Quest for Freedom!

~ An insight into OCD ~ Obsessive Compulsive Disorder

Dear Diary,
My name is Sandra - Sani for short, and this is the first page of what I hope will be an interesting Diary for people to read. I'm married, live in England and have been suffering with the illness OCD (Obsessive Compulsive Disorder) for about the last 12 years, although actually I've probably had the Disorder all my life in one form or another, but not as seriously or life interfering.

I remember as a child sometimes being frightened of things but not always knowing why. My friends would quite happily do things and go to places without any fear whilst I would sometimes be anxious or nervous. As a teenager, I went through a phase of turning light switches on and off again - hoping that nobody saw me! My mum did occasionally see this strange behavior, but OCD wasn't as well heard of then. When I was 19 several traumatic things happened in my life at about the same time, and these plus stress in my work, I believe, triggered the OCD more seriously. In my work, I sometimes had to work with some nasty chemicals and I became increasingly more afraid of them - to the point of having to wash & shower constantly before I'd feel clean of them - even if I had hardly been in contact with any of them! Eventually I had to give up my work. In the 12 years since, I have been living in what I have felt to be a very contaminated world, sometimes going for months without going out of the house - so strong was the fear. I think very often you have to reach rock bottom before you can rise up again, and I did!

The strain of living with the illness was affecting every part of my life - including my marriage! I was getting depressed and so was my husband. It was at this time that I started talking to someone regularly on a chatline. We would talk for hours, had loads in common, and I found this person to be one of those rare types of people in life: unselfish and wanting to do anything to help. Anyway, to cut a long, 12 month story short, this person gave me confidence and belief in myself, plus the motivation to believe that I could ACTUALLY get well! So, with this new found belief, I started along the path of trying to get free from this illness. I first went to a Doctor - I can't begin to tell you how frightening that first visit was, or how vulnerable I felt opening up my fruitcake mind to a stranger! I was referred to a Psychiatrist, a really nice man who put me at ease straight away, and a Psychologist who I expect I'll be having Behavior therapy with. I've been put on two types of drug, Fluoxatine (Prozac) and a different kind of antidepressant called Lofepramine. These two taken together seem to be helping and I'm on the waiting list for the Behavior Therapy.

In the meantime, I've been to visit the friend I was telling you about. I see my own home to be very contaminated - even just making a cup of tea is a very difficult task. However, my friend's house feels relatively uncontaminated and I guess that's partly because I'm not aware of the history of it, so I am able to wash dishes, cook, go in and out of rooms, and all kinds of stuff, all by myself for the first time in years and it feels GREAT!! I have been here for several weeks now and I love the freedom I feel I have. Whilst I'm here, my husband has started to change the environment at home so that hopefully it won't feel quite as contaminated to me when I go back. I guess you could say I'm doing some Behavior Therapy of my own! The mind is a very complex thing, isn't it? I spent all those years trying to keep my home contaminate free and all I ended up in doing was creating a prison in my own home for myself and my husband! Hopefully, though, there is a light at the end of what has been a very long and dark tunnel.

I shall update this regularly to let you know how I'm doing. I know how isolating this illness can be, so I just want to say, to anyone reading this who has OCD, you're not alone! There are millions of us out there, and you can get well. At least well enough to function freely and with some normality in the world again - DON'T EVER GIVE UP HOPE! I know how easy it is to do so and to feel that maybe life isn't worth it, but please believe me, it is. Thanks for reading and drop by each month to read update's. Oh! and please visit the other pages on my site!

next: My Obsessively Clean Diary: December, 2000
~ ocd library articles
~ all ocd related disorders articles

What Are The Treatment Options for Attention Deficit Disorder?

A child with attention deficit disorder faces many challenges. It is a chronic condition that can continue into adulthood.

Treatment is geared toward helping the child learn, control behavior and increase his or her self-esteem.

A combination of strategies are usually recommended to help the child learn, to increase his or her ability to deal with the emotional cruelty of other children, and to increase self-confidence.

Special education programs tailored to the child's needs can be effective in helping the child learn. Many technologies and techniques are now available to assist the child with an attention deficit disorder.

Often, the initial focus is on teaching the child to learn how to learn. Special education programs may be provided in the public school setting or in private facilities or clinics. Tutoring and practice at home are usually recommended and can significantly help the child.

