Do you have painful creaky knees

Painful creaky knees? You might feel like popping a pill, but you’d be better off exercising.

Osteoarthritis is the most common form of arthritis, affecting an estimated 10 per cent of men and 18 per cent of women over 60 years of age and occurs when the cartilage that cushions the ends of bones gradually thins.

Although the last 20 years have brought big breakthroughs in treatments for inflammatory arthritis (including rheumatoid), osteoarthritis has seen much slower progress. There are still no disease-modifying treatments, only symptom control, and the latest draft of NICE guidelines has recently downgraded long-term use of painkillers in favour of exercise, weight-management and behaviour change.

For years, the choreologist Marcus Ampe promoted special exercises to get rid of pain, instead of poisoning the body with painkillers. Before his retirement, he also gave special therapeutic classes to help people recover from accidents and from several body ailments.

A big problem is when people have a lot of pain, they often do not feel much for going to move more. But they have to go over that step. Crossing the threshold of the initial pain.

To move, is probably the opposite of what you want to do, and of what your osteoarthritis seems to be telling you, but the evidence is rock-solid. Exercise helps in multiple ways.

“It improves nutrition and blood flow to the joint, lines up the joints, strengthens muscles, improves stability and restores function,”

says Dr Benjamin Ellis, consultant rheumatologist and senior clinical advisor for Versus Arthritis. Avoiding activity because of osteoarthritis pain kicks off a vicious “deconditioning cycle”.

Marcus Ampe always promoted exercise but warned not to overdo it. Though he also was a certified Aerobics teacher, he always dis-advised ordinary people to do that sort of exercises. It is namely much better to do a proper balanced workout or to take Kounovsky, Pilates or social dancing or modern jazz classes.

He, like other experts, advises that any exercise is good, even walking or gardening.

“Whatever you enjoy, whatever you’re doing, do more,”

says Holden.

“A recent study found that just walking will reduce the pain from early knee osteoarthritis and also make it much less likely to progress – so it’s potentially preventative.”

The latest research suggests that paracetamol performs no better than a placebo for osteoarthritis, while strong and potentially addictive opioids bring more risk than benefits.

A lot of people seek refuge in medication but would do better to resort to herbs or phytotherapy and homoeopathy and a healthy schedule of exercises that will further help them move better and easier again.

> Please do find: Five ways to tackle the joint pain of arthritis

What would you do if…? Continued trial

When you are diagnosed with a disease which doctors say you shall have to live with it for as long as you can live, it does not mean you have to give in to it and let your self go. Be realistic also not to think you shall be able to get rid of it. No way! sorry for those who have put their hope in a possibility to get that horrible monster out of their body and to be free of any such malignant adversary.

Any illness of the bones and muscles which is considered for life, has to be looked at in that way. Though you shall not be able to cure it you might postpone the badness of it or get to learn with the limitations it brings over you.

I do agree sometimes the pain and the horrible prison you might find yourself can be so much threatening that you wish you were not born or that you would not mind having an end to your life.
The pain sometimes can be so horrible you want to break the walls or explode.

But than I would advice you to try to do the same as I try to do. To speak to the Most High Who gives and takes life and let us not be tempted over that what we really can cope. And you would be surprised that can be a lot. Though sometimes others may feel the pressure even more than you yourself. Once my family had to wait for two days before they got the news I was going to survive. Be sure, it was not me, who had tried to take my life away, but some aggressive road user who had pushed me from the motorway. At the moment of the accident I asked God to be able to stay here on this earth, and I am convinced He allowed it.

An ankylosing spine in which the vertebrae become fused together.

At that time I had already fought many years against Ankylosis Spondilitis (AS, Bekhterev spondylitis or Bechterev or Marie-Strümpell arthritis) after having got Rheumatic fever or rheumatoid arthritis. My job was my salvation. Being a dancer having lots of physical training every day was a battle against my own ‘corps’. But it was also not accident free, so sometimes I was put back or remembered how weak our body can be.

