DEPRESSION
Depression is a known disorder worldwide; it is a disorder that has affected more than 264 million people all over the world. Depression is not the same with mood changing and short-lived emotional responses to hardship and challenges that happen daily in life. When there is long-lasting or severe intensity, depression might lead to a serious health condition. It can cause the victim to suffer from depression to start performing poorly in work, school, and also in the family. When depression is at its worst state, it can make a victim commit suicide.it is approximated that around 800,000 commit suicide yearly due to depression.
Despite the known effective treatments for these mental disorders, 76% and 85% of people in both low and middle-income families do not receive treatment for their mental disorder. The main reason why they do not receive effective care is because they lack resources, the social stigma that is associated to mental disorders and lack of health care providers. Other barriers, to their good and effective care is lack of good assessment. This means that countries will all level incomes, are not properly diagnosed, while others that do not suffer from this mental disorder are prescribed with antidepressants, that do not add up with what they are suffering from.
Common effective treatments, for both moderate and server depressions include behavioral activation, (CBT) cognitive behavioral therapy, and also interpersonal psychotherapy (IPT). other medication that include antidepressant such as selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) and (TCAs) tricyclic antidepressants. For this matter, medication for this disorders may also vary from individual preferences, or treatments preferred by the professionals and therapists.
Reasons for cam.
The common used treatments for depressions, as explained above, have been known to be effective, over a long period of time. in the recent meta-analyses, has also found that many people have dropped the known treatments responding low remission rates. Also with clinically differences between placebos and the antidepressants drugs, can help those patients that are highly affected by depression. This might lead to other patients, considering other methods of treatments.
Patients that are not comfortable in using antidepressants will start increasing the use of the complementary and alternative medicine (CAM), this is particularly for varying physical conditions with comorbid effective disorders. NIH, describes CAM as a therapeutic method that are frequently not considered in conventional western medicine systems. The CAM therapies that are combined with conventional care are always considered as complementary, those that are used rather than conventional care as other practices. There are different types of CAM and its include natural products, that includes herbs and dietary supplements, and other mind practices that includes yoga, chiropractic and osteopathic manipulation, staying at ease or relaxation, tai chi, hypnotherapy and qi gong. Other practices used by traditional healers from Europe, Asia and China have also been classified as CAM. There are some CAM practices that are known to treat this depression disorder while others are known due to their side effects or different interactions with standard drugs.
It is upon individual to choose CAM practices that they are confident of. For instance, American College of Physicians, the American Psychiatric Association and the Canadian Network for Mood and Anxiety Treatments guideline, provide comprehensive overview and critical appraisal for Cam treatments while other institutes such as Deutsche Gesellschaft fur Psychiatrie und Psychotherapie, and other related institutions, considers St. John’s Wort and light therapy.
Types of CAM therapies
Nature
There is a new field study that is exploring the effects of nature and the natural environment on the person who has a mental disorder. This field has been described by the investigators as a field of biophilia, that stresses on our relationship with our natural environment. This includes relationship with animals within us or nature alone. Recent study from the British Medical Journal found that there is a value of swimming together with dolphins, and various animals has a positive effect to a victim suffering from a mental disorder from a natural setting. Very positive effects were found that 30 adult’s patients that has mild to moderate depression, with this method of nature, after a period of two weeks of treatment responded positively to the treatment.
Environment
A good and healthy environment, plays a big role in maintaining, restoring and promoting peace of mind. Unhealthy environments that includes abuse, poverty neglect and lack of opportunities for work or school can cause a bad change of mood to an individual, that cannot be treated by medications alone. Important elements that causes moods fluctuations includes (light nature) for example a television, the social and environmental that includes, racism, stigma, sexism, gender. Fall here on this topic.
Oral narratives, such as poems, songs and stories explains the relationship between the sunshine and happiness, and darkness with lack of happiness. It has been found that desynchronization of internal rhythms plays a significant role in the pathophysiology of depression disorders. The level of serotonin during winter months are lower. Due to the changes of era, and modern way of life that includes living indoors and travelling in enclosed environment, leads to children and adults receiving less sunshine compared to people that lived sometimes back. Psychiatrics has found out that patient that are admitted indoors stays longer in hospitals compared to those that are admitted under sunshine. Thus psychiatrics recommends admission of victims under sunshine.
Daylighting, a practice of exposing school children to direct line, has positively affected performance, reduces illness and also improves student attendance to school. Bright light therapy plays a role in treating mental disorders. In a research published in 2006, found out that it is effective in treating mental disorders as fluoxetine, both posted a rate of 67%. Also phototherapy functions well as antidepressant, when treating depression during pregnancy. A random meta-analysis controlled trials of light rounded up that bright light treatment, for non-seasonal depression is effective, posting effects similar to that for the most antidepressant pharmacotherapy trials.
Exercise
Many people prefer the use of exercise than antidepressant medications, describing it as more effective in improving positive moods. Taking kids away from computer and electronic games, to play physical games posts positive results, then when they continue playing computer games. In a meta- analysis of yoga therapy, five random control trials in victims suffering from depression, showed positive results. There are low cases of reported side effects with exception of fatigue and difficulty in breathing for participants. Other side effects of vigorous exercising include, decreased obesity, lower risk of heart diseases, improved academic results, improved sleep, and decreased pains. Exercising is best treatment of depression, and should be recommended the clinical officers.
