandiose, young people in a manic episode can sometimes appear more irritable and grandiose.

Someone with Bipolar Disorder will usually experience a depressive episode before experiencing a manic episode, and may even have several depressive episodes prior to a manic episode. This is why some people with Bipolar Disorder are originally diagnosed with Depression.

How can you tell if someone you know might have Bipolar Disorder?*

Bipolar Disorder, and other mental disorders, should only be diagnosed by a medical doctor, clinical psychologist, or other trained health provider who has spent time with the teenager and has conducted a proper mental health assessment. Diagnoses are complicated with many nuances. Please do not attempt to diagnose someone based on the symptoms you read in magazines or on the internet. If you are concerned, speak to a trained health professional.

There are two types of Bipolar Disorder: 

  1. Bipolar I Disorder: The teenager must experience at least one manic episode, although he or she will likely also experience depressive episodes.
  2. Bipolar II Disorder: The teenager must experience at least one depressive episode and one hypomanic episode. A hypomanic episode is a less-severe version of a manic episode. See below for further details.
Depressive Episodes

These look similar to the depressive episodes experienced when someone has Depression. They occur nearly every day for at least two weeks and can include:

  • Feeling sad and low most of the day
  • Losing interest and pleasure in most activities
  • Losing or gaining a considerable amount of weight
  • Eating a lot more or a lot less than usual
  • Difficulty sleeping or sleeping all the time
  • Restlessness or a sense of moving in slow motion that is noticeable to others
  • Fatigue or lack of energy
  • Feeling worthless or guilty for no reason
  • Difficulty thinking or concentrating
  • Recurrent thoughts of death or suicide
Manic Episodes

These occur most of the day, nearly every day for at least one week. They can include:

  • Inflated self-esteem or grandiosity (e.g., acting like he or she is superior to others)
  • Little need for sleep (e.g., feeling rested after only 3 hours of sleep)
  • Need to continue talking – rapid and sometimes confused speech
  • Having too many thoughts at once, feeling a pressure of thoughts in his or her head
  • Acting distracted or unable to focus
  • Increase in goal-directed activity (e.g. either socially, at school or work) or restlessness, although the goal he or she is working toward may not make sense or be logical
  • Excessive involvement in risky activities with painful consequences (e.g., expensive shopping sprees, foolish business investments, drug use, sexual promiscuity)
  • In severe cases, people can experience hallucinations (i.e., hearing or seeing something that isn’t actually there) or delusions (i.e., believing something that isn’t true even when confronted with proof)
Hypomanic Episodes

These are similar to manic episodes and last for four consecutive days or longer, but don’t significantly interfere with the person’s ability to live his or her life. Because hypomanic symptoms are less severe, they don’t always seem problematic to the person, even though they’re an obvious departure from his or her usual behaviour. Although a person may be very productive and accomplish many tasks when experiencing Hypomania, he or she also may become involved in risky behaviour or activities that result in painful consequences.

These symptoms are much more severe and last longer than the regular ups and downs of life. Although most people’s moods change when they experience positive or negative events, the moods swings of someone with Bipolar Disorder occur without any external provocation and are not easily controlled by the person. Some individuals will experience a ‘mixed state’, which is Mania and Depression at the same time.

For many people with Bipolar Disorder, there may be periods of time (lasting from days to years) where the mood is under better control and more likely to stay within “usual” limits. This is especially true if the person is being successfully treated for the illness.

* Statistics are sourced from the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, 5th Edition.

Remember, you cannot diagnose someone with Bipolar Disorder without a proper mental health assessment conducted by a properly trained health provider.

http://teenmentalhealth.org/learn/mental-disorders/bipolar-disorder/

Mental Health Awareness: Impact of Mental Illness

IMPACT OF MENTAL ILLNESS

Mental illnesses are disorders of brain function. They have many causes and result from complex interactions between a person’s genes and their environment. Having a mental illness is not a choice or moral failing. Mental illnesses occur at similar rates around the world, in every culture and in all socio-economic groups.

The statistics are staggering, 1 in 5 young people suffer from a mental illness, that’s 20 percent of our population but yet only about 4 percent of the total health care budget is spent on our mental health.

MENTAL ILLNESSES

The impact is more than in statistics and factoids, it’s in feelings and emotions. It’s in our families, with our friends and in our communities. Having a mental disorder should not be any different than experiencing a physical illness. And it doesn’t have to be; you can help make a difference.

A mental illness makes the things you do in life hard, like: work, school and socializing with other people. If you think you (or someone you know) might have a mental disorder, it is best to consult a professional as soon as possible. Early identification and effective intervention is the key to successfully treating the disorder and preventing future disability. A health care professional (doctor, mental health specialist, etc) will connect the symptoms and experiences the patient is having with recognized diagnostic criteria (DSM or ICD) to help formulate a diagnosis.

The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM) is published by the American Psychiatric Association and provides a common language and standard criteria for the classification of mental disorders. It is most commonly used in North America.

The ICD, part of the International Classification of Diseases produced by the World Health Organization (WHO), is another commonly-used guide, more so in Europe and other parts of the world.

These guides separate mental disorders into a number of categories. We’ve listed some of the most common mental disorders below. This list is not comprehensive, but is reflective of the most common diagnoses.

  •  Anxiety Disorders: Disturbances in brain mechanisms designed to protect you from harm
  • Mood Disorders: Disturbances in usual mood states
  • Psychotic Disorders: Disturbance of thinking perception and behaviour
  • Personality Disorders: Maladaptive personal characteristics
  • Eating Disorders: Disturbances of weight and feeding behaviour
  • Developmental Disorders: Early disturbances in usual brain development
  • Behavioural Disorders: Persistent disturbances in expected behaviours
  • Addictions: Disorders of craving
  • Obsessive-Compulsive and Related Disorders
http://teenmentalhealth.org/learn/mental-disorders/ 

Emotional Health: Tips for Talking to a Depressed Teen

Tips for Talking to a Depressed Teen

Offer support

Let depressed teenagers know that you’re there for them, fully and unconditionally. Hold back from asking a lot of questions (teenagers don’t like to feel patronized or crowded), but make it clear that you’re ready and willing to provide whatever support they need.