A child with an attention deficit disorder is usually referred to a psychiatrist or psychologist for specialized counseling. Usually, the physician also recommends specialized counseling for the parents.

Some medications may be recommended to help the child focus attention. The most commonly prescribed medications include dextroamphetamine and methylphenidate.

In order to make an informed decision about your child's health and medical needs, ask the physician to fully explain the benefits, risks and costs of all treatment alternatives, including medication.

For more than ten years, I was consistently misdiagnosed with depression by more than eight mental health care professionals. I only learned later that this was typical for the bipolar patient. It all began with my first visit to a therapist who diagnosed me with "adolescent depression," and from there I met several doctors along the road who continued not only to diagnose me with depression, but to treat me with medication for depression. Needless to say, this was a disaster, as the medication only served to fuel my mania. In a nutshell, I was being diagnosed improperly because I only visited these doctors during my "low points" or depression, I was not accurately filling them in on my symptoms, and they were not asking enough questions about my mental illness. In retrospect, had I shared more information with them, perhaps it would have been easier for them to diagnose me with bipolar disorder much earlier than any doctor did. But this is all water under the bridge now.

When I was finally diagnosed with bipolar disorder (or what I only knew was referred to as manic depression), I was shocked by both the diagnosis and the label "manic depressive." I was a manic depressive. What did that mean? First, I didn't know anyone else with the illness, and I panicked because I thought the illness was degenerative. "Will I make it to my next birthday?" I asked my doctor. I was reassured that I would, but that I would also need to begin a regimen of medication to control my symptoms. Yes, the common ones, which I had not only taken for granted to be "normal" but which were slowly destroying my life. These included racing thoughts, insomnia, overspending, sexual promiscuity, poor judgment and drug and alcohol abuse. All of a sudden, my "lifestyle" was no longer acceptable and had to come to a screeching halt. How could I live on medication with my raging personality tamed? Would I become dull and boring? After all, I had always been "Mister Fun," the guy standing with a lampshade on my head, a margarita in each hand and doing the merengue at parties.

Treatment began. In the course of the next decade, I would try more than 37 different medications to control my bipolar disorder and experienced almost every possible side effect from each medication: muscle stiffness, headaches, agitation, sleeplessness and grogginess, to name a few. Ultimately, when we realized that no combination of medication was going to work for me, I opted for the last resort - electro-convulsive therapy or ECT - which provided me with some relief in the beginning (not to mention the side effect of short term memory loss) until I relapsed three months after the last treatment. It was then that my doctor ordered me to continue "maintenance treatment." I had a total of 19 electroshock treatments, until I realized I had become addicted to the premedication of the procedure and asked my doctor to bring the treatment to a halt.

Needless to say, these were trying years and I was hopeless. I wasn't working, I was collecting disability and receiving financial assistance from my friends and family, and basically I was a "shut in." I never imagined a life outside of my apartment again. And I had been a highly functional public relations agent and art dealer (albeit my illness had landed me in prison for a brief six month stint for counterfeiting). Now I was barely capable of taking care of myself and could only watch television. I didn't even have enough focus to read or write.

But by 1, there was light at the end of the tunnel for me. My doctor had found a combination of medications that kept me relatively even-keeled, and I was getting back to a more normal life. I was working again and I had reestablished a social life. I was even able to take care of myself. But there was a five-year block of time when I was completely disabled and I just couldn't get over this "lost time." In fact, sometime it prevented me from moving forward.

Of course, as soon as I become "even-keeled" and was functional again, I was certain that my bipolar disorder had gone away - simply vanished. I was wrong. Now I was coping with the illness, and I was tested nearly every day. And although it's been five years since then,

I must admit that I still take each day as it comes. I'm always prepared for a relapse; even though I have five years "under my belt" of being relatively "episode free," I'm always on alert. I'm resigned to living with bipolar disorder for the rest of my life. The fear and shame are gone; I speak about my illness openly with both family and friends and have even ventured out into the public arena, sharing my story of my battle with bipolar disorder in Electroboy: A Memoir of Mania, published by Random House. This was probably the hardest thing I had to do with my illness - to go public. But I did it because I wanted people to know that there were 2.5 million people with bipolar disorder diagnosed in this country - and millions more undiagnosed. And I thought that my sharing my story - a very personal story - would bring people out of the closet to seek treatment, help family members in understanding their loved ones, and also help mental healthcare professionals in treating their patients.