It did not stay with the earliest symptom of chronic lower back pain and when in 1999 two vertebra‘s were broken and I was paralysed for six months I had time enough to be busy with trying to get my body on track again. Certain doctors noticing the destruction of intervertebral disks and the growth of spurs on the vertebrae themselves wanted me to accept I had to stay the rest of my life in a wheelchair and should have enough rest. I resisted the idea to stay the rest of my life in a wheelchair and with help of the Belgian government and health-service I started one of my biggest battles in life, now applying the Kounovsky technique, which I had, for several years, taught and used to help other people with physical and mental problems, for my self. Application of heat, and lots of exercises to learn to move my fingers and the rest again to a point where I could try to maintain a normal range of movement, brought me ten years later to a point where I could say I was ‘the old one’ again, though still more limited than I was before the accident.  But we also should take into account the normal deterioration by age.

After everything seemed to go better we shall be confronted more than once by moments of declension. They may not let you down. Your mind should always be stronger than your body. You have to govern your body by your mind. You can read lots of scientific books about that, but may I advice you to take up a very strange old book perhaps? At first you will perhaps not see the reason to read such very old books, but once you started your adventure going from one book into an other, you will come to see the light and start finding answers.

Before my 1999 accident I was already busy with God. In the 1960s I even wanted to become a priest, but had most difficulty not being able to have a wife and children. The trinity matter and all the pagan rites in the Old Roman Catholic Church in which I grew up disturbed me also a lot. So much that I even went church shopping I had a look at all sorts of denominations and different faith groups.

After some long studies about religion in 1974 I became a non-trinitarian and in 1976 found myself at ease by the Baptists. But a little bit more than ten years later the American Southern Baptists got stronger and stronger and pressed their trinitarian way of thinking, so that thousands of my Baptist brethren and sisters went looking for other congregations. Most of them moved over to the Jehovah Witnesses and to the Church of God, whilst others found their way to the Church of Abrahamic Faith, the Restoration Church, and the Nazarene Friends.

1999 was a turning point and a year of many doubts, me wondering if I had chosen the right way and the right faith. then after my many doubts and my close talk to God, requesting Him to stay alive to take care of my family, I was granted an other life opportunity and got enough time, lying on my back to study once again the Bible and to do research on everything what is written in it.

Now I even became more convinced of the reality of that master-work and good reasons to believe that bestseller.

I was already convinced of our duty to care of mother earth, had been active in the green movement and also stood on the barricades in 1968 fighting for a more righteous society.

Back in the running, the biggest frustration I have to cope with is not being able to dance any more, or not able to enjoy movement, because moving demands a lot of my being (offering me ‘pain for free’). I let not others notice it and do not complain about it, but it is in me, and I know it shall stay with me. To operate my back is too dangerous, thus as long as I can cope with the pain that is my best option, to continue to do whatever I want to do, moving around and doing things I like to do.

And that is what every person should do when trapped in his own body. Not letting it become master of the inner soul, but letting it be a carrier of strive and war-zones of positivity, going forward as long as we can. Never mind that those around us not always see the struggle we have to go through and sometimes do not seem to comprehend us. For the youngsters it is often very difficult to grasp it is sometimes something we can not cope with ourselves. To apprehend the deeper undercurrents of life is not always given to the young ones. Often they also do not understand the work we do and get not paid for, can also be considered work or something necessary. And when it has to do with faith, for them it seems all a waste of energy and time. Hopefully they shall come to learn the value of it.

We can only hope that enough motor neurons shall reach from the brain and spinal cord to the muscles and that they can stay enough elastic and reactive to react properly to signals we want to get to them. But also our mind has to be able to think properly. Also that is not always acceptable for the youngsters that we forget things or at certain moments can come up the right word any more. Wear and tear gets master over us, but also that should not get us to stop to continue our ‘battle’.

Having had several unpleasant and painful experiences, I had to learn the hard way that “Life is hard”. Previous to my serious accident I had put lots of energy in many people and lots of cases. Having for a third time to build up my life, this time like beginning from scrap again, because I had memory loss, and had to learn everything about what happened in the past again. This was an incredible difficult task, to take loss of languages, which still gets me frustrated at moments.
But I also learned not to loose energy any more in ‘lost cases’ and to stop in time to stay in contact with certain people or tackling certain subjects. I found out that it is better to stay in contact with the right people. It is much easier to surround oneself with people who can ‘energeticise’, those who can bring something positive to our life as well, by not pulling it down and by not considering us ‘lower’ or ‘disabled’ or ‘not performant’ any more. Yes it is much better to get positive people around you. People that won’t only rejoice with you in the good times but and who will not stay away when it goes bad with you. People who are willing to support us in the difficult times are the ones we better have around us.

