Depression Information

Major Depression and Its Serious Complications


When suffering from clinical depression, people have different ways of confronting it. Some acknowledge it, face it just like any problem, and seek help. Some ignore it as if it doesn't exist. And others simply accept that it's there but they don't do anything about it. In fact, they don't even ask for help.

Those who ignore and don't do anything run the risk of developing the serious complications of depression. Like any medical disorder, untreated clinical depression has its hazards.

What are some of the complications of clinical depression? How serious are they?

Suicidality

Without treatment, some depressed individuals feel hopeless, helpless, and worthless. Subsequently, thoughts about death occur. They sometimes feel that they are better off dead than alive. As the illness worsens, suicidal thoughts and behavior gradually ensue.

Homicidal Behavior

Although rare, homicidal behavior can happen to someone with significant level of depression. In fact, a few high profile cases in the media had point to some cases of clinical depression and homicide. Severe depression can result in impaired judgment, making these depressed individuals vulnerable to cause harm.

Psychosis

Clinical depression likewise causes disturbances in perception and thinking. Some individuals with severe depression experience auditory hallucinations ("hearing voices") and delusions (false fixed beliefs). Hallucinations can manifest as inappropriate commands telling the person to do certain things such as to harm oneself or others. Delusions can range from suspiciousness to bizarre beliefs such as the thought that the person is the "Anointed One."

Functional Impairment

It's very common for depressed individuals to develop lack of energy and loss of interest to do their usual activities. These individuals can hardly do their usual chores, prefer to isolate themselves from everyone, and stay in bed the whole day. Work absences, financial problems, and job losses may be the inevitable end result.

Relationship Problems

Due to ongoing behavioral and thought disturbances, some family members don't understand what is going on. Fights, ridicule, name-calling, and arguments between spouses or among family members can happen. As the relationship becomes more strained, the individual becomes more distant from friends and relatives. It is not uncommon to see unsupportive spouses, parents, and children during these difficult times.

In summary, clinical depression has fatal consequences. Ignoring it is too risky. Doing nothing about it is a grave mistake. Early recognition and treatment is the only way to prevent its unwanted complications.

Copyright © 2005. Dr. Michael G. Rayel - author (First Aid to Mental Illness-Finalist, Reader's Preference Choice Award 2002) psychiatrist, and inventor of Oikos Game: An Emotional Intelligence or EQ Game. For more information, visit http://www.oikosgame.com and http://www.soardime.com


MORE RESOURCES:

Boston Globe

US to take stake in banks, first since Depression
The Associated Press - 22 hours ago
WASHINGTON (AP) — The government will buy an ownership stake in a broad array of American banks for the first time since the Great Depression, ...
US, global stocks drop as leaders seek ideas Philadelphia Inquirer
Bush vows coordination with world powers on financial crisis WZZM
Bush: World must stand together to tackle finance crisis InTheNews.co.uk
International Herald Tribune - The Associated Press
all 888 news articles


The Associated Press

Stocks got slammed, but was it a `crash'?
The Associated Press - 23 hours ago
"You can probably watch CNBC all day and find that almost no one used the word `crash' or `depression.' You'll see it more often. It is a stock market crash ...
The Wallet covers the latest personal finance and investing news ... Wall Street Journal Blogs
all 173 news articles


Telegraph.co.uk

Fear rife of another Great Depression like period
IBNLive.com, India - 4 hours ago
... just issuing more such reassuring messages to depositors, but also to come up with more bold and coordinated measures to avoid another Great Depression. ...
Video: Cash injection for US banks? ReutersVideo
IMF readies emergency bailouts Reuters UK
ECONOMY: Calls for Change Mount at IMF, World Bank Meet IPS
AFP
all 512 news articles


Kalamazoo Gazette - MLive.com

He lived through the Depression and takes the latest market ...
Kalamazoo Gazette - MLive.com, MI - 8 hours ago
He's been around for a couple of world wars, the Great Depression, the boom times and the bust, and he's watching the country's current economic turmoil ...


Book launch for postnatal depression
Scotsman, United Kingdom - 9 hours ago
A BOOK recording the first-hand experience of a postnatal depression sufferer is to be launched in the Capital next month. The Bluebell Campaign charity is ...


One man’s depression is another’s optimism
Telegraph.co.uk, United Kingdom - 2 hours ago
“The situation is tense, there are a lot of problems, and policy people in the US have been slow to respond. “ The real question now is not the banks or ...


Vote reminds him of Great Depression
Toronto Star,  Canada - 13 hours ago
It might be well for them to consider a similar time following the crash of 1929 and the advent of the Great Depression. In 1930, the government of Canada ...


HealthWatch: Depression And The Economy
WCBS-TV New York, NY - 19 hours ago
NEW YORK (CBS) ― More than 18 million Americans are affected by depression yearly, and our economic crisis is only making matters worse. ...


UC Davis prof analyzes today's crisis vs. Great Depression
Sacramento Bee,  USA - 15 hours ago
Rauchway is a professor of history at the University of California, Davis, and the author of the new book "The Great Depression and the New Deal: A Very ...
Remaining Objective When Fear is in the Air VentureBeat
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Recession? Depression? How Deep, How Far and What Can Be Done?
AlterNet, CA - 15 hours ago
Talk of "Another Great Depression" has entered the mainstream discourse, 1 out of 6 homeowners are "under water" -- owing more to the banks than their ...
From New Strait Times Singapore: Malaysia Star
all 3 news articles

Depression - Google News

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