In the fall, the film version of Electroboy will go into production with Tobey Maguire and it will be the first big budget Hollywood movie with a bipolar protagonist. I'm currently working on a sequel to Electroboy, and I still maintain a mental health website at www.electroboy.com. Since my diagnosis ten years ago, bipolar disorder has become my mission, an illness I had honestly never heard of until that day and something I never would have imagined I would be doing in ten years.

It's been a long journey for me, but a very rewarding one. Learning to cope with the illness has been tremendously satisfying for me, and passing on my knowledge of my coping skills is the most important thing that I can do with my life. And every day I remind people suffering, there is hope - you will get better.

next: Jane Pauley Discloses Bipolar Disorder
~ bipolar disorder library
~ all bipolar disorder articles

Interview

Dr. Sam Menahem received his Masters degree from Columbia University in 1972 and his Ph.D. from United States International University in 1976. Dr. Menahem is on the faculty of Columbia University as an adjunct assistant professor of psychology. His interest in meditation and healing has been advanced by study with Joyce Goodrich, Ph.D. on the Le Shan methods of meditation. He is the founder of the Center for Psychotherapy and Spiritual Growth in Fort Lee, NJ. He is author of two books: All Your Prayers Are Answered and When Therapy Isn't Enough: The Healing Power of Prayer and Psychotherapy.

Tammie: Dr. Menahem, I want to thank you for taking the time to share your wise and gentle perspective on what I believe is often a very complicated and difficult issue for many people, that of forgiveness.

Dr.Menahem: Thank you, Tammie. It is my pleasure to share my thoughts on this difficult and highly charged topic. It has been my experience that many people have trouble letting go of old grudges, even when they realize it is hurting them more than the other person. Much of my work is centered on helping people to let go and forgive.

Tammie: What are some of the most common reasons we don't forgive ourselves?

Dr. Menahem: Most people are much too hard on themselves. They think they have to do something great just to be OK. They have bought into our cultural madness of competition and success. They feel that they are only as good as what they do and how much money they make from it. If their parents were conditional with their love, critical and controlling, the problem is even worse. Behavioral perfection is then substituted for spontaneity and conformity replaces individuality.

Tammie: Why should we forgive our enemies and why is it important?

Dr. Menahem: Most people are sensitive to minor slights or hurts. They feel that they would never be so insensitive and are very critical of others who are insensitive. Sometimes they are upset because the others are getting away with things they couldn't do for either personal or societal reasons. We also dislike people that have qualities we have had to repress. For example, if we have had to repress our anger, we may dislike angry people. We fear that we may be angry like them. When we forgive our enemies, we are accepting a variety of ways of being. We are "letting go" of our fear, anger, guilt and inferiority feelings and promoting love, joy, peace and interdependency. This heals us individually- by freeing us to be kinder and more loving. It also heals interpersonal strife and creates a more peaceful world.

Tammie: Can forgiveness actually help in healing physical pains?

Dr. Menahem: Yes, it can heal us physically. When we are being unforgiving we are tense and stressed, creating powerful hormones that are needed for fight or flight reactions. Since there is no need to fight or flee, these hormones build up and create stress in the body, which can result in pain and physical illness. When we forgive, we relax and the body tends to heal itself naturally.

Tammie: What are the necessary steps we must take in order to forgive?

Dr. Menahem: First, we must accept our angry, fearful or guilty feelings. Second, we must release these feelings willingly. Third, we must affirm our intention to forgive. Fourth, we must take appropriate actions. Finally, we must be thankful for the ability to choose forgiveness and peace.

Tammie: Is there any way we can skip the grieving process?

Dr. Menahem: No. When we lose someone or something dear to us, it hurts and we must grieve. After a while, we can affirm our spiritual values of faith, love, forgiveness and unity and heal the grief.

Tammie: How does prayer and meditation fit into your practice as a psychologist?

Dr. Menahem: I pray for and with my patients. I pray that they heal for the highest good of their soul. I suggest they pray for themselves. I teach them how to pray psychologically-to affirm rather than plead for things. I teach them to meditate-harmonizing their consciousness with divine consciousness. I get them in touch with spiritual feelings of love and peace that come up when fear, hate, guilt and inferiority are released.

