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Depression

I like you, Coastaljames.

Very kind, thank you- the feeling is mutual :)

And, of course, I hear what you're saying and I agree with you. I think we'd agree that the act of will is real but the concept of willpower is a myth. We've all heard it so many times- "Oh I'd love to do that but I don't have any willpower", or, "Oh, it was easy for him as he has really strong willpower". Neither of these statements are accurate, in my opinion.
 
My Niece made us all proud when she set up a website for kids who's brothers and sisters have autism .. a kind of advice site that won an award when she was 16 :) (she's 21 now) ... I've made a point of not looking at the site to respect her privacy and others because my nephew has autism (fortunately he's relaxed around me and asks to visit me and the Mrs although it's not always convenient for him or my Sister). I don't see him as 'Autistic ******', just ****** who also has autism ... it doesn't define him in my eyes at least. I just wish the 18 year old would get a haircut and stop hiding behind his floppy fringe :p ..

The last time I was with him we played a kind of abstract chess game when we made a point of waiting till the other one wasn't looking before quickly sliding a piece across the board (a board set up in a hotel reception area) .. the game was never finished and we both knew that was the point. X : it's okay just to be daft sometimes ..
 
Depression: A revolution in treatment?
By James Gallagher, Rachael Buchanan & Andrew Luck-Baker The Inflamed Mind, BBC Radio 4

It's not very often we get to talk about a revolution in understanding and treating depression and yet now doctors are talking about "one of the strongest discoveries in psychiatry for the last 20 years".
It is based around the idea that some people are being betrayed by their fiercest protector. That their immune system is altering their brain.

The illness exacts a heavy toll on 350 million people around the world, among them Hayley Mason, from Cambridgeshire:
"My depression gets so bad that I can't leave the bed, I can't leave the bedroom, I can't go downstairs and be with my partner and his kids.
The 30-year-old added: "I can't have the TV on, I can't have noise and light, I have suicidal thoughts, I have self-harmed, I can't leave the house, I can't drive.
"And just generally I am completely confined to my own home and everything else just feels too much."

Anti-depressant drugs and psychological treatments, like cognitive behavioural therapy, help the majority of people.
But many don't respond to existing therapies and so some scientists are now exploring a new frontier - whether the immune system could be causing depression.

"I think we have to be quite radical," says Prof Ed Bullmore, the head of psychiatry at the University of Cambridge.
He's at the forefront of this new approach: "Recent history is telling us if we want to make therapeutic breakthroughs in an area which remains incredibly important in terms of disability and suffering then we've got to think differently."
The focus is on an errant immune system causing inflammation in the body and altering mood.

And Prof Bullmore argues that's something we can all relate to, if we just think back to the last time we had a cold or flu.
He said: "Depression and inflammation often go hand in hand, if you have flu, the immune system reacts to that, you become inflamed and very often people find that their mood changes too.
"Their behaviour changes, they may become less sociable, more sleepy, more withdrawn.
"They may begin to have some of the negative ways of thinking that are characteristic of depression and all of that follows an infection."

It is a subtle and yet significant shift in thinking. The argument is we don't just feel sorry for ourselves when we are sick, but that the chemicals involved in inflammation are directly affecting our mood.

Find out more
You can listen to The Inflamed Mind documentary on BBC Radio 4 at 21:00 BST and then here on iPlayer.

Inflammation is part of the immune system's response to danger. It is a hugely complicated process to prepare our body to fight off hostile forces.
If inflammation is too low then an infection can get out of hand. If it is too high, it causes damage.

And for some reason, about one-third of depressed patients have consistently high levels of inflammation. Hayley is one of them: "I do have raised inflammation markers, I think normal is under 0.7 and mine is 40, it's coming up regularly in blood tests."

There is now a patchwork quilt of evidence suggesting inflammation is more than something you simply find in some depressed patients, but is actually the cause of their disease. That the immune system can alter the workings of the brain.

etc...

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-37166293
 
Depression: A revolution in treatment?
By James Gallagher, Rachael Buchanan & Andrew Luck-Baker The Inflamed Mind, BBC Radio 4

It's not very often we get to talk about a revolution in understanding and treating depression and yet now doctors are talking about "one of the strongest discoveries in psychiatry for the last 20 years".
It is based around the idea that some people are being betrayed by their fiercest protector. That their immune system is altering their brain.

The illness exacts a heavy toll on 350 million people around the world, among them Hayley Mason, from Cambridgeshire:
"My depression gets so bad that I can't leave the bed, I can't leave the bedroom, I can't go downstairs and be with my partner and his kids.
The 30-year-old added: "I can't have the TV on, I can't have noise and light, I have suicidal thoughts, I have self-harmed, I can't leave the house, I can't drive.
"And just generally I am completely confined to my own home and everything else just feels too much."

