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Dealing With
Depression
By
Dr. Virginia
Cummings |
Question: My
husband has always been prone to “the blues”, but lately it
seems much worse. He’s really lost interest in everything we
used to do. I’m worried that it may be serious, but my son
insists he’ll “snap out of it”. Should I talk to his doctor
about this?
Answer: Absolutely! Your husband may be suffering
from DEPRESSION, which is a serious medical illness. While
everyone gets “the blues” - periods of time when we feel
down and discouraged – now and then, DEPRESSION is more than
“the blues”. An analogy for “the blues” vs. depression is
high blood pressure. A person with normal blood pressure
(120/80 or below) may have periods of time when the blood
pressure shoots up to 150/90 or above – perhaps during
extreme stress or sudden pain. When the situation resolves,
however, the blood pressure returns to normal, and if we
monitor it continuously over several days, it would MOSTLY
be normal and only RARELY be high.
A person with hypertension, on the other hand, has blood
pressure that stays above 150/90 and does NOT come down to
normal levels without treatment, no matter what the
situation. Similarly, “the blues” come and go, and last only
a short time, but depression does NOT go away and should be
thought of in exactly the same way as hypertension, diabetes
or heart disease. We don’t tell people with high blood
pressure to “snap out of it”! Depression requires the same
attention we give to other medical illnesses, because it can
be extremely dangerous, even fatal, if left untreated.
As contained in the listing in the box to the right,
depression has a whole constellation of signs and symptoms,
and can look very different in different individuals. The
unifying theme, however, is that this illness IMPAIRS a
person’s ability to FUNCTION.
Patients may stop taking their medications, may neglect
doctor’s appointments, often eat poorly and stop taking care
of themselves. Any other health problems will certainly
suffer as a result! Most serious of all, people with
depression are at risk to commit suicide. Any mention of
suicide should be taken very seriously and referred
IMMEDIATELY.
Senior citizens are at especially high risk for suicide, and
are more likely than any other group to successfully commit
suicide rather than making a so-called “cry for help” (an
attempt at suicide that is unlikely to be successful). Men
over age 65 are at the highest risk, and any mention of
suicide is too dangerous to ignore. Get help for that person
right away. If necessary, call the South Shore
Mental Health Crisis Hotline at (800) 528-4890.
Many people are in denial about depression (even doctors!).
We make statements like “he has reasons to be depressed,
because he’s elderly/sick/poor/alone” or, “he’s been like
this for years”. Again, compare depression to high blood
pressure. People have “reasons” to have hypertension –
they’re elderly/sick/overweight/smokers, etc. That doesn’t
mean we don’t treat the hypertension. They may have had
undiagnosed hypertension for years – again, that doesn’t
mean we don’t treat it. Depression should be regarded the
same way – it is ALWAYS abnormal, and should NEVER be
attributed to age or circumstances! We may not be able to
change a person’s circumstances, but if we treat their
depression, they will feel better and will be able to cope
more effectively with the rest of their problems.
If you or a loved one exhibit the signs and symptoms of
depression, don’t delay in seeking medical help. Remember,
this is a MEDICAL ILLNESS. Fortunately, we have many safe
and effective medications on the market with which to treat
depression. Next month’s column will talk about different
therapies for depression. |
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