Sleep and Mood

Drugs, stressful situations, and even excessive noise can affect daily body rhythms and moods. An irregular living schedule can aggravate mood disorders. The old-fashioned sanitarium rest cure was effective with the "nervous" because it put the patient on a regular schedule of sleep, activity, and meals. Below are some kinds of sleep disturbances that can make mood disorder worse.

Insomnia

A person suffering from insomnia has difficulty initiating or maintaining normal sleep, which can result in non-restorative sleep and impairment of daytime functioning. Insomnia includes sleeping too little, difficulty falling asleep, awakening frequently during the night, or waking up early and being unable to get back to sleep. It is characteristic of many mental and physical disorders. Those with depression, for example, may experience overwhelming feelings of sadness, hopelessness, worthlessness, or guilt, all of which can interrupt sleep. Hypomanics, on the other hand, can be so aroused that getting quality sleep is virtually impossible without medication.

Delayed Sleep Phase Syndrome

This is the most common circadian-rhythm sleep disorder that results in insomnia and daytime sleepiness, or somnolence. A short circuit between a person's biological clock and the 24-hour day causes this sleep disorder. It is commonly found in those with mild or major depression. In addition, certain medications used to treat bipolar disorder may disrupt the sleep-wake cycle.

REM Sleep Abnormalities

REM sleep abnormalities have been implicated by doctors in a variety of psychiatric disorders, including depression, posttraumatic stress disorder, some forms of schizophrenia, and other disorders in which psychosis occurs.

Irregular Sleep-Wake Schedule

This sleep disorder is yet another problem that many with Bipolar II experience and in large part results from a lack of lifestyle scheduling. Bipolar drug abusers and/or alcoholics who stay awake all night searching for similar addicts and engaging in drug-seeking behavior, which results in sleeping the next day, usually experience the reverse sleep-wake cycle.

When Fear Paralyzes

General Anxiety Disorder affects roughly 4 to 5 million people of the American population alone. The symptoms are many and vary from person to person. There are however a few symptoms that are the same across the board for most people and which generally characterize their lives and lifestyles. The sufferer will live in a chronic and exaggerated state of worry and tension most of the time. Extreme emotions may arise even if there is nothing happening to provoke these feelings. Symptoms can also induce the sufferer to be always anticipating disaster.

Although worry is a natural emotion and most of us experience it from time to time in our daily lives, for the sufferer worry is chronic and most times pathological. Many times the chronic worrier will let their worries overtake their world and will sometimes let it go so far as to incapacitate them in their daily lives.

It can bring on insomnia, panic attacks and depression. Intense anxiety and fear are also quite common to these symptoms. Other more physical, symptoms include headaches, diarrhea and nausea, lightheadedness, trembling or twitching. A palpitating or pounding heart, shortness of breath and trouble concentrating are also effects that can occur.

Irritability and mood swings, constant tension coupled with the inability to relax are all General Anxiety Disorder symptoms, and are all contributing features to other symptoms as well.

This vicious cycle can sometimes take its toll not only on the Disorder sufferer but also on the family of the sufferer. The pressures of living with a person who suffers from GAD, the inability to cope with the persistent and sometimes inconsequential worrying, the constant depression and mood swings can all take their toll. Most families do not survive too well if someone within the family suffers from this disorder.

Choosing a Therapist Step-By-Step

Therapy is a collaborative process, so finding the right match is critical. After you find someone, keep in mind that therapy is work and sometimes can be painful. However, it also can be rewarding and life changing.

What are the steps for choosing a therapist?

1. See your primary care physician to rule out a medical cause of your problems. Many physical disorders can mimic psychological ones.

2. After you know your problems are not caused by a medical condition, find out what the mental health coverage is under your insurance policy or through Medicaid/Medicare.

3. Get two or three referrals before making an appointment. Specify age, sex, race, or religious background if those characteristics are important to you.

4. Call to find out about appointment availability, location, and fees. Find out if they take your insurance or if they charge by income.

5. Make sure the therapist has experience helping people whose problems are similar to yours. Don't be afraid to ask about experience.

6. If you are satisfied with the answers, make an appointment.

7. During your first visit, describe those feelings and problems that led you to seek help. Find out how the therapist reacts and what options you are given for treatment. Do you feel comfortable with your choices?

8. Be sure the psychotherapist does not take a "cookie cutter" approach to your treatment - different psychotherapies and medications are tailored to meet specific needs. You are an individual and your therapist must show that perspective.

9. After your initial visit, take some time to explore how you felt about the therapist. Is there a connection? Do you feel comfortable?

10. If everything meets your approval, schedule your next appointment. If not, go back to the list you gathered in Step 3 and start over again.

The Most Common Obsessive-Compulsive Behaviors

*When people are obsessed at avoiding being dirty or contaminated, they frequently wash their hands and feet, clean and bathe their bodies. They do not feel comfortable about bodily waste and urinating because these procedures are often disgusting to look at or experience. They also feel extremely and unreasonably anxious about contracting dreadful illnesses in almost any setting.

*Some people always want to live in extremely neat surroundings. While they're not that obsessed about getting sick from dirt, they do care very much about their appearances. They always want to look and feel clean. They are perfectionists when it comes to ordering and aligning objects. They can spend hours just to obtain the precise positioning of their things.