For that reason I also wanted to spread more positivism and share positive ideas, and therefore created this lifestyle magazine, also in the hope people shall find some articles which can strengthen and courage them as well give them more hope and perhaps also shall get them to know other people with similar problems who can help them further.

Often it helps when we do know we are not alone and that others have foudn solutions which can be good for us as well. From each-others experiences and from sharing ideas we also can learn a lot.

But not only the people are important. Also the things we do and the things we eat.

I am convinced that what we eat and think is very important. So we should take care we try to eat and use as much as possible natural materials not burdening our body with animal material. We do not need meat and to much meat is eaten in our greedy society. A huge variety of fruit and vegetables will help you on your way to have less pain whilst avoiding as much as possible the synthetic medicinal drugs. If you never tried it, please do it, go to a homeopathic doctor and see what he can offer you to reduce your ‘hell’ to something you can bear.

With a good natural diet and natural drugs (homeopathy and phytotherapy) you shall notice life will be so much easier. Ad to it a daily dose of some walking and daily exercise and you shall go a step higher.

And yes, why should you not think about some other part of life, the spiritual life?

What would you do if you know your body is hurting you so much or luck does not seem to have come your way?

Why would you not reconsider everything that happened to you and those you love and come to see that there is more behind it all?

Would it be nice to know that there is some promise which can become a reality for you and me as well?

In the Bible are promises given to individuals and to people or nations. Prophesies have come true so why not shall the last ones which are not fulfilled yet, not come true?
Have a look at them. Think about them. Think also about some one who had a body which seemed normal and not affected by pains or limitations. That man from Nazareth walked for miles and could not stop talking about the One he loved and trusted. He showed why we too should trust Him Who is much mightier than that man who walked through desserts and was tempted more than once, but did not give in. He managed to put his own will aside, to do the will of his heavenly Father.
Why should we also not try to listen to that Father and give our hands, our life also in His hands?

You better be careful the environment you choose for it will shape you and choose for the right people around you. Always remembering that self-preservation is the highest law of nature and that being angry upon yourself or a situation is not going to help. And remember that

You only lose energy when life becomes dull in your mind

Know there is a good foundation to go your way but be always careful where you want to put down your steps or leave your marks or sow your seeds.

And most important to remember:

Never give up or never give in. Keep running the battle.

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Preceding articles

What would you do if…?

What Are You Seeking?

Denis Wright looking at the world of human beings

Mourners Celebrate Life Of Inspirational Cancer Teen

Searching for fulfillment and meaning through own efforts, facing unsatisfaction and depression

Be not afraid of going slowly; be afraid only of standing still

See the conquest and believe that we can gain the victory

May we have doubts

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Additional reading

1. What would you do if…?
2. Meaning of life 
3. The business of this life
4. When discouraged facing opposition
5. The road to success is dotted with many tempting parking places
6. When you don’t know what to do and hate yourself
7. Do not be so busy adding up your troubles
8. Be Not Thou Weary
9. Confidence
10. Hope begins in the dark
11. Suffering
12. Suffering continues
13. Offer in our suffering
14. Suffering – through the apparent silence of God
15. Relapse plan
16. God’s instruction about joy and suffering
17. God’s promises to us in our suffering
18. Emotional pain and emotional deadness
19. From pain to purpose
20. Suffering leading to joy
21. Surprised by time in joys & sufferings
22. Allowed to heal
23. Old story to inspire and to give hope to those who are oppressed
24. An anarchistic reading of the Bible (2)—Creation and what follows
25. 1 Corinthians 15 Hope in action
26. End of the Bottom Line
27. Light going on in darkness
28. Solution for Willing hearts filled with gifts
29. Luck
30. Shelter in the morning
31. Vision blurred by cumulative burden of divisions
32. Never too late to start going to the right end
33. Not words of any organisation should bind you, but the Word of God
34. I Only hope we find GOD again before it is too late !
35. Give your worries to God
36. Call unto God so that He can answer you
37. Trust the future to God
38. Does God answer prayer?
39. Make a joyful noise unto Yahweh, rejoice, and sing praise unto Jehovah
40. God loving people justified
41. God my fence, my hope for the future
42. God is my refuge and my fortress in Him I will trust
43. Separation from God in death, the antithesis of life
44. Seeing the world through the lens of his own experience
45. Knowing where to go to
46. A Living Faith #1 Substance of things hoped for
47. A Living Faith #5 Perseverance
48. A Living Faith #9 Our Manner of Life
49. Final forming of a person’s character lies in his own hands
50. Happy is the person who knows what to remember of the past
51. To have fire in yourself to warm others
52. Blessed are those who freely give
53. Words must be weighed, not counted
54. Honor your own words as if they were an important contract
55. Obstacles to your goal
56. Foundation to go the distance
57. Remember there’s a light in the next day
58. Let tomorrow be sufficient
59. Fear not tomorrow. God is already there
60. A time for everything
61. People should know what you stand for
62. Finish each day and be done with it
63. Character is built
64. Patience is the ability to count down before blasting off
65. A real friend is one who walks in when the rest of the world walks away
66. Weapons of our warfare
67. Without God no purpose, no goal, no hope
68. You God hold the future
69. To belong to = toebehoren
70. Possibility to live
71. Don’t Envy the World
72. Walking alone?
73. Careful what you sow, it might grow
74. Be a ready giver
75. Sow and harvests in the garden of your heart
76. Joy: Foundation for a Positive Life