Tammie: Could you explain what a self-hypnotic trance is and how this can help your patients?

Dr. Menahem: Self-hypnosis is a sort of selective awareness that arises when the critical, conscious part of the mind is interfering with functioning. By relaxing and turning the criticism off, we are able to release negativity and turn toward peaceful, loving feelings for oneself and others.

Tammie: What is spiritual psychology?

Dr. Menahem: I see people as primarily spiritual beings, temporarily living in a body. The problems usually seen as psychological like fear, hate, guilt and inferiority are actually solved by developing spiritual qualities-faith, love, forgiveness and unity. Spiritual psychology gives people tools to heal their psychological problems by interacting with the endless source of love and peace-God-or as some people prefer the "Higher Power."

Tammie: What are some of the common myths and misunderstandings about spiritual psychology?

Dr. Menahem: First, some people think it forces religion on people. Actually spiritual psychology is non-denominational and non-dogmatic. Second, some people feel that it is of no use to agnostics or atheists. Actually, it helps by releasing toxic feelings, leaving Spiritual FEELINGS like love and peace to arise naturally. Third, some people think it rejects non-spiritual forms of therapy. Actually, it embraces most traditional forms of psychotherapy, while adding metaphysical and mystical methods-like prayer and meditation.

Tammie: How does one grow spiritually, is there a step-by-step process for this?

Dr. Menahem: There is no set formula but the general guidelines call for awareness of problems with thoughts, feelings and behavior, followed by release of these problems and replacement of fear, hate, guilt and inferiority with faith, love, forgiveness and unity with Spirit.

Tammie: What about those folks who complain that prayer doesn't work for them, do you have any suggestions for these folks?

Dr. Menahem: Yes, these folks might want to stop praying to a super-hero God to solve his/her problems externally. Instead, ask for the awareness of your emotional issues and help in resolving them internally. Thus, prayer is a process of improving his/her character, developing spiritual growth instead of material solutions.

Tammie: Your book is entitled, "All Your Prayers Are Answered," do you really mean that or is this just a figure of speech?

Dr. Menahem: I am speaking of prayer in the widest possible sense as all thoughts and feelings being "broadcast" into the universe. The Higher Power is not a powerful person responding with punishment or reward. Rather, the thoughts, powered by feelings are "answered" according to the law of cause and effect. These "prayers" are all answered according to this law. Negative thoughts and feelings will produce problems just as surely as positive ones produce abundance and love. All of these answered, once recognized are designed to give us opportunities to move toward positive living. There is always room for improvement.

Tammie: Do you have suggestions for effective prayer-ones that will help in obtaining answers and results that we need versus ones that we want?

Dr. Menahem: First of all practice getting quiet and centered before you pray. This is a meditative state where prayers are clearly sent and answers are clearly heard. Second, pray for character development-greater faith, love, forgiveness and unity, rather than things-money, health, romance. The things, especially health, will come naturally as you relax and surrender to the God within. Third, listen for answers to your questions. Sometimes you will hear inner thoughts. Sometimes you may just be inspired to behave or feel differently. Follow the inner directives that lead to peace and love. Ignore directives that lead to stress, tension and negativity. Fourth, learn to view life as a learning process. Difficulties are not punishments; they are opportunities to move toward spiritual growth.

Tammie: What about those folks who feel that there are just too many people on our planet for God to listen to each person's individual prayers? Please comment.

Dr. Menahem: God is not a busy Santa Claus, rewarding good and punishing bad. Nor is God a super hero saving all damsels in distress. God is not an external being. God dwells within each person and when asked is an unending source of love, inspiration, peace and power. The idea that God is too busy to get I involved with individuals comes from a misunderstanding about what God is and what he can or can't do. God has a much better idea of what we need than we do. Thus, some of the answers to prayers seem like punishments. Actually, everything happens for a reason-our spiritual development.

Tammie: What is the difference between meditation and prayer?

Dr. Menahem: There are four kinds of prayer; petition, intercession, adoration and meditation. When we use the word prayer we think of asking God for something, that is petition. When we meditate we are simply turning everything over to God and quieting the mind, allowing whatever happens to just be. It is totally accepting, peaceful state. It is the highest form of prayer.