*Some people become obsessed about saving things for future use are incapable of throwing any object, even a piece of candy wrapper, in fear of throwing something that could prove useful or necessary in the future. These people are uncaring about the neatness of their surroundings or the order of their possessions. All they care to do is stash everything they can. People suffering from this particular OCD may also be meticulous about that object goes where.

*A person may develop OCD symptoms on certain habits or actions for no reason at all. When this happens, they become obsessed at performing these tasks over and over. It could be something as silly as repeating questions several times or counting money repeatedly before handing it over.

With proper therapy, affected individuals will learn to cope with OCD symptoms and accept that the disorder is there to stay until an effective cure is created. As a last note, you must keep in mind that an individual can develop OCD symptoms about anything. Hence, lists of OCD symptoms will only give you at best an idea of general areas that individuals may have OCD tendencies about.

When the Cure Harms

Zoloft is an SSRI (selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor); a prescription drug that combats depression, anxiety, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), panic disorder, obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), as well as other various problems. An SSRI works by allowing more serotonin to be released through the brain. The more seratonin in the brain, the more chance it will be picked up and carried.

Seratonin is a brain chemical associated with happiness. Between nerve endings in the brain, there are synapses. All signals in the brain are transmitted through chemicals being produced then absorbed by one nerve and another. When these chemicals are released the next nerve either takes them in or the nerve that released them will re-absorb them and the signal doesn't pass. When this happens, depression occurs.

Some antidepressants work by blocking the reuptake of Seratonin by the releasing nerve. That means that more Seratonin stays in the synapse in the hopes that the new nerve that, in the case of Seratonin, will absorb it.

The problem with Zoloft is that it has been shown to cause a condition known as akathisia. Akathisia is described as an overwhelming physical and mental restlessness that often leads people to destructive behavior.

Pfizer, the manufacturer of Zoloft has been charged with purposefully concealing information they had about the side effects of Zoloft including akathisia. Pfizer has furthermore been charged with promoting the drug for off-label use not approved of by the FDA. A few cases of homicide or violent behavior have used Zoloft induced akathisia as a defense.

If you or a loved on has been affected by Zoloft, find a doctor to see if you may have one of the serious side effects from the drug which includes akathisia. If you can tie your health problem to Zoloft you may be able to pursue your case in court to receive financial compensation

The Types of Depression

Depression can take many forms. Seasonal affective disorder, clinical depression, and bipolar depression and postpartum depression are all commonly diagnosed types of depression. Conditions such as substance abuse or an eating disorder may be confused with depression, and can make any form of depression rather hard to diagnose. Other conditions can worsen a case of depression.

The following are some very common forms of depression.

One of the major types of depression is bipolar depression (also known as manic depressive illness). Bipolar depression is commonly recognized as someone experiencing being overly happy, then suddenly becoming horribly depressed.

One of the major types of depression that women are known to suffer from is postpartum depression. This takes place right after giving birth to a baby.

A common subtype of depression is seasonal affective disorder. This form of depression seems to be tied to the way people react to the amount of sunlight that is available to them each day.

A very serious form of the many types of depression is psychotic depression. Those that suffer from psychotic depression very often hallucinate. This is one of the most dangerous types of depression and often there is a need for someone else to jump in and help.

People that seem to be suffering constantly from a mild form of depression are likely to be suffering from dysthymia.

Another of the many types of depression that are very commonly suffered by women is atypical depression. Experiencing things like panic attacks, overeating, and sleeping disturbances commonly mark this form of depression.

No matter which one of the many types of depression you might be suffering from, knowing the difference between them is the best way to get the best possible treatment. Discuss any signs of depression with your doctor and work with him to find the treatment that is best suited for you.

Combined-Type ADHD

In the category of hyperactivity/impulsivity, an individual must have six or more of the following symptoms: often fidgets while sitting, often leaves seat in structure setting, often runs around inappropriately (restlessness), often has trouble playing quietly, often talks excessively, often blurts out answers before question completed, often has difficulty waiting turn and often interrupts or intrudes on others. Some of these symptoms must have present before the age of seven, and they must have lasted for at least six months.

In the category of inattention, an individual must have six or more of the following symptoms: often makes careless mistakes in schoolwork, work and other activities, often has difficulty keeping attention sustained in task or play activities, often does not seem to listen when spoken to directly, often has difficulty organizing tasks and activities, often avoids and dislikes tasks that require sustained mental effort, often loses things that are necessary for everyday life, often is easily distracted by extraneous stimuli and often is forgetful in daily activities. Some of these symptoms must have been present before the age of seven, and they must have lasted at least six months.

The combined type of ADHD is actually the most common among ADHD sufferers. They are also the individuals most at risk for other negative problems in their lives due to the nature of the disorder. First of all, children with Combined Type ADHD have higher rates of conduct disorder. Parents who have a child with this type must constantly be on the lookout for problems in other arenas of their lives besides specific symptoms of ADHD. Just keep in mind that problems in the emotional, psychological and social domains are a result of a response to having ADHD, and not the disorder itself. The way your child acts can be changed with time and work.