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Further reading

1. The unfairytale
2. He Is Disabled???!
3. Disabled entrance
4. Ehlers Danlos Syndrome (EDS) Awareness Month
5. 9 Top Rehab Centers for Spinal Cord Injuries
6. Blind
7. Invisible Strength
8. Life, reality and fairy dust
9. My “illness”
10. The “web”
11. Infinite Inhibition
12. The Amygdalin Explosion
13. A Spoonful of Sour
14. The Struggle
15. Eleven.
16. Jaini’s Diaries turns One!
17. Habits
18. Riot Erupts At Wheelchair Basketball Tournament
19. Yeshiva Invites Their CP Friends for Shabbos
20. Prompt for the Day: “Diverse”
21. Prompt for the Day: “Chaos”
22. Prompt for the Day: “Stroll”
23. Disabled and Pregnant
24. Creative solution helps him work in the arts
25. Oaklands: Part 1
26. 13 Days To Go!
27. The Wait
28. Falling in love
29. I’m Back.
30. I’m not THAT old…
31. Keeper of Sunlight
32. A break in your workout routine causing you troubles?
33. Frustrated, Confused and Under the Weather
34. Dear Patience…
35. I Can’t Resist A Good Challenge!
36. What the heck is Stress anyway?| Ataraxia Series 07 | Understanding the Biological Reality of Stress
37. Frustrating Transition
38. Trapped?
39. Trapped 2
40. The wall…
41. Caitlyn Jenner might de-transition back to a Bruce? claims Biographer
42. Cold Bones
43. When You Feel Trapped
44. Not much to say
45. Life Goes On
46. Stop Running
47. When God Intervenes
48. The True Nature of God
49. Standing Up For What You Believe

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• Spinal Fusion Not Always Necessary for Back Pain, Studies Say
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• Can a Car Accident Cause Scoliosis?
• Serum Immunoglobulin G Levels to Porphyromonas gingivalis Peptidylarginine Deiminase Affect Clinical Response to Biological Disease-Modifying Antirheumatic Drug in Rheumatoid Arthritis
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Fear, struggles, sadness, bad feelings and depression

Do you feel like having “the blues”?

From time to time people shall feel sad or shall have downswings in mood. We should not fear this being an abnormal reaction to life’s struggles, setbacks, and disappointments. Many people use the word “depression” to explain these kinds of feelings, but depression is much more than just sadness.

Depression 2 (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

We shall have to start worrying when the normal ups and downs of life let us feel more sad than we should do or would bring us out of balance. When getting the “the blues” brings us in a stadium where we do have no control any more, than we should start to worry.

When emptiness and despair have taken hold of your life and won’t go away, you may have depression. Such a negative state of mind can make it tough to function and enjoy life like you once did and should do. When you become so ‘depri’ that you do seem to loose any control and that you are just getting through the day is overwhelming, you could find yourself in a situation where others should come to help you.

Depression 6 (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Always you should know, no matter how hopeless you feel, that there is a solution for you and that you can get better. Understanding the signs, symptoms, causes, and treatment of depression is the first step to overcoming the problem. When you hear other people talking and get to know they where depressed at some time, never think your depression should be like theirs. Every depression is different, but every different case has ways to come out of it.

