Understanding Depression A Complete Guide to Its Diagnosis and Treatment

by Klein, Donald F.; Wender, Paul H.

• ISBN13: 9780195086690
• ISBN10: 0195086694
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 1994-02-17
• Publisher: Oxford University Press

Summary

Recent studies have found that one woman in five, and one man in ten, will suffer from depression or manic depression sometime during the course of their lives. This is a disturbing statistic, but there is hope, because more and more evidence has surfaced to indicate that many psychiatric disorders are biological diseases that can be successfully treated with medication. Most people, however, know little about these recent findings. They don't know how to tell if the depression they are suffering from is biological or not, nor what they can do to recover from it if it is. In Understanding Depression , Donald Klein and Paul Wender offer a definitive guide to depressive illness--its causes, course, and symptoms. They clarify the difference between depression (which is a normal emotion) and biological depression (which is an illness), and include several self-rating tests with which readers can determine whether or not they should seek psychiatric evaluation to determine if they have a biological depressive illness. They describe the symptoms of biological depression, among them loss of energy, changes in eating habits, sleep disturbances, decreased sex drive, restlessness, poor concentration and indecisiveness, and increased use of intoxicants and drugs. And they paint a clear picture of how depressive illness can affect people's lives, using excerpts from patient histories to show the progress of each patient from the onset of depression to treatment and recovery. The authors also discuss the different types of treatment available, including antidepressant drugs, electroconvulsive therapy, and psychotherapy, and they examine the benefits and side effects of psychopharmacological drugs (including the new antidepressants, lithium, and the controversial Prozac), related disorders (such as panic attacks, atypical depression, seasonal affective disorder, and PMS), and how to get the right kind of help. Most victims of biological depression often fail to seek help, whether out of guilt or ignorance, and many are often misdiagnosed by physicians or psychotherapists who fail to recognize the symptoms of the illness. Understanding Depression seeks to make the public (both lay and medical) aware of the issues of biological depression, providing a highly informed and readable guide to this much misunderstood disease.

Author Biography

Donald F. Klein is Professor of Psychiatry at the Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons and Director of Research at New York State Psychiatric Institute Paul H. Wender is Distinguished Professor Emeritus of Psychiatry at the University of Utah School of Medicine and a Lecturer in Psychiatry at Harvard Medical School

Table of Contents

Introduction	3	(8)
Symptoms of Mood Disorders: Recognizing Biological Depression	11	(62)
The Question of Names	11	(6)
Recurrent Problems in Patients' Illnesses	17	(33)
Treatment	50	(13)
Mild Forms of Depression and Manic-Depression	63	(8)
The Interpersonal Consequences of Depression and Manic-Depression	71	(2)
What Happens to the Depressive or Manic-Depressive Individual over Time?	73	(14)
The Symptoms of Depression in Children and Adolescents	75	(3)
The ``Natural History'' of Depression and Manic-Depression	78	(9)
What Causes Depression and Manic-Depression?	87	(16)
Hereditary Factors: Patterns of Depressive and Manic-Depressive Illness in Families	87	(1)
Heredity Versus Environment	88	(4)
Genes Plus Events Can Equal Depression	92	(2)
Can Upbringing and Life Experience Cause Depressive Illness?	94	(3)
Chemistry and Depression	97	(4)
Other Illnesses and Depression	101	(1)
Predicting Depressive Illness	101	(2)
Diagnosis and Treatment of Depression	103	(24)
Diagnosis	103	(2)
The Effectiveness of Medical Treatment of Depression	105	(1)
The Decision to Use Drugs, Psychotherapy, or Both: Relative Costs and Benefits	106	(4)
Drug Treatment	110	(5)
Electroconvulsive Therapy (ECT)	115	(2)
Psychological Management of Depression	117	(3)
The Relationship of the Doctor and the Patient	120	(1)
The Family's Role in the Treatment of Depression and Manic-Depression	120	(3)
Self and Family Monitoring of Depression	123	(4)
A Brief Guide to Psychopharmacological Drugs	127	(20)
Tricyclic Antidepressants	131	(2)
Monoamine Oxidase Inhibitors (MAOIs)	133	(1)
New Antidepressants	134	(4)
Lithium	138	(3)
Neuroleptics	141	(1)
Minor Tranquilizers: Benzodiazepines	141	(2)
Anticonvulsants	143	(2)
Monitoring Drug Treatment	145	(2)
Illnesses Related to Depression	147	(18)
Panic and Depression	147	(12)
Atypical Depression	159	(2)
Seasonal Affective Disorder	161	(1)
Premenstrual Syndrome	162	(3)
How to Get Help	165	(12)
Who Is Most Qualified to Diagnose and Treat?	165	(4)
Finding a Psychiatrist with Training in Biological Disorders	169	(2)
Meeting with the Psychiatrist for the First Time	171	(1)
Second Opinions	172	(2)
Psychotherapy for the Depressed Patient	174	(1)
Conclusion	174	(3)
Index	177