Depression, one in a series, Biological

 

What Is Depression?

From Steve Bloem
This is our first blog (besides the introduction to this series) to our new look at depression. If you wish to read the introduction of this series,
 please go to:Introduction to depression series.  
 In this series I will cover all kinds of depression.   But I start with the biological depression, which is also called endogenous depression.

From NIMH

Everyone occasionally feels blue or sad. But these feelings are usually short-lived and pass within a couple of days. When you have depression, it interferes with daily life and causes pain for both you and those who care about you. Depression is a common but serious illness. Many people with a depressive illness never seek treatment. But the majority, even those with the most severe depression, can get better with treatment. Medications, psychotherapies, and other methods can effectively treat people with depression.

There are several forms of depressive disorders.

Major depression,—severe symptoms that interfere with your ability to work, sleep, study, eat, and enjoy life. An episode can occur only once in a person’s lifetime, but more often, a person has several episodes.

Persistent depressive disorder—depressed mood that lasts for at least 2 years. A person diagnosed with persistent depressive disorder may have episodes of major depression along with periods of less severe symptoms, but symptoms must last for 2 years.
Some forms of depression are slightly different, or they may develop under unique circumstances. They include:

• Psychotic depression, which occurs when a person has severe depression plus some form of psychosis, such as having disturbing false beliefs or a break with reality (delusions), or hearing or seeing upsetting things that others cannot hear or see (hallucinations).
• Postpartum depression, which is much more serious than the "baby blues" that many women experience after giving birth, when hormonal and physical changes and the new responsibility of caring for a newborn can be overwhelming. It is estimated that 10 to 15 percent of women experience postpartum depression after giving birth.
• Seasonal affective disorder (SAD), which is characterized by the onset of depression during the winter months, when there is less natural sunlight. The depression generally lifts during spring and summer. SAD may be effectively treated with light therapy, but nearly half of those with SAD do not get better with light therapy alone. Antidepressant medication and psychotherapy can reduce SAD symptoms, either alone or in combination with light therapy.

•    Bipolar Disorder, also called manic-depressive illness, is not as common as major depression or persistent depressive disorder. Bipolar disorder is characterized by cycling mood changes—from extreme highs (e.g., mania) to extreme lows (e.g., depression)

Causes

Most likely, depression is caused by a combination of genetic, biological, environmental, and psychological factors.

Depressive illnesses are disorders of the brain. Brain-imaging technologies, such as magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), have shown that the brains of people who have depression look different than those of people without depression. The parts of the brain involved in mood, thinking, sleep, appetite, and behavior appear different. But these images do not reveal why the depression has occurred. They also cannot be used to diagnose depression.

Some types of depression tend to run in families. However, depression can occur in people without family histories of depression too. Scientists are studying certain genes that may make some people more prone to depression. Some genetics research indicates that risk for depression results from the influence of several genes acting together with environmental or other factors. In addition, trauma, loss of a loved one, a difficult relationship, or any stressful situation may trigger a depressive episode. Other depressive episodes may occur with or without an obvious trigger.

 

  Let me say that Heartfelt Counseling Ministries knows how to help people get the appropriate treatment for all kinds of depression.  I have been trained as a biblical counselor and also have had extensive clinical training on all kinds of diseases of the mind and mood. I have counseled thousands of persons and by giving them understanding of their problems and linking them to right mental health professionals.

 

 

 

You are invited to a support group at Boca Glades Baptist church in Boca Raton, Florida.  It is on the corner of 441 and Judge Winikoff Road.  We start at 7:00 pm. and go until 8:15. There is no cost except for materials that we use in the group.

If you would like to be a part of an online support group for Christians who have mental illness; please use our contact us form, ad write us a note or call us using the phone number on our contact us form.   http://www.heartfeltmin.org/#!contact/cito

 

If you would  like to buy our book called Broken Minds Hope for Healing When You Feel Like You're Losing It please go to our website

 

See Broken Minds, Hope for Healing When You Feel Like You're Losing It.

 

New Series of blogs on depression.

I would like to begin a series on the subject of depression, including biological (endogenous)  depression. Depression is known as the common cold of mental illness. Depression can be very complex.  I have done extensive study on the subject of spiritual depression. I will use this information in coming blogs. 

Reactive to loss - depression (often know as "grief") will also be covered.  Many people do not use this diagnostic category any more but I think it is legitimate. 





 Some material on these blogs will be taken from The National Institute for Mental Health.  They have many good articles on the biological side of depression also known as Endogenous or Major Depression.  NIMH has  excellent insight on the subjects of depression and other mental illnesses and there articles are not copyrighted (but my material is copyrighted).