Lack of sleep among the youths, is another cause of disorder. Insomnia is a common symptom for depression which is caused by lack of sufficient of sleep. There are various ways of improving sleep hygiene such as removing electronics in bedroom, ensuring that there is less or no lights in bedroom, listening to relaxing music, reading inspiring journals, stories, or writing poems or stories, may also improve mood in bedroom. Clinical officers prefer exercising as mood improvement CAM, because its side effects are positive.
Nutrition
Taking essential amounts of nutrients and minimizing intake of poisons substances is called healthy nutrition. Peoples variations of genes, medical illnesses, medications currently one is, and many other factors may lead to specific nutrients.
There are different evident with different suggestions: Improve blood sugar level by recommending food with a low glycemic which includes proteins and carbohydrates(complex). Patients should be encouraged to take breakfast that includes protein at breakfast to promote stable blood sugar level. Processed food consumption, should be discouraged. While treating patients, encourage them to take in plenty of water and eating vegetables and fresh fruits and legumes. Sweetened beverages, fatty foods, processed foods and junky foods should be avoided.
About 6-10% of have sensitivities to different food and allergies, and others that cannot consume gluten. common food sensitivities include wheat, soy, dairy, eggs and others. Food sensitivities may cause mood problem and other illnesses such as asthma and rhinorrhea. To detect food sensitivity, is recording food records properly in a diary. In diagnosing, other methods such as blood testing, endoscopic biopsy, skin testing and diet eliminations may be used for food sensitivities. eliminating the triggering food in the diet improves the mood of the victim with other symptoms like, headaches, GI upset and rashes. It is good for one to avoid consumption of toxic food.
Some people chooses other ways to manage their moods such as drinking alcohol, smoking cigarettes or taking other drugs. Sometimes this way may improve moods in short term or long term, the have many disadvantages. It is good to use organic food to replace the chemical residues that has a lot of effects. Pediatricians can consider recommending farm, and organic food that promotes good health. Make sure that sufficient nutrients that improves health moods are taken. Nutrients are important for production of neurotransmitters that affects mood such as serotonin. Body absorbs nutrients easily through unprocessed organic foods that are grown locally.
Mind-body therapy
Meditation, is a moment to moment act that involves nonjudgmental awareness of breathing, emotions, physical sensations and what is mind. This practice can lead to improved mood, and change the mind to act friendly to the environment, for benefits. When meditation is done professionally, its leads to an increase in left-sided anterior activation, a pattern that is brought out by a positive outcome.
People that have practiced meditation for a long period of time has increased cortical thickness in brain regions that is related to attention and sensory processing, comprising prefrontal cortex. There are various side effects of meditations, its include improved ability to deal with stress, enhanced immune system and reduced anxiety. A therapist should give a patient right steps to be followed during meditation, because if this is not given one might perform it wrongly, and will cause negative effects to the victim.
method posting positive results in improving victim’s mood, there are site-effects that are associated to this method of treatment.
Acupuncture
Acupuncture is a traditional Chinese medicine technique that involves inserting fine needles into certain points to help rebuild proper flow of energy in the whole body. From modern research, acupuncture plays a role in improvement of moods and related mind disorders. There are several physiologic effects of acupuncture, including the release of neurotransmitters, reduced activation of pain-associated limbic areas and causes changes in the cerebral spinal fluid biochemistry.
A recent Cochrane review found that 30 RCTs that considered the use of manual acupuncture, electroacupuncture, or laser acupuncture in a sample of 2812 patients with MDD. There is no benefit noted with any form of acupuncture when a comparison between wait-list or sham acupuncture controls is used. It is found that three RCTs (n=94) in comparison with SSRI or TCA mode of treatment, resulted same inconclusive results. Study of methodologic issue that plagued acupuncture research, is the use of sham method as a placebo, because experienced professionals insists that that this sham technique have physiologic effects. Another rising issue is the use of acupuncture points for different patients, is considered a positive attribute of acupuncture.
There are moderate claims that insists that acupuncture is note effective, for the treatment of depression. Most trials have reported no better outcomes than experienced by wait-list controls. There are uncommon adverse events in this method, with an event rate of0.55 per 10000 patients. There is only one serious complication related that is pneumothorax which is always very rare.
There is also reported cases of infection and transient neurotherapy. There are people that might consider the use of this method, other than other methods. For better results patient should try finding out a suitable acupuncturist who is more competent. Acupuncturist, leads the patient in performing acupuncture practices.
Generally, major depressive disorder, is one of the fastest growing disorder in North America. Newly found antidepressants appears more effective as compared to older drugs, having a response rate of up to 50%, but they do not treat all depressed patients. Despite this data, many drugs have side effects, that can greatly affect compliance and morbidity, this makes other patients to seek other forms of treatments that suits them.
Many patients are now increasingly seeking the use of complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) in treating their depression. In a recent study it is found that 40% of people with depression uses CAM therapies. Most patients do not share information of their physicians to the family. It is important for the family physicians to ask and know about the use of CAM therapies, in order to have basic knowledge of therapies that are commonly used.
.