For those in the second category, there are a number of solutions. No, it won’t go away, most likely, but you will get a reprieve for a number of hours and sometimes days.

Obviously traditional therapy with a trained professional should take precedence over all other

modicums of treatment.

However, in my experience, and many others whom have been afflicted with the lifetime experience of GAD (Generalized Anxiety Disorder) and (TRD) Treatment Resistant Depression, there are some activities that can lift both, at least for awhile. And if done often enough, the severity of bouts of either is lessened.

Walk.

That’s right. Something as simple as walking. I realize some persons reading this article are wheelchair-bound or have some other disability in which they are unable to walk, but there are plenty of aerobic exercises that “clue” the nervous system that it can “calm down” and a trained professional in that area can be most helpful.

But for those who can walk, but don’t want to, still, walk. Don’t try to conquer the world with a marathon on the first walk. A few blocks is fine to start if you’ve not been walking much in the past.

Build your way up. I started that way after a major heart attack eight years ago. I’m now up to five miles, sometimes more per day.

I have both treatment resistant depression and GAD. For the depression, I was fortunate enough to be a candidate for the VNS (Vagus Nerve Stimulator) made by Cyberonics in Houston. Not everyone qualifies, but if you do have TRD and are willing to put up a fight, sometimes against your own doctor’s orders, you’ll win the fight and beat the depression. I found Cyberonics to have very aggressive and effective case workers. They found a doctor in my area trained in this procedure There are not many who are, and that has put a bit of a riff in the psychiatric community. Many are calling it “junk science”. That’s okay with me. They can call it what they want. It works just fine for me thank you and I was thrown a cocktail of every medicine imaginable for thirty years which didn’t do a thing.

GAD is another story. Yes, the VNS implant helps it somewhat but not totally like it does the depression. Sometimes I have to take medicines for it too. But whether I take them or not, on days I walk, I feel much less anxiety the rest of the day and night, and sleep better. On days I don’t walk, even if I take the medicines for anxiety, I feel anxiety to a certain degree. Of course stress and anxiety is a part of life, but that does not mean GAD (anxiety magnified) has to be so.

I take a long walk every day that the weather permits now. To stay in shape, I used to go to the gym, but found I could do crunches and push-ups, etc at home, and it didn’t cost me a thing and I stayed in just as good of shape.

There is not a lot of empathy or sympathy for those who suffer from depression and/or anxiety; the two often go together. It is not a disease that is totally socially-acceptable.

Due to school-shootings, insanity pleas after violent crimes, etc. many still stereotype everyone who suffers from either disease to have such violent tendencies (I have never been violent in my life nor wanted to hurt myself). It is more aggravating than painful; though clinical studies have proven that both anxiety and depression can and often does cause physical pain that is inexplainable.

Sometimes the person with the disease is not sure which is more painful, the disease itself, or the social isolation.

My colleagues have often told me to “stay quiet” and “mum’s the word” etc. about this ailment, that persons can and will use it against me, and I have much to lose.

I say, “So what? I also have much to gain. If just one person can win the battle against this awful ailment, if someone “uses it against me” it was all worth it.

As I said, in 2001, I suffered a major heart attack. It did not feel very good. But I can promise one thing. If I had a choice of a heart attack a day, or major depression and anxiety, I would choose the heart attack in a heartbeat (no pun intended).

And I am certain others struggling with the same ailment feel the same way. There is no way to explain it.

Fortunately today, modern medicine has a much better handle on it than they did even a decade ago. If you’ve not explored therapy, exercise and other ways to help yourself, please do. Life is worth it and the chance to be a productive and contributing member of society (I never really was until a decade ago, is well worth the battle). It beats laying in bed until 3pm, that’s for sure.

Rick London is a writer/cartoonist and e-tailer living in the beautiful Ouchata Mountains. He owns a number of websites with his offbeat cartoons and licensed products http://www.ricklondonwear.com, [http://www.prozacwear.com], http://www.londonstimes.us Many of his cartoons and products are psychiatry and depression-related.

For those in the second category, there are a number of solutions. No, it won’t go away, most likely, but you will get a reprieve for a number of hours and sometimes days.

Obviously traditional therapy with a trained professional should take precedence over all other

modicums of treatment.

However, in my experience, and many others whom have been afflicted with the lifetime experience of GAD (Generalized Anxiety Disorder) and (TRD) Treatment Resistant Depression, there are some activities that can lift both, at least for awhile. And if done often enough, the severity of bouts of either is lessened.

Walk.