 A recent event of the crash of a German airliner shows the need for society to stop blaming depression for violent crime.  The co-pilot who locked himself in the cockpit has been "accused" of having a violent depression.  For the most part those who have a depressive  illness kill themselves but not others. He apparently was not psychotic and/or hearing  command voices to kill. Furthermore, it seems to me that the fact that his breathing was normal until the plane crashed would tend to make one think that he was a Socio-path or an Islamic extremist. This too will be dealt with in this series.

I have known the horror of a fully fledged clinical depression, which often continued for many months.  There is not yet a cure for endogenous depression.  But there is great help for people because of the many effective antidepressants out there.  Sadly, fifty percent of the people who need treatment for mental illness don't receive the right kind treatment. This is for a variety of reasons. 
 

Severe depression many times results in suicide.  My sister Cyndi committed suicide while in the throes of a bipolar depression. She left behind three kids under the age of fifteen, both her parents and two brothers. 

  Let me say that Heartfelt Counseling Ministries knows how to help people get the appropriate treatment for all kinds of depression.  I have been trained as a biblical counselor and also have had extensive clinical training on all kinds of diseases of the mind and mood. I have counseled thousands of persons and by giving them understanding of their problems and linking them to right mental health professionals.

You are invited to a support group at Boca Glades Baptist church in Boca Raton, Florida.  It is on the corner of 441 and Judge Winikoff Road.  We start at 7:00 pm. and go until 8:15. There is no cost except for materials that we use in the group.

If you would like to be a part of an online support group for Christians who have mental illness; please use our contact us form, ad write us a note or call us using the phone number on our contact us form.   http://www.heartfeltmin.org/#!contact/cito

If you would  like to buy our book called Broken Minds Hope for Healing When You Feel Like You're Losing It please go to our website, http://www.heartfeltmin.org/#!events/c15s.

Persecution in Lahore, Pakistan

"And on this Rock, I will build my church and the gates of Hell shall not overcome it" (Matthew 16:18), Jesus Christ.

At this time persecution is seen clearly in many countries.  One of the best places to find information is http://www.persecution.org/  I have personal  friends in Lahore, Pakistan who are telling a different story than the media. Suffice it to say Christians are now being actually targeted and killed by a number of means, and not the least bit, by bombs.  They are a minority in Punjab, Pakistan.
We must pray for them constantly.  Many of my friends there have wonderful Christ centered ministries to children and adults.  There is news that some of them are being arrested.  Please pray for them often. Please go to this link.




 http://www.persecution.org/2015/03/24/police-arrest-200-christians-after-attacks-in-lahore/




 
Be self-controlled and alert. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour.  Resist him, standing firm in the faith, because you know that your brothers throughout the world are undergoing the same kind of sufferings. And the God of all grace, who called you to his eternal glory in Christ, after you have suffered a little while, will himself restore you and make you strong, firm and steadfast. To him be the power for ever and ever. Amen(1 Peter 5:8-11).

For many persons who suffer from being a prisoner of their mind, please see our book, Broken Minds Hope for Healing When You Feel Like You're Losing It.

For a signed copy please go to:

http://www.heartfeltmin.org/#!events/c15sx

.   

Robyn and I are excited about making an important video and posting it on You tube.
It is about two minutes and I would encourage everyone to pass it around. It will help others understand why we started Heartfelt Counseling Ministries and what we are doing in the world today.
Please look for videos of encouragement that we will be posting in the near future.
Thanks, Steve Bloem
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qQo7GSgpNQY

A horrible thing, being mentally ill in prison.

Author unknown





On March 10, 2015, police responded to an Atlanta apartment complex after receiving a call that a man was "acting deranged, knocking on doors and crawling around naked." According to CNN, police
charged them and after warning him to stop, they shot and killed him. The Atlanta Police's public safety officer dutifully noted, "I can only reasonably assume that if he was running around the apartment complex naked, I believe we can make the assumption there may have been some mental health experience that he might have been having."

In other words, the guy was "crazy," what do you expect us to do?
That resigned attitude towards people experiencing a mental health crisis has dire consequences. Dismissing, ignoring and belittling those with mental illness leads to an underfunded mental health system, and leaves police, jails and prisons to poorly pick up the slack.

I'm willing to bet we're all guilty of this. You're walking around your city and see you a man talking to himself. He's dirty, obviously lives on the streets. You decide to cross to the other side because you think, "that dude's crazy." You look back at him and now he's yelling, maybe getting in people's faces as they walk by. You call the cops, because what else are you supposed to do? They show up. "Good," you think. "The cops will know how to deal with that crazy person."