Depression varies from person to person, but there are some common signs and symptoms. It’s important to remember that these symptoms can be part of life’s normal lows. But the more symptoms you have, the stronger they are, and the longer they’ve lasted—the more likely it is that you’re dealing with depression. When these symptoms are overwhelming and disabling, that’s when it’s time to seek help. {Depression Symptoms & Warning Signs}

signs and symptoms ptsd (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

When you start like losing interest in things you enjoy, you should start worrying and going to look out for people who really can help you. But do know that you yourself have enough inside you to bring yourself up again. But than you have to start believing in yourself first. Yeah, believing in yourself is the main gate to recovery. Because of the darkness in you it may be difficult to find that door to rescue. But if you are willing to look carefully you shall be able to find a tiny light which can become brighter if you are wiling to open your eyes more.

Symptoms of Stress (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

You may feel weak but do know that depression is a medical illness, not a sign of weakness. And it’s treatable. If you think you might be depressed, don’t try to tough it out. Make an appointment with a doctor or therapist. Perhaps many persons would like to set you on medical drugs straight away, but it would be safer to use the many other effective, proven ways to relieve depression.
For most people, the first treatments a doctor will try are antidepressants and psychotherapy. Some studies have found that combining therapy with medication works better than medication alone.

You should know there are a lot of options, and nature provides many of solutions which do not poison your body with synthetic drugs. Walking in green areas may already be a very simple solution, letting your eyes wonder over the beauty of creation and letting it perhaps go chaotic for the time walking, bombarding you with all sorts of ideas. Daring to let all those ideas coming out of your mind will help you.

When you feel that you are taken by depression look for reading material about the decease. Keep reading to learn more about antidepressants, therapy, and healthy habits that can help

When you have severe symptoms that interfere with your ability to work, sleep, study, eat, and enjoy life and doctors find it better to take some medication, you may consider such a help. Check if there are previous histories in your family. However, depression can occur in people without family histories of depression too.

Scientists are studying certain genes that may make some people more prone to depression. Some genetics research indicates that risk for depression results from the influence of several genes acting together with environmental or other factors. In addition, trauma, loss of a loved one, a difficult relationship, or any stressful situation may trigger a depressive episode. Other depressive episodes may occur with or without an obvious trigger.
Certain medications, and some medical conditions such as viruses or a thyroid disorder, can cause the same symptoms as depression. A doctor can rule out these possibilities by doing a physical exam, interview, and lab tests. If the doctor can find no medical condition that may be causing the depression, the next step is a psychological evaluation.
Talking with a psychiatric doctor may bring you on the way to find solutions for your unpleasant condition. Some people shall be advised to ad may physical exercises to their daily routine, or to take homoeopathic or phytotherapeutic treatment to work on that what is weakened or not working so well in the body system, others need more drastic drugs which go to work in the brain directly, working on brain chemicals called neurotransmitters, especially serotonin and norepinephrine..

Depending on the medication, antidepressants may cause increased appetite and weight gain, low sex drive, insomnia, jittery feelings, dry mouth, blurred vision, and fatigue and drowsiness.

These side effects don’t affect everyone, and if they do, many times they eventually fade. But if they don’t, your doctor can change your medicine or dosage or talk with you about how to manage side effects so they don’t bother you as much. {Antidepressant Side Effects}

Alcohol and other substance abuse or dependence may also co-exist with depression. Research shows that mood disorders and substance abuse commonly occur together. In such instance the patient has to be prepared to look for solutions to get rid of those disorders as well. Though if they are willing to tackle already one problem, they shall find out that treating the depression can also help improve the outcome of treating the co-occurring illness.