Tammie: What is the distinction between disease and illness and between treatment and healing?

Dr. Menahem: Disease is literally a lack of ease in the mind or body. It indicates that we are disturbed, not quiet, that the body is abnormal in feeling or function. Illness is a sate of being out of health or sick-symptoms like pain often appear. Treatment indicates interrupting the disease process by trying to remove or relieve the visible symptoms. Healing is a holistic endeavor designed to eliminate the true causes of the illness or disease. The harmony induced by holistic healing returns a person to a state of health and symptoms disappear.

Tammie: How can prayer help depression? Do you also recommend any dietary supplements? What about prescription medicine?

Dr. Menahem: Depression is caused initially by repressed anger and guilt along with thoughts of hopelessness, weakness and despair. If left untreated biochemical changes occur in the body making psychotherapy much more difficult. Psychotherapy, prayer and medication (herbal or prescription) work very well together. The same is true of anxiety, though the prescription drugs for anxiety are very addictive.

Tammie: Please comment on your beliefs concerning positive thinking versus negative thinking.

Dr. Menahem: All true healing includes a cognitive shift from negative to positive thinking. The trick is that you cannot apply positive thought like a band-aid while keeping negative beliefs. You must imaginatively pull the negative thoughts out by the roots, first. This is done by accepting and releasing the emotion connected with the negative thought; then replacing the negative belief with a positive one.

Tammie: Tell us about the Center For Psychotherapy and Spiritual Growth.

Dr. Menahem: We are a group of psychotherapists and healers who believe that we are primarily spiritual beings, having a human experience. We have six therapists, one chiropractor and one energetic healer. We are located in Fort Lee, New Jersey, Telephone # 201-944-1164.

Tammie: Where can your book be purchased and have you written any other books?

Dr. Menahem: My first book is called, "When Therapy Isn't Enough." The new one is "All Your Prayers Are Answered." Both can be viewed and purchased through my web site, which also contains sample chapters, www.drmenahem.com.

next:Interviews: Linda Chapman on "The Wounded Healer"

"What we traditionally have called normal parenting in this society is abusive because it is emotionally dishonest.   Children learn who they are as emotional beings from the role modeling of their parents."

"As a child, I learned from the role modeling of my father that the only emotion that a man felt was anger....."

"In this society, in a general sense, the men have been traditionally taught to be primarily aggressive, the 'John Wayne' syndrome, while women have been taught to be self-sacrificing and passive.   But that is a generalization; it is entirely possible that you came from a home where your mother was John Wayne and your father was the self-sacrificing martyr."

An incident happened when I was about 11 that I didn't understand until several years into recovery.   At my grandmothers funeral I started crying hysterically and had to be taken out of the funeral home.   I wasn't crying because my grandmother had died - I was crying because I had seen my uncle cry.   It was the first time in my life I had seen a man cry and it opened the floodgates of all the repressed pain I was carrying.     Of course, I went right back to repressing after that because I still hadn't seen my father cry and he was my role model.

The belief that it is unmanly to cry or express fear is part of the prototype for what a man is supposed to be in our society.   Most men are programmed to keep their emotions (except for anger) bottled up in a concrete bunker inside of themselves because that is what they learned from society and from their role models.   Some men, of course, go to the other extreme and because they don't want to be like their fathers are out of balance in not being able to own their anger - these men usually marry women who are like their fathers.

Growing up with fathers who were emotionally crippled by their role models and society's beliefs has damaged us all.   Men can't be emotionally honest with others because they don't know how to be emotionally honest with themselves. Subconsciously they don't have permission to own the whole spectrum of their emotional palette.   It takes a lot of work and willingness in recovery to change the emotional programming we received in our childhoods.

And it is vital to do that work because being denied access to emotions denies access to our hearts and souls - denies access to the feminine energy within.   A man who has his emotions dammed up in a concrete bunker within has a dysfunctional relationship with his own intuitive nurturing feminine energy and, of course, with feminine energy of those around him.

That is, of course, one of the curses of codependence that women experience men who don't have a clue what feelings are.   If Dad was emotionally unavailable then a woman is attracted to men who are the same - in an ongoing attempt to prove they are lovable by changing an emotionally unavailable male into one who is available.   And if Dad was emotionally available it was often in an emotionally incestuous way (surrogate spouse) so in that case the last thing a woman wants (on a subconscious level) is a male who is available emotionally - because the burden of feeling responsible for Dad's feelings was too heart breaking.

