Many providers of health care may help diagnose clinical depression: licensed mental-health therapists, family physicians, or other primary-care providers, specialists whom you see for a medical condition, emergency physicians, psychiatrists, psychologists, and social workers.

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If you feel that you are depressed, you may wish to talk about your feelings with a family member or a close friend. Communication is one of the keys to early diagnosis and treatment. People close to you may have felt you were depressed. With their encouragement, you should call your health-care provider.

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Clinical depression affects about 19 million Americans annually. It is estimated to contribute to half of all suicides. About 5%-10% of women and 2%-5% of men will experience at least one major depressive episode during their adult life. Depression affects people of all races, incomes, and ages, but it is three to five times more common in the elderly than in young people.

As I mentioned above, I have personal experience with Prozac (generic name is Fluoxetine). Basically, Prozac is just another antidepressant. There are three reasons why it has become a household word. One is that it is one of a family of antidepressants (SSRIs) which have more moderate side-effects than the older antidepressants. Many patients are put off by side-effects from an antidepressant (which are often temporary) and will therefore will not stay on it long enough for it to have an effect. This is one reason why doctors are often inclined to prescribe Prozac over older antidepressants.

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Diet, exercise and stress all lead to depression. Here’s how to curb the blues.

Do recognize that depression by itself appears to be a risk factor for heart disease—one that may be modifiable, by aggressive treatment of the mood disorder.

Do take extra steps to separately minimize the risks of heart disease. Be sure to eat a diet low in saturated fats and rich in fruits and veggies.

Do get as much exercise as possible. Exercise combats both depression and heart disease directly. It creates changes in brain cells. It improves blood lipid levels and counters the tendency to obesity that may lead to heart disease.

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• At the Institute we believe that personality and temperament contribute to certain depressive disorders, particularly the non-melancholic disorders.
• Certain personality types are more at risk of depression than others.
• Our research has highlighted the contribution of:
  • High levels of anxiety, which can be experienced as an internalized ‘Anxious Worrying’ style or as a more externalized ‘Irritability’
  • Shyness, expressed as ‘Social Avoidance’ and/or ‘Personal Reserve’
  • Self-criticism or low self-worth
  • Interpersonal sensitivity
  • Perfectionism
  • A ’self-focused’ personality style.
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• It is important to recognise that nearly every individual can be stressed and depressed by certain events.
  Most people experience a rapid ‘spontaneous’ resolution within days or weeks.
• Some do not – so that the depression persists – with the ‘stress’ either maintaining the process or having initiated processes that will not simply be resolved by ‘the passage of time’.
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• Gender is a partial, but incomplete, explanation of why a person develops a mood disorder.
• Essentially equal numbers of men and women develop melancholic depression and Bipolar Disorder.
• However, studies have shown that there is a much greater likelihood of women developing non-melancholic depression than men. There are a number of explanations for this. …..Click here to read more

As we age, our brain’s capacity (in terms of general functioning) reduces, while certain neurotransmitters (which influence mood state) can become perturbed. Three reasons for these changes are worth mentioning in relation to depression.

• Some elderly people who are developing a dementia may at some stage (often early on) develop a severe depression for the first time. The depression is commonly of a psychotic or melancholic type and reflects disruption of circuits linking certain basal ganglia and frontal regions of the brain.
• Sometimes these changes merely reflect an aging process, particularly in people who are vulnerable to this kind of ‘wear and tear’.
• In others, however, high blood pressure or mini-strokes (often unnoticed by the individual and their family) may contribute. Good blood pressure control can reduce the chance of depression in some people with this problem.

Introduction
This leaflet is for any man who is depressed, their friends and their family. Men seem to suffer from depression just as often as women, but they are less likely to ask for help. This leaflet gives some basic facts about depression, how it affects men in particular, and how to get help.

Why is it important?
Depression causes a huge amount of suffering. It is a major reason for people taking time off work. Many people who kill themselves have been depressed – so it is potentially fatal. However, it is easy to treat, and this is best done as early as possible.

What’s the difference between just feeling miserable and being depressed?
Everyone has times in their lives when they feel down or depressed. It is usually for a good reason, does not dominate your life and does not last for a long time. However, if the depression goes on for a long time, or becomes very severe, you may find yourself stuck and unable to lift yourself out of the depression. This is what doctors call a ‘depressive illness’. Some people suffer from manic depression (also called bipolar affective disorder). They have periods of bad depression, but also times of great ‘elation’ and over activity. These can be just as harmful as the periods of depression. (See our leaflet on Manic Depression/Bipolar disorder).

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