 
The Bureau of Justice Statistics estimates that 56 percent of incarcerated individuals in state prison and 64 percent of those in local jails have symptoms of, or a recent history of, a mental health issue.
 There are ten times more people with mental illness than are in psychiatric hospitals.
What if I told you there were ten times more people with cancer being treated in prisons than in hospitals? Or diabetes? Or heart disease? And that when they were released, their treatment ended, prescriptions stopped, and people were more or less left on their own, many returning to homelessness. You might even call a system like that "crazy."




People with mental illness may ostensibly be arrested for harassment or public urination or drug possession, but that's not really why he or she is in jail. It's because when you and I see small crimes like that committed, all we see is an offense. If we viewed those actions as symptoms, instead of crimes, our response would be therapeutic not punitive. If a man were lying on the ground having a heart attack, we wouldn't want him arrested for trespassing, we'd want him to have help.
Better training for police forces can reduce deadly outcomes, as San Antonio has shown. New York City announced a massive one hundred thirty million investment in mental health treatment.New York Times Massive expansion of mental health services.


  

In Seattle, the AVID Jail Project disability rights jail project, Seattle,WA has been launched to monitor conditions inside jails and provide resources to inmates with mental health issues. Salt Lake City and even Los Angeles have announced or implemented new programs aimed at tackling the intertwining problems of homelessness, the criminal justice system and mental illness or substance abuse. We need to monitor these innovations, study their effectiveness, and build on what we learn.

Yet, new and expanded programs are not enough on their own. We, as a society, are quick to dismiss and disparage the people we see on the street who are clearly experiencing mental health symptoms or crises. We call those people "crazy" and "wacko," making it all too easy to ignore their arrests and forget about their incarcerations. We have to fundamentally change our view. The next time you run across someone having a mental health crisis on the street, think to yourself: if this person were having a heart attack, would you want them arrested?

Does mental illness run in your family?

Mental Illness R Us

 By Guest blogger, Robyn Bloem
Copyright - 2015


Mental Illness tends to run in families-and not the way of the old joke that you “get it from your kids!” And not because the sins of the fathers are passed down to the fourth generation of those who hate Me! It runs in families because it is biological in nature! 
  

We counseled the family of a little boy who insisted his belt be tightened a certain way before school every morning, his blankets tucked around him in the exact manner every night and he worried that he would be late to school constantly. When Steve asked the young mother if there was any mental illness in the family, she said, “No.” The child’s grandmother was in the room and so was his great-grandmother. The great-grandmother said, “Well, I think my daughter (who was present) shows some serious signs of depression and my own mother committed suicide. Then the grandmother said to her daughter, “I think you may be OCD the way you care for your appearance and house-keeping.” We saw the look of surprise and recognition cross all of their faces. It was in their family and had not the four generations been present, it may have been more difficult to diagnose. Steve referred the child to a child psychiatrist and with some medication and behavioral modification, he greatly improved; in fact the last we heard, he was doing very well. 

Some of our Christian brothers and sisters call mental illness a generational “curse” because it is seen in family members throughout generations. Again, I believe another unnecessary condemnation to one who is suffering a mental illness. Why on earth do they think it helpful to reprimand a person who has a brain disease? Do they think they can jar a person out of it? We heard yesterday of a woman who endured an exorcism because she was hearing voices-of course it exhausted her but did nothing else. If she had Alzheimer’s would these same people try to exorcise the demon of confusion?  

Steve has a very serious case of depression. Thankfully he has not had any episodes for quite a few years. That is due to his heavy medication regimen. It should have been no great surprise when our daughter had serious panic attacks and depression.  Steve’s aunts and uncles are riddled with mental illness. What do we do with information like this? Well, we stop pointing fingers and hurting the hurting! We stop being Monday morning psychiatric quarterbacks and leave the diagnoses to the professionals. We refer people to medical doctors and not to our friend’s friend who knew somebody once. Most importantly, we show loving kindness to people in pain and offer a loving hand and not a slap in the face for an illness they didn’t design or desire. 

At Heartfelt Counseling Ministries, we want to help people who have these diseases and their loved ones because the caregivers need support, too. At our CAMI support groups, we have both family members and the sufferers. We all offer comfort, share help within our community systems and prayer. That is what the mentally ill need; not exorcism, not generational guilt and not spiritual platitudes. Yes, mental illness runs in families; it is in ours and if you are reading this, it is probably in yours. Don’t feel guilty and don’t despair. Help is available, support is necessary and medications help control the symptoms. Don’t swallow your stress! We are here to help you! Contact us anytime. We offer seminars, local counseling, long distance counseling by phone or Skype, our book, Broken Minds or short talks at your church or other meeting place. We will go to Sunday School classes, parks or soap boxes. Anywhere there are hurting people, we want to go. Let us know how we can help!

 http://www.heartfeltmin.org/#!contact/cito



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