Anti-depressant drugs and psychological treatments, like cognitive behavioural therapy, help the majority of people.
But many don't respond to existing therapies and so some scientists are now exploring a new frontier - whether the immune system could be causing depression.

"I think we have to be quite radical," says Prof Ed Bullmore, the head of psychiatry at the University of Cambridge.
He's at the forefront of this new approach: "Recent history is telling us if we want to make therapeutic breakthroughs in an area which remains incredibly important in terms of disability and suffering then we've got to think differently."
The focus is on an errant immune system causing inflammation in the body and altering mood.

And Prof Bullmore argues that's something we can all relate to, if we just think back to the last time we had a cold or flu.
He said: "Depression and inflammation often go hand in hand, if you have flu, the immune system reacts to that, you become inflamed and very often people find that their mood changes too.
"Their behaviour changes, they may become less sociable, more sleepy, more withdrawn.
"They may begin to have some of the negative ways of thinking that are characteristic of depression and all of that follows an infection."

It is a subtle and yet significant shift in thinking. The argument is we don't just feel sorry for ourselves when we are sick, but that the chemicals involved in inflammation are directly affecting our mood.

Find out more
You can listen to The Inflamed Mind documentary on BBC Radio 4 at 21:00 BST and then here on iPlayer.

Inflammation is part of the immune system's response to danger. It is a hugely complicated process to prepare our body to fight off hostile forces.
If inflammation is too low then an infection can get out of hand. If it is too high, it causes damage.

And for some reason, about one-third of depressed patients have consistently high levels of inflammation. Hayley is one of them: "I do have raised inflammation markers, I think normal is under 0.7 and mine is 40, it's coming up regularly in blood tests."

There is now a patchwork quilt of evidence suggesting inflammation is more than something you simply find in some depressed patients, but is actually the cause of their disease. That the immune system can alter the workings of the brain.

etc...

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-37166293

... I'd add to that diet requirements but it makes a lot of sense to me so far.
 
Depression as hard on the heart as obesity and cholesterol
HELMHOLTZ ZENTRUM MUNCHEN January 15, 2017

Depression poses a risk for cardiovascular diseases in men that is just as great as that posed by high cholesterol levels and obesity. This is according to a report recently published in the Atherosclerosis journal by researchers from the Helmholtz Zentrum München, together with colleagues from the Technical University of Munich (TUM) and the German Center for Cardiovascular Disease (DZHK).

According to the World Health Organisation WHO, 350 million people worldwide are affected by depression. But the mental state is not all that is affected, however, and depression can also compromise the body.

“Meanwhile there is little doubt that depression is a risk factor for cardiovascular diseases,” explains Karl-Heinz Ladwig. He is group leader at the Institute of Epidemiology II at the Helmholtz Zentrum München, professor of psychosomatic medicine at TUM’s Klinikum rechts der Isar as well as scientist of DZHK. “The question now is: What is the relationship between depression and other risk factors like tobacco smoke, high cholesterol levels, obesity or hypertension – how big a role does each factor play. ...

http://www.psypost.org/2017/01/depression-hard-heart-obesity-cholesterol-46877
 
whatever the result or none, I can link you into some FB groups which are run for and by Neurodoverse people :) Your tribe is waiting if and well you chose to engage!

As people are being helpful, I know I am not the only autistic here but I am an experienced advocate and peer supporter. Even been trained in autism as well as living with it for all my life lololol If there is anything I can offer to people.... :)


A course in flirting with older Australian men whilst spurning certain English men springs to mind :mad:
 
Experts excited by brain 'wonder-drug'
By James Gallagher Health and science reporter, BBC News website

Scientists hope they have found a drug to stop all neurodegenerative brain diseases, including dementia.
In 2013, a UK Medical Research Council team stopped brain cells dying in an animal for the first time, creating headline news around the world.
But the compound used was unsuitable for people, as it caused organ damage.

Now two drugs have been found that should have the same protective effect on the brain and are already safely used in people.
"It's really exciting," said Prof Giovanna Mallucci, from the MRC Toxicology Unit in Leicester.
She wants to start human clinical trials on dementia patients soon and expects to know whether the drugs work within two to three years.

Why might they work?

The novel approach is focused on the natural defence mechanisms built into brain cells.
When a virus hijacks a brain cell it leads to a build-up of viral proteins.
Cells respond by shutting down nearly all protein production in order to halt the virus's spread.

Many neurodegenerative diseases involve the production of faulty proteins that activate the same defences, but with more severe consequences.
The brain cells shut down production for so long that they eventually starve themselves to death.
This process, repeated in neurons throughout the brain, can destroy movement, memory or even kill, depending on the disease.

It is thought to take place in many forms of neurodegeneration, so safely disrupting it could treat a wide range of diseases.
In the initial study, the researchers used a compound that prevented the defence mechanism kicking in.
It halted the progress of prion disease in mice - the first time any neurodegenerative disease had been halted in any animal.
Further studies showed the approach could halt a range of degenerative diseases.
The findings were described as a "turning point" for the field even though the compound was toxic to the pancreas.

etc...

