Understand People Who Suffers Depression
17th October 2009 by Depressed No CommentsThe illness known as manic depressive disorder is more a collection of similar and related illnesses, mostly characterized by swings between greatly elevated moods (the “manic” side) and severely depressed ones. Because the manifestations of the disorder can vary a lot (for example, rapid cycling between moods versus slower), it’s very challenging to find the best and most effective treatments. One of the best ways to start working on treatment is probably to find a depression treatment center and a therapist who is very knowledgeable about the illness. Teamwork between the person who is ill and his or her doctors may be a key to treating it successfully.
Most people with manic depressive disorder don’t exist in a constant “back and forth” cycle of mood swings, as many function quite well in the periods between manic and depressive episodes. What that means is that they are capable of taking an active role in their own manic depression treatment, working with their doctors to devise and monitor them. Among other behavior issues, their greatest temptation may be to go off their medications if the symptoms appear to vanish. Therefore, the treatments may not be restricted just to those drug products, but may also involve psychotherapy so they can learn to recognize behaviors that might undermine their success.
When it comes to the medications prescribed for manic depressives, there are a great many currently available. However, lithium has been used for many years in various forms, and seems to have the best track record for stabilizing the mood swings and even for reducing instances of suicide. One difficulty with this drug, however, is the side effects of high blood pressure, water retention and constipation. So, new treatments are often sought to see if other drugs might work as well, with fewer repercussions. Interestingly, it’s a breast cancer medicine called tamoxifen that has shown one of the best and quickest responses to a manic phase. Other mood stabilizers and antipsychotic drugs are also among the current treatments.
New drugs are being developed all the time, of course. And the constellation of manic depressive disorder illnesses is constantly being studied, and knowledge about them is always being refined. People who experience one of the manifestations of this disorder can help in their own treatment by reading up on whatever bipolar information they can find, working with a therapist, and being as attentive as possible to their own behavior and warning signs. Treating and controlling this illness is really a joint venture.
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