There is an additional way in which women are wounded by their fathers that I have never heard, or read, anyone talk about.   It is a devastating blow that many daughters suffer on a subconscious level.   It comes at a very vulnerable time and contributes more evidence to the message that there is something wrong/less than about being a woman that most girls have already received in ample supply from society and the role modeling of their mothers.

This happens when girls start developing a female body.   Their fathers, being males of the species, are naturally attracted to the awakening feminine sexuality of their daughters.   Some fathers of course act this out in incestuous ways.   The majority of fathers however react to this attraction (which in shame-based western civilization is not acknowledged as normal but rather is so shameful that it is seldom even brought to a conscious level of awareness) by withdrawing from their daughters, emotionally and physically.     The unspoken, subconscious message that the girl/woman gets is when I turned into a woman Dad stopped loving me.   Daddy's little princess is suddenly given the cold shoulder, and often is the recipient of angry (sometimes jealous) behavior from her father - who up until that time, often, has been much more emotionally available for his daughter than for his wife or sons.

In a healthy environment an emotionally honest father could recognize that his reaction was human - not something to be ashamed of - and also, not something to act out.   He could then communicate with, and have healthy boundaries with, his daughter so that she would know she wasn't being abandoned by her Dad.

Whether your father was John Wayne or a milquetoast, whether you are male or female, your father was wounded by his role models - both parental and societal.     Even if he was relatively the most healthy man on the planet, he was still wounded because civilized society is emotionally dysfunctional.

What is so damaging about being raised by wounded parents is that we incorporate the messages we got from their behavior and role modeling into our relationship with ourselves.   At the core of our being is a little child who feels unworthy and unlovable because our parents were wounded.   In order to heal our relationship with ourselves and achieve emotional honesty it is vital to take a realistic view of how our fathers, and mothers, wounded us.   That is necessary in order to heal the relationship with the masculine and feminine energy within us so that we can be our own Loving parent.

next: Father's Day

Signs and triggers of depression relapse and what can be done to avoid relapsing into depression.

Gold Standard for Treating Depression (part 33)

Relapse is defined as the return of depression symptoms less than six months after a remission or partial remission. The main reason for relapse is that people start to feel better while on medications for depression and think that they no longer need help. They then stop treatment and sometimes within only a few weeks have full-blown relapses.

It's always scary to experience relief from depression and then have the symptoms return. Maintaining remission depends on a person's following the regime that originally caused the remission. Some people feel so much 'better' once the antidepressant medications start working they assume that they no longer need the medications. Others find themselves in the situations that once exacerbated the depression and are not prepared for the results. This goes for people in remission as well as those who have partially responded to drug therapy.

The facts are that even when your depression goes into remission, it can return if there is not careful monitoring of depression symptoms so that they can be taken care of before they go too far. As mentioned before, studies show that those who have responded well to medications fare better if they remain on medications long term- even when they feel they no longer need medications.

Preventive depression treatment is your best defense against relapse. It often happens that a person starts to feel better and then returns to old lifestyles and may get less vigilant about taking depression medications. It's also possible that a large life event will bring back the depression. The more aware you are of what works for you and why you need to stick with it, the less chance there is of relapse.

Many people who have experienced relief from a comprehensive treatment of depression want to maintain their regime in order to maintain stability. It can be the same for you. The more aware you are of the beginning signs that your depression is worsening, the more quickly you can get the help you need.

video: Depression Treatment Interviews w/Julie Fast

Marty Mann presenting nearly invisible Bill W. with first Gold Key award in 1959

Bill W. and Marty Mann represent the two sides of the disease theory. Bill saw it as an expression of his personal suffering and that of other anonymous individuals; Mann as a quasi-scientific vehicle to greater public recognition and acceptance of alcoholism. Bill's flirtations with the occult and with LSD therapy, his discussion of his depression, and his irregular financial affairs made him a loose cannon in terms of the NCA's larger PR goals. Nowadays Wilson's heavy addiction to tobacco, which ultimately killed him, would also be a cause for concern, but through most of the history of AA it wasn't noticed.

