Summary

Anxiety and depression rank among the most serious medical disorders today. According to the World Health Organization, depression causes more disabilities than any other condition. Yet 80 percent of the 38 million Americans suffering from anxiety and depression receive inadequate treatment. Inspired by their work with patients and patient-advocacy groups, the psychiatrists Dennis S. Charney and Charles B. Nemeroff are on a mission to help everyone get the best treatment available. Stressing that any treatment must be tailored to the individual, The Peace of Mind Prescription details the full array of medically approved drugs and therapies, highlights the latest breakthroughs, and explores future possibilities. It advocates treating most adults with a combination of psychotherapy and medication and confirms the link between serious anxiety and depression and physical diseases. The authors examine the controversial question of treating children with medication, and they provide vital information specific to both sexes and all ages. The Peace of Mind Prescription arms readers with resources to assess claims made for both mainstream and alternative treatments. It features inspiring stories of patients who have overcome their anxiety and depression disorders. Fresh, authoritative, and empowering, this book is a prescription that can aid everyone in need.

Author Biography

Dennis S. Charney, M.D., is the dean of research and the Anne and Joel Ehrenkranz Professor in the departments of psychiatry, neuroscience, and pharmacology and biochemistry at the Mount Sinai School of Medicine Charles B. Nemeroff, M.D., Ph.D., is the Reunette W. Harris Professor and chairman of the department of psychiatry and behavioral sciences at Emory University's School of Medicine

Introduction: Empowering People with Anxiety and Depression

(8)

PART I: THE POWER OF MOOD

1. Thieves of Happiness

(9)

2. Building Emotional Resilience

(13)

3. Mood and Physical Health

(14)

PART II: DIAGNOSING AND FINDING OPTIMAL TREATMENT FOR ANXIETY AND DEPRESSION

4. The World of Anxiety Disorders

(23)

5. Finding Optimal Relief from Anxiety Disorders

(12)

6. The World of Depression

(18)

7. Finding Optimal Relief from Both Major and Low-Level Depression

(22)

8. Bipolar Disorder: Diagnosis and Optimal Treatment

120

(13)

9. Reducing the Risk of Suicide

133

PART III: ANXIETY AND DEPRESSION AMONG WOMEN, MEN, CHILDREN, AND OLDER ADULTS

10. Anxiety and Depression in Women

147

(9)

11. Anxiety and Depression in Men

156

(9)

12. Anxiety and Depression in Children and Teens

165

(26)

13. Anxiety and Depression in Older Adults

191

(10)

Appendix I: Complementary and Alternative Medicine

201

(3)

Appendix II: Making Sense of Health Information

204

(5)

Appendix III: Medications That Can Cause or Exacerbate Anxiety and Depression

209

(3)

Appendix IV: Finding Help

212

(5)

Appendix V: Who Does What?

217

(2)

Notes

219

(20)

Index

239

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Excerpts

Introduction Empowering People with Anxiety and DepressionAnxiety and depression are two of the most serious medical disorders. The suffering caused by these conditions is not only miserable, grinding, and so intolerable that suicide can appear a welcome relief, but it is diabolically long- lasting if not treated. We used to view anxiety and depression as afflictions of middle age. We now know that they strike the young with equal force and can be ruinous throughout life unless treated. We used to think that anxiety and depression were purely mental ills- disorders of emotion, thinking, and perspective. In fact, anxiety and depression are deeply rooted in the body, and their corrosive effects raise a persons risk of contracting a host of diseases, including heart disease, stroke, diabetes, and osteoporosis. Depression alone is the leading cause of disability in the United States and the rest of the world. It costs employers an estimated $44 billion a year in lost productivity, according to a 2003 article in the Journal of the American Medical Association. Tragically, not only is the true magnitude of the damage wrought by these diseases widely unknown, but millions of people do not recognize their own anxiety or depression, or if they do, they suppress this recognition because of the stigma that stubbornly clings to psychological conditions of all kinds. This book is our attempt to fight that stigma, raise awareness about the true nature of anxiety and depression, help people find optimal treatment, and empower them so they can better navigate often complicated health-care systems. We live in remarkably stressful times, filled with information overload, demands to perform at high speed, and pressure to multitask. The terrorism and war that have touched all of us in recent years have also added uncertainty and tension to our lives. Unfortunately, humans are not built for this kind of stress. Our brains, our moods, and our emotional responses evolved over millions of years to deal with the challenges of a hunter-gatherer lifestyle, in which new information came at a trickle and the pace of life was, literally, at a walk. The contrast with the demands of the twenty-first century is so stark that the steady rise in anxiety and depression is not surprising. Between 1987 and 1997, for example, the percentage of Americans diagnosed and treated for depression more than tripled. Anxiety and depression are now the two most common mental disorders, affecting 38 million people in the United States alone. We urgently want to address these dire statistics by improving care for those who are anxious, depressed, or both. Until now no comprehensive and authoritative guide has existed for people seeking the optimal treatment they deserve. In part, thats because until recently experts have considered anxiety and depression separate maladies. We now know this is false: people often experience symptoms of both, and proper diagnosis and treat

Excerpted from The Peace of Mind Prescription: An Authoritative Guide to Finding the Most Effective Treatment for Anxiety and Depression by Dennis Charney, Charles Nemeroff
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