That’s right. Something as simple as walking. I realize some persons reading this article are wheelchair-bound or have some other disability in which they are unable to walk, but there are plenty of aerobic exercises that “clue” the nervous system that it can “calm down” and a trained professional in that area can be most helpful.

But for those who can walk, but don’t want to, still, walk. Don’t try to conquer the world with a marathon on the first walk. A few blocks is fine to start if you’ve not been walking much in the past.

Build your way up. I started that way after a major heart attack eight years ago. I’m now up to five miles, sometimes more per day.

I have both treatment resistant depression and GAD. For the depression, I was fortunate enough to be a candidate for the VNS (Vagus Nerve Stimulator) made by Cyberonics in Houston. Not everyone qualifies, but if you do have TRD and are willing to put up a fight, sometimes against your own doctor’s orders, you’ll win the fight and beat the depression. I found Cyberonics to have very aggressive and effective case workers. They found a doctor in my area trained in this procedure There are not many who are, and that has put a bit of a riff in the psychiatric community. Many are calling it “junk science”. That’s okay with me. They can call it what they want. It works just fine for me thank you and I was thrown a cocktail of every medicine imaginable for thirty years which didn’t do a thing.

GAD is another story. Yes, the VNS implant helps it somewhat but not totally like it does the depression. Sometimes I have to take medicines for it too. But whether I take them or not, on days I walk, I feel much less anxiety the rest of the day and night, and sleep better. On days I don’t walk, even if I take the medicines for anxiety, I feel anxiety to a certain degree. Of course stress and anxiety is a part of life, but that does not mean GAD (anxiety magnified) has to be so.

I take a long walk every day that the weather permits now. To stay in shape, I used to go to the gym, but found I could do crunches and push-ups, etc at home, and it didn’t cost me a thing and I stayed in just as good of shape.

There is not a lot of empathy or sympathy for those who suffer from depression and/or anxiety; the two often go together. It is not a disease that is totally socially-acceptable.

Due to school-shootings, insanity pleas after violent crimes, etc. many still stereotype everyone who suffers from either disease to have such violent tendencies (I have never been violent in my life nor wanted to hurt myself). It is more aggravating than painful; though clinical studies have proven that both anxiety and depression can and often does cause physical pain that is inexplainable.

Sometimes the person with the disease is not sure which is more painful, the disease itself, or the social isolation.

My colleagues have often told me to “stay quiet” and “mum’s the word” etc. about this ailment, that persons can and will use it against me, and I have much to lose.

I say, “So what? I also have much to gain. If just one person can win the battle against this awful ailment, if someone “uses it against me” it was all worth it.

As I said, in 2001, I suffered a major heart attack. It did not feel very good. But I can promise one thing. If I had a choice of a heart attack a day, or major depression and anxiety, I would choose the heart attack in a heartbeat (no pun intended).

And I am certain others struggling with the same ailment feel the same way. There is no way to explain it.

Fortunately today, modern medicine has a much better handle on it than they did even a decade ago. If you’ve not explored therapy, exercise and other ways to help yourself, please do. Life is worth it and the chance to be a productive and contributing member of society (I never really was until a decade ago, is well worth the battle). It beats laying in bed until 3pm, that’s for sure.

Rick London is a writer/cartoonist and e-tailer living in the beautiful Ouchata Mountains. He owns a number of websites with his offbeat cartoons and licensed products http://www.ricklondonwear.com, [http://www.prozacwear.com], http://www.londonstimes.us Many of his cartoons and products are psychiatry and depression-related.

The increased diagnoses of depression over the past thirty years may, in fact, be due to a growing recognition that it is an emotional disorder which surfaces in a variety of ways. Although the word “depression” is often bandied about among people who are unhappy or disappointed about some of their circumstances, they use it with no real understanding of what clinical depression is.

Genuine clinical depression continues well past the event which may have created the original negative reactions, and robs its sufferers of the capacity for normal functioning. Accompanied by lethargy, unremitting sadness, loss of hope, feelings of failure and inadequacy, clinical depression may lead to eating disorders, alcohol and drug abuse, and in some cases, self-destructive behaviors including cutting and even suicide.

Bipolar Disorder

There is, however, a form of clinical depression called Bipolar, or Manic Depression. It

is often misdiagnosed because, of all the types of major depression, it is the only one in which the victims experience episodes of unfounded elation and may even become hyperactive. Because their bouts of sadness are interrupted by these episodes, they do not always look like other clinically depressed people.