Stanton thanks Ron Roizen, Archie Brodsky, and Charles Bufe for their knowledgeable inputs.

Links:

• National Council on Alcoholism and Drug Dependence
• NIAAA
• Rutgers Center of Alcohol Studies
• The Christopher D. Smithers Foundation

next: Addiction to Get Rich Quick Schemes
~ all Stanton Peele articles
~ addictions library articles
~ all addictions articles

Read about transcranial magnetic stimulation, TMS, one of the promising new treatments for depression.

Gold Standard for Treating Depression (part 28)

Experimental treatments often take years of research and then years to test the effectiveness and safety of the treatment. One new and promising research is transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS). (Also called repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS).

In this technique, magnets are briefly put on the head to alter the electrical currents in the part of the brain thought to control mood. This therapy has helped some people with depression with few reported side effects. This is a new technique and will need more studies to determine its efficacy and safety.

video: Depression Treatment Interviews w/Julie Fast

Videos accompanying the "Gold Standard of Treating Depression"

Written Content

1. NIMH says that up to 80% of people with major depression can be effectively treated if they get the right treatment
2. How Do I Choose a Mental Healthcare Professional Who is Right for Me?
3. What is the Most Effective Treatment for Depression?
4. What is the Star*D Research Project and How Can It Help Me?
5. Are Medications for Depression Enough for Me?
6. What are My Other Treatment Options for Depression?
7. Depression Medications
8. What Causes Antidepressant Side Effects and What Can I Do About Them?
9. How Do I Change My Depression Medications?
10. What is the Best Way to Change Antidepressant Medications? (part 10)
11. Should I Expect My Antidepressant and Current Dosage to Work Forever?
12. Can My Depression Be Caused By Other Issues?
13. Psychotherapy for Treating Depression
14. Can Psychotherapy Alone Work in Healing Depression?
15. Lifestyle and Behavior Changes Can Help Reduce Depression
16. Why Do I Need Regulated Sleep Patterns?
17. Does Exercise Really Make a Difference in Improving Depression?
18. Does My Diet Have Anything to Do with Depression?
19. What Do I Need to Know About Bright Light Exposure for Treating Depression?
20. What If I'm Too Sick and Depressed to Make Friends?
21. My Thoughts are Terrible. What Can I Do?
22. What are Triggers and How Do They Affect Depression?
23. How Can I Teach Others to Help Me With My Depression?
24. What Else Can I Do to Treat and Manage My Depression?
25. Can I Use All of These Ideas to Treat Depression Without Antidepressant Medications?
26. Alternative and Complimentary Treatments for Depression
27. What is Vagus Nerve Stimulation?
28. What are the Latest Experimental Treatments for Depression?
29. Do I Need to Go to the Hospital for My Depression?
30. What if I Have Suicidal Thoughts?
31. Will I be Depressed Forever?
32. What if I'm a Responder and Don't Experience Remission of Depression Symptoms?
33. What is Depression Relapse and Can it Happen to Me?
34. I Want a Life Free of Depression. Is This Possible?
35. Why Am I Embarrassed That I Can't Just 'Take Care of My Problems'?
36. What if I'm Too Depressed to Help Myself?
37. References for The Gold Standard of Treating Depression (part 37)

About Julie A. Fast: Read Julie A. Fast Bio

next:   NIMH says that up to 80% of people with major depression can be effectively treated if they get the right treatment
~ all articles on depression treatment
~ all articles on depression

Bright light exposure is an effective treatment for seasonal affective disorder and other forms of depression. Learn more about bright light therapy.

Gold Standard for Treating Depression (part 19)

Many people have heard that sunlight and light boxes can help depression, but few understand why. Like exercise, bright light exposure has an impact on regulating certain neurochemicals that affect mood. This helps because bright light enters the eye and strikes the retina. This activates a nerve pathway that then goes to the hypothalamus- a brain structure that regulates mood, sleep, appetite and even sex drive. This technical explanation explains why it's imperative that you get a daily dose of bright light in order to manage depression.

You can talk with your doctor about light boxes, or if you live in a year-round bright climate, a walk in the sun without sunglasses will provide the same effect. Tanning booths do not work as the eyes need to be covered. Daily bright light exposure can be one of the easiest and quickest ways to reduce depression symptoms.

video: Depression Treatment Interviews w/Julie Fast