Depression and Other Mood Disorders
Depression is the best known of the illnesses classified as mood disorders, a group of conditions that includes major depression, dysthymic disorder (which is a type of chronic, mild depression), seasonal affective disorder (SAD), postpartum depression (PPD), and bipolar disorder.
Major or Minor
Everyone feels sad sometimes, but when those feelings linger or are so intense that they interfere with your daily functioning, they could be a sign of depression. Mood disorders generally involve feelings of persistent sadness, hopelessness, and apathy, but major depression, as its name implies, can create serious problems in an individual's personal and professional life and, in extreme cases, lead to suicide attempts.
Exercise is a proven remedy for many psychological disorders, including anxiety, depression, ADHD, and age-related dementia. Research shows that a half-hour a day of exercise, three to five days a week, can significantly improve depression symptoms. Even shorter bouts of exercise — ten to fifteen minutes of physical activity — have been shown to boost your mood.
Depression often runs in families and typically begins before age thirty. It's much more common in women than in men. Both genetics and life experiences — nature as well as nurture — seem to play a role.
Depression is generally treated with antidepressants, which include old-school tricyclic antidepressants and monoamine oxidase inhibitors (MAOIs) as well as newer drugs called selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs). The SSRIs include fluoxetine (Prozac), paroxetine (Paxil), and sertraline (Zoloft). Over the past several years, drug companies have come up with a few more antidepressants, including venlafaxine (Effexor) and bupropion (Wellbutrin).
Side effects from antidepressants vary: Tricyclics and MAOIs have the worst, including constipation, bladder problems, blurred vision, and dizziness. SSRIs and the other new drugs can cause sexual side effects, headache, nausea, and agitation.
Bipolar Disorder
Bipolar disorder, also known as manic-depressive disorder, affects about 6 million Americans over the age of eighteen, or about 2.6 percent of the adult population. It encompasses two very serious mood problems: mania, which is a euphoric “high” that's often accompanied by reckless or even dangerous behavior, and depression.
Most often, antimanic (or mood-stabilizing) medications are used to treat bipolar disorder. The best known is lithium (Eskalith), which can cause fatigue, nausea, and tremors. Some patients are given an anticonvulsant, such as divalproex sodium (Depakote), which can cause headaches, double vision, dizziness, and anxiety.
Although SSRIs are extremely popular (doctors wrote more than 31 million prescriptions in 2005), research shows that much of their perceived efficacy is due to the placebo effect and they actually work in less than half of the patients who try them. Some herbs and lifestyle factors (like exercise) have been shown to be just as effective.
While a serious or prolonged case of depression or bipolar disorder should be treated by a doctor, many people find that herbs can help relieve some symptoms. For example:
• Boswellia (Boswellia serrata) |
Boswellia produces a fragrant resin that is used as incense. New research has shown that it contains a psychoactive compound that relieves depression and anxiety. |
• Lemon balm (Melissa officinalis) |
Lemon balm is used to treat depression and calm the highs of bipolar disorder. |
• Rhodiola (Rhodiola rosea) |
Rhodiola has been proven effective against the symptoms of depression, both as an adjunct treatment (it was studied along with a tricyclic antidepressant drug) and on its own. |
• Saint John's wort (Hypericum perforatum) |
This is a classic herbal remedy for depression-and one of the most researched herbs being used today. While not every study has shown a significant benefit, most experts agree that Saint John's wort can alleviate the symptoms of mild to moderate depression. |