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Find additional reading:

1. What Is Depression?
2. Depression By John M. Grohol, Psy.D.
3. Symptoms & Types of Depression
4. Depression Treatment
5. Christadelphian Life Solutions – Home

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Related articles

1. What is life?
2. The world is but a great inn
3. A time for everything
4. Subcutaneous power for humanity 5 Loneliness, Virtual and real friends
5. Lonely so lonely
6. ~ Sink or Swim ~
7. A Glory followed by Despair
8. When discouraged facing opposition
9. Where is the edge
10. What If you’re only driven by stress?
11. Depression Is and When
12. Depression, Anxiety, Pressure and megachurches
13. A Glory followed by Despair
14. I said God it hurts
15. Building up the spirit of the soul
16. Daily portion of heavenly food
17. Fear of failure, and fear of the unknown
18. Fear knocked at the door
19. Fear and protection
20. Uncertainty, shame and no time for vacillation
21. Stronger than anything that wants to destroy
22. Breathing and growing with no heir
23. Some one or something to fear #1 Many sorts of fear
24. Some one or something to fear #2 Attitude and Reactions
25. Some one or something to fear #3 Cases, folks and outing
26. Some one or something to fear #4 Families and Competition
27. Some one or something to fear #5 Not afraid
28. Fearing the right person
29. 8 fears caused by the fear of Man
30. Importance of parents 1
31. Kitty Werthmann her account of grewing up in Austria under Nazi regime
32. Materialism, would be life, and aspirations
33. Ageing and Solidarity between generations
34. Belonging to or being judged by
35. More-Letter-Words
36. No fear in love
37. Control and change
38. Wondering
39. The Paradigm of Instinct, Intuition and Intention
40. Fear not tomorrow. God is already there
41. Look for your Refuge by God
42. Only the contrite self, sick of its pretensions, can find salvation
43. Praying and thinking positively
44. Believe What You Will
45. Getting out of the dark corners of this world
46. See the conquest and believe that we can gain the victory
47. We all have to have dreams
48. Peacefulness
49. Trusting, Faith, Calling and Ascribing to Jehovah #8 Prayer #6 Communication and manifestation
50. Trusting, Faith, Calling and Ascribing to Jehovah #16 Benefits of praying
51. Condemnation of the World and Illustration of Justification
52. Remember there’s a light in the next day
53. A little ray of sunshine.
54. Searching for fulfilment and meaning through own efforts, facing unsatisfaction and depression
55. Thanksgiving wisdom: Why gratitude is good for your health
56. Joy: Foundation for a Positive Life
57. Be an Encourager
58. Aligned

