More and more people, including children and adolescents, are suffering from psychiatric disorders, and it is estimated that by the year 2050, ONE IN 2 PEOPLE WILL HAVE DEPRESSION. The problem is bigger than “it seems”, mainly because the majority of cases are still in people who deny the existence of the problem or in people who suffer without identifying and seeking to address and treat it properly (they often treat Depression as if it were something else); moreover, most people do NOT adequately prevent disorders such as Depression and Anxiety, which has greatly compromised the Mental Health of most people.
VIDEOS ON THE SUBJECT:
1 - Depression - Current, useful and fundamental aspects
2 - 14 Quick Facts about DEPRESSION - To help your HEALTH
3 - “Epidemic” of DEPRESSION in teenagers and young adults: what to do?
4 - VIDEOS ABOUT ANTIDEPRESSANTS
5 - For those who want something “quicker”, basic, on the subject:
REAL CLINICAL CASE
(To exemplify what was explained above)
I am publishing this email exchange here, dated 2012 and with the permission of those involved, with the aim of helping people facing the same problem.
On 20/09/12, XXX wrote:
Hello,
I'm from YYY and I even exchanged a few tweets with you yesterday. I know that for ethical reasons you are prevented from “consulting” from a distance and the last thing I want is to bring you any kind of trouble in this regard. I am a lawyer and I also have a strict code of ethics and conduct to respect. However, I'd like to point out that the case I'm going to tell you about is already being monitored by a doctor, so what I'm asking for here would only be a tip/advice and not an official position from a professional. I hope you can help me with something.
My wife is going through an acute and deep depressive crisis. She has all the classic symptoms of severe depression (I've read a lot about it), including sadness, recurrent crying, tachycardia, panic, waking up scared several times during the night, sleepiness during the day, loss of appetite, hopelessness, lack of energy for everything - especially continuing to live, she feels guilty for things she obviously isn't, she feels incapable of doing everyday things, she feels physically and intellectually inferior, she often says she wishes she had never existed and only doesn't think about ending her life so as not to cause suffering to me and her family. She is ashamed to be going through this and doesn't talk about it with anyone. Only I have been her companion in this daily struggle. She has forbidden me to tell even her family because she doesn't want to be seen as a failure and she also fears for the health of her mother, who may also suffer from depressive disorders.
On September 9, she started a course of medication prescribed by a psychiatrist. She is taking the antidepressant Sertraline and concomitantly, Diazepan, so that she can sleep a little more peacefully (she is reluctant to take Diazepan, but on the nights she doesn't take it she is plagued by insomnia and always wakes up terrified). The effects of the antidepressant haven't kicked in yet and from what I've read, it can take up to 14 days, right?
I know it's neither elegant nor correct to ask for “medical advice” by e-mail, but the case is desperate and in my eagerness to help her I'm willing to knock on every door, even if some don't open.
As I'm the only one in her social circle who knows about her illness, I've been playing the role of psychologist, without having the technical skills to do so. I've been encouraging her without pressuring her, showing her that the confused feelings/thoughts she's been having are due to the illness and giving her plenty of support and affection. But I've reached my limit. I don't know what else to do.
Every day is a new struggle. She works in two places. In the morning, at the town hall in one city, where she is a civil servant, and in the afternoon/evening in another city at a drugstore (she is a pharmacist). Both jobs are stressful and may have been the trigger for the crisis.
She says she's not satisfied with her life, with the profession she's chosen, that she wants to quit everything and change her field, but I've been telling her that right now the important thing is to heal... that it's not time to make such important decisions. What's more, she's doing a virtual postgraduate course, which is full of targets and demands, and this all puts a lot of pressure on her.
She has a resistance to psychotherapy. She already saw psychologists when she had a similar crisis about four years ago. She complains that it doesn't make any difference, that people just want to listen to her and that she prefers someone who talks to her. I still have to convince her to undergo this kind of treatment, but she has already said in a calmer moment that she would do it for me.
I need to help you. I need your help. I need to try every weapon available.
My question is: Is there anything else I can do to help her? Are there any foods that I can use as an adjunct to the treatment she's already having with her doctor? Anything at all. I beg for help/guidance.
Thank you in advance
XXX
On September 20, 2012 10:16, Icaro, wrote:
Hello XXX
I can't really prescribe here, due to a ban by the Federal Council of Medicine, but allow me to make a few suggestions:
1 - She NEEDS good psychological support
2 - Encouraging the adoption and maintenance of an active religious side can help
3 - Search for depression, anxiety and even panic on my site icaro.med.br - There's a lot of material there that can help, especially when it comes to neurotransmitters
4 - I believe that melatonin at night can help
5 - Perhaps some “natural tranquilizers” such as passiflorine and maracugin will help; there is also hypericum perforatum as an alternative to conventional antidepressants.
6 - Look for foods that can provide Tryptophan, Tyrosine, B vitamins and Magnesium... they should help. And I believe that a plant called Mucuna Pruriens should also help, along with the concept of “adaptogens”
7 - The better your wife's lifestyle habits, the better her recovery will be (in fact, recovery is impossible without as many of them as possible). I talk about them at length on my website, especially in the article “The Basis of Everything”
8 - I suggest complete hormone dosages, as several hormones must be altered (in which case antidepressants alone won't help), such as progesterone, testosterone and DHEA.
* I emphasize that all of the above must be examined by the doctor and other health professionals who will be working with your wife: these are just suggestions to help.
Well... Now you have a lot to study out there and I wish you and your wife success and good health.
Cheers
Icarus
On 20/09/12, XXX wrote:
Dr. Icarus,
I really appreciate your help.
I'll try to find out as much as possible, following the initial instructions you gave me, and I'll do what I can to help you.
I hope to contact you again to thank you for having been decisive in my wife's cure.
On the subject of religion, we have also tried to emphasize this side and understand that this disease has a strong spiritual character and that the strength of faith can be an impetus to overcome this evil.
May God bless you.
Big hug,
XXX
On September 20, 2012 10:26, Icaro, wrote:
Now it's up to you and I believe that everything I've said can REALLY help, but only if the person most interested in the success of everything, in your healing, really helps: your wife. So I hope she'll cooperate.
Cheers
Icarus
* Can I remove the names and put all this in the Q&A section of my site?
On 20/09/12, XXX wrote:
Yes, the cure necessarily involves her. It's difficult to convince her of this in this state of confusion and mental disorder, but I reaffirm it every day and I have faith that she will respond.
Yes, you can post the case on the site, as long as our identity is preserved. It may be useful to someone who is going through the same problem and everyone deserves help at this time.
Cheers,
XXX
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