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-39641123
 
Interesting, the idea that some depression might originate in the stomach. I've often felt sick in the stomach when depressed.


Two UCC scientists who discovered a link between mood and bacteria in the gut are planning to develop a new “psychobiotic” to treat depression.

Professors Ted Dinan and John Cryan have spent 14 years investigating how the trillions of bacteria living in our gut – the microbiota – can control our brains. “What we have discovered is that the microbiota influences our emotions to a very significant extent,” said Prof Dinan, of the Department of Psychiatry and APC Microbiome Institute, University College Cork.

Their research has shown that people who are clinically depressed have less diversity in the microbiota in their gut than people who are not depressed, he said.

https://www.irishtimes.com/news/hea...op-psychobiotic-to-treat-depression-1.3300133
 
Their research has shown that people who are clinically depressed have less diversity in the microbiota in their gut than people who are not depressed, he said.
Of course, that could be the result of drinking a lot of hard liquor, killing off all but the hardiest of gut flora.
 
Of course, that could be the result of drinking a lot of hard liquor, killing off all but the hardiest of gut flora.

... up to, and including, continuing to the extent of killing the gut itself.
 
A new treatment but lots of questions about it.

For the first time in decades, a fundamentally new drug became available for people with severe depression. A nasal spray called Spravato offers a new option for treating people whose depression hasn’t responded to other approaches. But there are still big questions about the drug’s effectiveness and safety (SN: 4/13/19, p. 8).

In March, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved Spravato. The drug contains esketamine, one of two mirror-image molecules that make up the drug ketamine. Developed decades ago as a powerful anesthetic, ketamine is also a hallucinogen co-opted by ravers and other partiers for its swirly, out-of-body highs.

Many existing antidepressants target serotonin, a chemical messenger in the brain involved in mood. Scientists think ketamine and its relatives affect a different chemical messenger, glutamate, sometimes within hours.

For all the fanfare over Spravato’s approval, ketamine’s power to quickly turn around severe depression in some people has been known for years. Freestanding clinics, as well as academic medical centers, offer intravenous infusions of ketamine to people with severe depression. For some patients, the treatment has been life-changing. Yet others don’t respond. “It’s not for everybody,” says Cristina Cusin, a psychiatrist who codirects the ketamine clinic at Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston.

Spravato received fast-track approval from the FDA based on what some critics call weaker-than-usual evidence: In two of three monthlong trials, Spravato didn’t outperform a placebo, for instance. Janssen Pharmaceuticals, the drug’s maker, is still tallying data and trying to determine which patients might be helped most by the drug.

https://www.sciencenews.org/article/ketamine-based-depression-drugs-top-science-stories-2019-yir
 
So constantly exhausted recently that it's clear my depression has returned.

/ when depressed I just want to sleep 24x7, I dont have thoughts of self harm or anything
 
So constantly exhausted recently that it's clear my depression has returned.

/ when depressed I just want to sleep 24x7, I dont have thoughts of self harm or anything

Take care, try and get out and meet people. Difficult though that might be at present!
 
So constantly exhausted recently that it's clear my depression has returned.

/ when depressed I just want to sleep 24x7, I dont have thoughts of self harm or anything

Worth getting checked out - could be all sorts of things that are making your feel tired, not just your mood.
 
Hopefully this will prove helpful.

Scientists at Stanford University have identified a new subtype of depression that could affect as many as a quarter of all patients with major depressive disorder (MDD).

The findings help explain why the most popular drug treatments for depression are not always effective.

The new subtype is unique from other proposed subtypes because it is marked by cognitive deficits in attention, memory, and self-control. These symptoms are often not alleviated by antidepressants that target serotonin, such as Lexapro (escitalopram) or Zoloft (sertraline).

The researchers are referring to the newly identified subtype as the 'cognitive subtype'.

In a randomized clinical trial involving over 700 adults, Stanford researchers – with a colleague from the University of Sydney in Australia – found that 27 percent of MDD patients performed worse on cognitive tasks. They also had a worse response to standard drug treatments.

If that percentage applies to the US population, then about 5.7 million patients could have this version of depression.

Given the size of that potential cohort, behavioral scientist Laura Hack and her colleagues argue that more targeted depression treatments are urgently needed.

https://www.sciencealert.com/a-new-...identified-and-it-could-affect-27-of-patients
 
Reading the first few post on here, Hugh Laurie is mentioned and how being wealthy and depressed seemed an odd combination.

The major point about Laurie's comment about 'being bored' when racing banger cars is that that is a major sign of depression, ie losing all interest in everything.

Of course different people get depressed for different reason and sometimes it is through lack of money and not being able to live where you want and go where you want etc.
 