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Related articles

• Antidepressants Make Things Worse in the Long Term (madinamerica.com)
  The authors propose the term “tardive dysphoria” to describe this condition.  Tardive means delayed; dysphoria means unhappy or depressed.  The idea is that just as prolonged ingestion of neuroleptics causes tardive dyskinesia, so the prolonged ingestion of antidepressants causes tardive dysphoria.  It’s a nice idea, but the name hasn’t caught on – at least not yet.
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  “In…patients who have developed TDp [tardive dysphoria], ongoing attempts to treat the depression with antidepressants perpetuate the TRD, and may ultimately make the chronic depression permanent.”
  +
  • Overtreatment, Bereavement, and Antidepressants
  • Type of Treatment for Depression is Less Important than Engagement
  • Antidepressants/Depression
• Treatments for Depression (sarahmireles4.wordpress.com)
  There are many ways to treat depression without taking medications. Different types of therapy are available to relieve symptoms of depression.  Therapy teaches practical techniques on how to reframe negative thinking and employ behavioral skills in combating depression. Among these are cognitive behavioral therapy, interpersonal therapy, and psychodynamic therapy.
• Scientists “Fingerprint” A Culprit In Depression, Anxiety, & Other Disorders That Could Lead To Treatment Breakthroughs (publichealthwatch.wordpress.com)
  According to the World Health Organization (WHO), such mood disorders as depression affect some 10% of the world’s population and are associated with a heavy burden of disease. In fact, the WHO recently reported that depression is the leading cause of disability worldwide. That’s why numerous scientists around the world have invested a great deal of effort in understanding these diseases. Yet the molecular and cellular mechanisms that underlie these problems are still only partly understood.The existing antidepressants are not good enough: Some 60-70% of patients get no relief from them. For the other 30-40%, that relief is often incomplete, and they must take the drugs for a long period before feeling any effects. In addition, there are many side effects associated with the drugs. New and better drugs are clearly needed, an undertaking that requires, first and foremost, a better understanding of the processes and causes underlying the disorders.
• 7 Ways Depression Differs in Men and Women (livescience.com)
  “We have known about sex differences for years when it comes to depression, and they are absolutely essential to understanding the illness,” said Jill Goldstein, director of research at the Connors Center for Women’s Health and Gender Biology at Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston.In one of the largest depression-related differences between the sexes, women have about twice the risk of developing the condition as men, Goldstein said. This results in part from biological reasons, such as hormones and genes that get disrupted when brain regions are developing in the male and female fetus, she said.These biological changes during fetal development lay the groundwork that creates a vulnerability to mood disorders, such as depression, she said.
• Antidepressants and Youth: A Decade since the “Black Box” (psychologytoday.com)
  Ten years ago, the Food and Drug Administration mandated that all antidepressants carry a prominent “black box” warning to alert prescribers of the potential danger in children and adolescents of these medications leading to new suicidal thoughts or actions.  The warning came in the midst of passionate debate about the potential risks and benefits of using and not using these drugs.  A decade later, this discussion has largely disappeared from the public eye and evaded media headlines.  Nevertheless, antidepressants continue to be prescribed and research into their use has continued.
• Does depression require hospitalization? (sciencedaily.com)
  A new study has analyzed the difference between day hospital and inpatient stay in depression. Depending on the severity of depression, patients may be treated at different levels of care with psychotherapy and/or antidepressant medication. While several previous studies compared the efficacy of different levels of care for psychotherapy of personality disorders, sufficient data is lacking for the comparison of day-clinic and inpatient psychotherapy for depression. The current pilot study evaluates the feasibility of randomization in a routine hospital setting and compares preliminary efficacy for day-clinic and inpatient psychotherapy for depression.
• Types Of Depression Medications (howtocuremaledepression.com)
  There is much misconception regarding male depression and there are many of them that make out that they fully understand what it is and the effect that it can have on people, but really if the truth be known they don’t have a clue or real understanding of the illness. If you are one of those who are unclear about the disorder and think that it is a disorder but rather an excuse to get attention, it does however goes deeper than that. Depression in men is not something you want to mess with or ignore, because if not put in check it is not only discouraging you from carrying out certain tasks and living a normal life, it is killing you.
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  Depression is actually a disorder that has an effect on your entire body, your mind and also your mood. This illness has an effect how you eat your food and sleep at night. It can also have a major effect on your attitude about certain subjects and people, and more essentially about your own being. Depression is not just a dark mood swing that is going to snap out of in a few minutes. Click Here! for lots more practical information.
• You and Your Antidepressant (annecwoodlen.wordpress.com)
  While all prescription medications have side effects, antidepressant medications appear to do more harm than good as treatments for depression. We reviewed this evidence in a recent article published in the journal Frontiers in Psychology (freely available here).
  The widespread use of antidepressants is a serious public health problem, and it raises a number of ethical and legal issues for prescribers (physicians, nurse practitioners). Here, we summarize some of the most important points that prescribers should ethically tell their patients before they prescribe antidepressant medications. We also discuss the ways that prescribers could be held legally liable for prescribing antidepressants. Finally, we implore practitioners to update the informed consent procedure for antidepressant medication to reflect current research and exercise greater caution in the prescription of antidepressants.
• ‘Overreaction’ To Warnings About Teen Antidepressant Use Leads To Spike In Youth Suicide Attempts (publichealthwatch.wordpress.com)
  A few years ago, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration issued warnings that children and teens who took a common kind of antidepressant might experience suicidal thoughts. The point of the warning was to make sure that parents and doctors paid closer attention to kids taking these medications. But the plan may have backfired.As the public took the Food and Drug Administration’s 2004 warning to heart, adolescent attempted suicides increased and antidepressant use dropped, according to research published in BMJ. Meanwhile, attempted suicides among teens rose 22 percent. Among those ages 18 to 29, attempted suicides increased 34 percent.The effect of a regulatory warning that gained wide attention in the media shows the need for better communication by public health professionals, said Christine Lu, the study’s lead author. The drop in antidepressant prescriptions among adolescents and young adults probably means depression went untreated, she said.
• When Antidepressants Aren’t Enough | How Counseling Can Help With Depression (safeharbor1.wordpress.com)
  Those who are curious about alternative ways to treat depression or are not getting enough from their antidepressants may want to consider counseling. There are many ways that counseling can help individuals cope with and overcome depression, including:
  • Pinpoints Targets of Depression
  • Provides Support
  • Helps Others Understand+
    Whether you have felt that antidepressants are not the answer for you or you want to explore additional paths for treating depression, there are many trained counselors available to assist you through the journey.