Unipolar Disorder

Unipolar, or major depression, and bipolar depression are the types of depression often contrasted. People suffering from Bipolar Depression may themselves not realize they are depressed because of their frequent switches from extreme sadness and lassitude to extreme happiness and an overabundance of energy. There are no such fluctuations in Unipolar Depression; its most obvious symptom is the sufferer’s continuing sadness and lethargy.

Atypical Depression

The third of the types of depression, Atypical Depression, is both the most prevalent. It is similar to the Bipolar Depression in that people with Atypical Depression are capable of responding to positive events, but their reactions will be less subdued than those of bipolar sufferers. In this they differ from Unipolar Depression victims, whose negativity is ongoing. But even individuals with Atypical Depression are sad and indifferent the majority of the time.

Dysthymic Disorder

The fourth of the types of depression is the Dysthymic Disorder, a less severe version of Unipolar Depression recognizable for the length of its duration. Dsythymic Disorder will last for more than two years, and because it continues for so long, the negative attitudes of its sufferers are often dismissed as unattractive personality traits. Because of this, of all the types of depression, Dysthymic Disorder is the one least likely to be diagnosed, and it may affect someone for a lifetime.

Psychotic Depression

The last, and most severe of the different types of clinical depression [http://www.treatdepressionhelp.com/Types_Of_Depression/] is Psychotic Depression, which brings visual and auditory hallucinations in addition to a negative emotional stated and loss of interest in life.

You can also find more info on Understanding Depression [http://www.treatdepressionhelp.com/Understanding_Depression/] and About Depression [http://www.treatdepressionhelp.com/About_Depression/]. Treatdepressionhelp.com is a comprehensive resource to find out about Depression.

Despite this the disparity of the symptoms are usually not that big. Moreover, for most forms of depression there are actually more similarities than differences a fact that often demands that only skilled persons perform diagnosis. It is crucial to be aware that and though there are lots of similarities in warning signs, treatment often produces better outcome when it is specific and targeted towards the complications related to an individual category.

The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM), a publication of the American Psychiatric Association is a very handy resource that contains information regarding the various forms of depression or other psychological ailments.

The most common types of depression are:

1. Major or Clinical Depression (Major Depressive Disorder) – The major characteristics of Major Depressive Disorder (MDD) include low mood, lack of interest in most activities, nervousness, appetite and sleeping problems, unceasing lethargy, diminished mental capabilities, irritability, mysterious bodily aches and pains, powerful guilt as well as low self-esteem. A person is said to be suffering from clinical depression if these symptoms continue for a period of more than two weeks.

2. Dysthymic Disorder (Dysthymia) – Dysthymia is a type of depression which shares the majority of its symptoms with clinical depression. The main dissimilarity between the two is that the symptoms of dysthymia are mostly not as severe as those of major depression. Besides that, the symptoms of dysthymic disorder tend to last for prolonged durations of time which can span from a period of a few years to a lifetime. An individual is said to be suffering from dysthymia when the above mentioned symptoms persist for over two years.

3. Manic Depression or Bipolar Disorder (Also Manic Depressive Disorder) – Bipolar depression also has a lot of the low mood and energy symptoms like those of major depression. The only difference is that apart from patients experiencing bouts of depression they also undergo durations of exceptionally high mood, energy and activity levels.

4. Post-Partum Depression – Post-partum depression ordinarily affects parents who have just received a child. Signs of this ailment include intense and prolonged feeling of desolation, hopelessness, incessant tiredness and so on. On the other hand these symptoms are not experienced in the same way between different patients, for some patients it may last longer or be more intense than in others.

5. Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD) – This is a type of depression that affects certain people during certain periods or seasons in the year. Signs of SAD include lousy mood, constant exhaustion, sleep and eating habit changes. This tends to happen mostly during the beginning of winter. Symptoms of this type of depression tends to fade off once the season ends.

6. Reactive Depression (Or Situational Depression) – This usually happens when a person experiences low mood after undergoing a difficult or unpleasant experience. Examples of such disturbing experiences include financial difficulties, death of a loved one and natural disasters. Persons who are affected with this type of depression are more capable of recovering quickly from the condition even without treatment as compared to other types of depression.

Less common types of depression include; Melancholic Depression, Psychotic Depression, Catatonic Depression and Atypical Depression. The types and severity of the symptoms for each of these forms of depression vary from patient to patient and are not easy to diagnose. To ensure that diagnosis (and therefore treatment) is correct, mental health professionals should be always consulted.

You can access similar articles about the various types of depression, symptoms and treatment and other related issues like causes and types depression as well as other mental health issues on our website. Visit http://www.depressiontreatmentsite.com for more details