I've had people telling me to pull myself together for 40 years now, since I was a small child. It makes me very angry.
I often wonder if my ocd in younger years has a connection to depression.
I wasn't clinically diagnosed, but I strongly suspect that taking two hours to turn a light switch off means that something can't be right.
 
I often wonder if my ocd in younger years has a connection to depression.
I wasn't clinically diagnosed, but I strongly suspect that taking two hours to turn a light switch off means that something can't be right.
Possibly. I took an eight class session (for myself) about how to deal with anxiety and its other forms. Most of the people who started did not finish due to their difficulties eg panic disorder, social anxiety disorder.

In this course, one of the questions that has not been solved through research is whether the anxiety disorder or depression produces the other. But anxiety disorders and depression do go hand in hand.

BTW we who have worry/anxiety issues are generally very intelligent. We are able to imagine all sorts of scenarios that cause us worries. Fact as learned in the course. Of course our brain is our own worst enemy. Gah that last sentence is doing my head in. I can't figure out if it should be "brain(s)" or "enemy(ies). Perfectionism is one of my problems lol.
 
Last edited:
Possibly. I took an eight class session (for myself) about how to deal with anxiety and its other forms. Most of the people who started did not finish due to their difficulties eg panic disorder, social anxiety disorder.

In this course, one of the questions that has not been solved through research is whether the anxiety disorder or depression produces the other. But anxiety disorders and depression do go hand in hand.

BTW we who have worry/anxiety issues are generally very intelligent. We are able to imagine all sorts of scenarios that cause us worries. Fact as learned in the course. Of course our brain is our own worst enemy. Gah that last sentence is doing my head in. I can't figure out if it should be "brain(s)" or "enemy(ies). Perfectionism is one of my problems lol.
"Our brain is our own worst enemy" works for me, and I've been a sub-editor for the last few decades, so you don't need to worry about that.

(I'm not saying it's right, of course, but it's succinct and easy to understand. Rewriting the sentence is likely to make it uglier with no real gain in comprehension. That's my tuppenny worth...)

(I have longstanding stress and anxiety issues, which are largely under control/in abeyance at the moment - not having a full-time job helps, as work was a massive driver of my anxiety. I used to sometimes fear going into work with a level of emotional discomfort that's impossible to describe and was totally out of kilter with the reality of the situation. Pretty much any work can be difficult at times - but I had the fear!

This is difficult to describe to people who haven't experienced it. It's not the usual Monday-I-don't-want-to-work scenario but a feeling of absolute existential dread.)
 
"Our brain is our own worst enemy" works for me, and I've been a sub-editor for the last few decades, so you don't need to worry about that.

(I'm not saying it's right, of course, but it's succinct and easy to understand. Rewriting the sentence is likely to make it uglier with no real gain in comprehension. That's my tuppenny worth...)

(I have longstanding stress and anxiety issues, which are largely under control/in abeyance at the moment - not having a full-time job helps, as work was a massive driver of my anxiety. I used to sometimes fear going into work with a level of emotional discomfort that's impossible to describe and was totally out of kilter with the reality of the situation. Pretty much any work can be difficult at times - but I had the fear!

This is difficult to describe to people who haven't experienced it. It's not the usual Monday-I-don't-want-to-work scenario but a feeling of absolute existential dread.)
I call it 'the fear' as well. I'm not looking forward to going to work tomorrow in the way you've just described.
 
Hopefully this will prove helpful.

Scientists at Stanford University have identified a new subtype of depression that could affect as many as a quarter of all patients with major depressive disorder (MDD).

The findings help explain why the most popular drug treatments for depression are not always effective.

The new subtype is unique from other proposed subtypes because it is marked by cognitive deficits in attention, memory, and self-control. These symptoms are often not alleviated by antidepressants that target serotonin, such as Lexapro (escitalopram) or Zoloft (sertraline).

The researchers are referring to the newly identified subtype as the 'cognitive subtype'.

In a randomized clinical trial involving over 700 adults, Stanford researchers – with a colleague from the University of Sydney in Australia – found that 27 percent of MDD patients performed worse on cognitive tasks. They also had a worse response to standard drug treatments.

If that percentage applies to the US population, then about 5.7 million patients could have this version of depression.

Given the size of that potential cohort, behavioral scientist Laura Hack and her colleagues argue that more targeted depression treatments are urgently needed.

https://www.sciencealert.com/a-new-...identified-and-it-could-affect-27-of-patients
I have been suffering from depression for best part of a decade and had various medicines prescribed, none of which seemed to do much use until the latest candidate. It's normally prescribed for bipolar sufferers and schizophrenics, but I have been given a low strength prescription and it finally seems to have had a positive effect.

Maybe 'depression' , like 'the common cold' actually covers a number of separate but overlapping conditions.
 
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