Be gentle but persistent

Don’t give up if your adolescent shuts you out at first. Talking about depression can be very tough for teens. Be respectful of your child’s comfort level while still emphasizing your concern and willingness to listen.

Listen without lecturing

Resist any urge to criticize or pass judgment once your teenager begins to talk. The important thing is that your child is communicating. Avoid offering unsolicited advice or ultimatums as well.

Validate feelings

Don’t try to talk your teen out of his or her depression, even if his or her feelings or concerns appear silly or irrational to you. Simply acknowledge the pain and sadness he or she is feeling. If you don’t, he or she will feel like you don’t take his or her emotions seriously.

http://www.helpguide.org/articles/depression/teen-depression-signs-help.htm

Emotional Wellness: Music and Mood

Music and Mood

Music’s beneficial effects on mental health have been known for thousands of years. Ancient philosophers from Plato to Confucius and the kings of Israel sang the praises of music and used it to help soothe stress. Military bands use music to build confidence and courage. Sporting events provide music to rouse enthusiasm. Schoolchildren use music to memorize their ABCs. Shopping malls play music to entice consumers and keep them in the store. Dentists play music to help calm nervous patients. Modern research supports conventional wisdom that music benefits mood and confidence.

Because of our unique experiences, we develop different musical tastes and preferences. Despite these differences, there are some common responses to music. Babies love lullabies. Maternal singing is particularly soothing, regardless of a mom’s formal musical talents or training. Certain kinds of music make almost everyone feel worse, even when someone says she enjoys it; in a study of 144 adults and teenagers who listened to 4 different kinds of music, grunge music led to significant increases in hostility, sadness, tension, and fatigue across the entire group, even in the teenagers who said they liked it. In another study, college students reported that pop, rock, oldies, and classical music helped them feel happier and more optimistic, friendly, relaxed, and calm.

Music, Attention, and Learning

Everyone who has learned their ABCs knows that it is easier to memorize a list if it is set to music. Scientific research supports common experience that pairing music with rhythm and pitch enhances learning and recall. Music helps children and adolescents with attention problems in several ways. First, it can be used as a reward for desired behavior. For example, for paying attention to homework for 10 minutes, a child can be rewarded with the opportunity to listen to music for 5 minutes. Second, it can be used to help enhance attention to “boring” academic tasks such as memorization, using songs, rhythms, and dance or movement to enhance the interest of the lists to be memorized. Instrumental baroque music is great for improving attention and reasoning. For students, playing background music is not distracting. Third, musical cues can be used to help organize activities – one kind of music for one activity (studying), another for a different activity (eating), and a third kind for heading to bed. Fourth, studies show that calming music can promote pro-social behavior and decrease impulsive behavior.

Music and Anxiety

Many people find familiar music comforting and calming. In fact, music is so effective in reducing anxiety, it is often used in dental, preoperative, and radiation therapy settings to help patients cope with their worries about procedures. Music helps decrease anxiety in the elderly, new mothers, and children too. Music’s ability to banish worries is illustrated in the Rogers and Hammerstein lyrics,

“Whenever I feel afraid, I hold my head erect
And whistle a happy tune, so no one will suspect I’m afraid…
And every single time,
the happiness in the tune convinces me that I’m not afraid.”

Any kind of relaxing, calming music can contribute to calmer moods. Calming music can be combined with cognitive therapy to lower anxiety even more effectively than conventional therapy alone.

Some studies suggest that specially designed music, such as music that includes tones that intentionally induce binaural beats to put brain waves into relaxed delta or theta rhythms, can help improve symptoms in anxious patients even more than music without these tones; listening to this music without other distractions (not while driving, cooking, talking, or reading) promotes the best benefits.

Music and Moods

An analysis of 5 studies on music for depression concluded that music therapy is not only acceptable for depressed patients, but it actually helps improve their moods. Music has proven useful in helping patients with serious medical illnesses such as cancer, burns, and multiple sclerosis who are also depressed. If it can help in these situations, it may be able to help you and your loved ones experience more positive moods.

Music and Sleep

Many people listen to soothing music to help them fall asleep. This practice is supported by studies in a variety of settings. Just don’t try listening to lively dance music or rousing marches before you aim to fall asleep. Conversely, if you’re trying to wake up in the morning, go for the fast-tempo music rather than lullabies.

Music and Stress

Since ancient times, it has been known that certain kinds of music can help soothe away stress. Calming background music can significantly decrease irritability and promote calm in elderly nursing home patients with dementia. Music, widely chosen, lowers stress hormone levels. On the other hand, every parent of a teenager knows that certain kinds of music, particularly at high volumes, can induce stress. Knowing that certain kinds of music can alleviate stress is one thing; being mindful in choosing what kind of music to listen to is another. Choose your musical intake as carefully as you choose your food and friends.

Last Updated  8/20/2015
Source
Mental Health, Naturally: The Family Guide to Holistic Care for a Healthy Mind and Body (Copyright © 2010 American Academy of Pediatrics)

The information contained on this Web site should not be used as a substitute for the medical care and advice of your pediatrician. There may be variations in treatment that your pediatrician may recommend based on individual facts and circumstances.

https://www.healthychildren.org/English/healthy-living/emotional-wellness/Pages/Music-and-Mood.aspx