MAY 2017

Mental Health Awareness Month

Good Afternoon Blog Readers & Followers!  Welcome back to our discussion about Mental Health.  We have been mainly discussing "depression", and writing in our Journals or Diaries (your choice) on a daily basis.

In this Blog Session we will be continuing on where we left off with our discussion about Mental Health, and in particular ~ Depression Manifestations . . .

1.  Major or Clinical Depression

      Severs and/or disrupts ability to perform daily tasks.

2.  Dysthymia

      Milder than major depression, but persists for at least two

      (2) years.

3.  Double Depression amounts to . . .

      Both Major Depression plus Dysthymia.

4.  Atypical Depression

      People with this type of depression can temporarily put 

      on a brave face and appear ok to others.

5.  Melancholia

      Unable to even temporarily feel any lift, and this condition

      is easy to see in someone.

6.  Depression coupled with Anxiety

7.  Postpartum Depression

8.  SAD ~ Winter Blues

Please make a note of all of the above Depression Manifestations in your Journal or Diary for future reference.  It is suggested that you also do research on your own about mental health, as well as the topics that we are discussing here on the Blog.  The topics we are discussing may affect you, or someone you know.  May is Mental Health Awareness Month, and there is no better time than now to open up discussions about mental health.

Journal/Diary ~ Notes

The other area that we discussed in our last Blog Session was Bipolar Disorder (also known as manic-depressive illness).  There was a definition provided so that all Readers would be aware of what this condition consists of.  We also had a chart which listed the Bipolar Spectrum, which covers five (5) areas . . .

Bipolar Spectrum

1.  Hypo-mania - (literally "under mania" or "less than

      mania") is a mood state characterized by persistent

      disinhibition and pervasive elevated (euphoric) with or

      without irritable mood but generally less severe than full

      mania.  According to DSM-V criteria, hypomania is 

      specifically distinct from mania in that there is no 

      psychosis (sensing things others do not sense in the same

      environment); mania, by DSM-V definition, has psychotic 

      features. Characteristic behaviors are extremely energetic,

      talkative, and confident commonly exhibited with a flight 

      of creative ideas.  While hypomanic behavior often 

      generates productivity and excitement, it can become 

      troublesome if the subject engages in risky or otherwise 

      inadvisable behaviors.  When manic episodes are "staged"

      according to symptomatic severity and associated 

      features, hypomania constitutes the first stage, or stage I,

      of the syndrome, wherein the cardinal features 

      (euphoria or heightened irritability, pressure of speech

      and activity, increased energy and decreased need for

      sleep, and flight of ideas) are most plainly evident.

      [NOTE:  Some individuals with bipolar I disorder have hypomanic as well as 

            manic episodes. Hypomania can also occur when moods progress downwards from a 

            manic mood state to a normal mood.  Hypomania is sometimes credited with 

            increasing creativity and productive energy.]

2.  Hyper-mania - a condition of extreme mania marked by

      elation and hyperactivity; a mental disorder characterized

      by great excitement and occasionally violent behaviour.

NOTES/DEFINITION OF MANIA:

 ~ A manifestation of bipolar disorder characterized by 

     profuse and rapidly changing ideas, exaggerated gaiety,

     and excessive physical activity.

~ Violent, abnormal, or impulsive behavior.  In psychological

     terms, mania is wild activity associated with manic 

     depression. 

 ~ a severe mental state with high intensity disorientation

    and often violent behavior.

~ a mental disorder characterized by great excitement and

    occasionally violent behaviour.  See also manic-depressive. 

Mania is a state of abnormally elevated arousal, affect, and energy level, or "a state of heightened overall activation with enhanced affective expression together with lability of affect."  Although mania is often conceived as a "mirror image" to depression, the heightened mood can be either euphoric or irritable; indeed, as the mania intensifies, irritability can be more pronounced and result in violence. 

late 14c., "mental derangement characterized by excitement and delusion," 

from Late Latin mania "insanity, madness,"; from Greek mania "madness, frenzy;

enthusiasm, inspired frenzy; mad passion, fury," related to "mainesthai" - to rage, go mad -- 

all from PIE ~ meaning to think, to have one's mind aroused, rage, be furious.

3.  Symptom free

4.  Mild depression - Mild depression is defined as

      chronic depression with symptoms that are not as 

      severe as someone suffering from a severe episode.

      According to Psychology Information Online, to qualify 

      as dysthymic disorder the depressed feelings must be

      present almost every day for at least two years.

5.  Severe depression - great degree of depression:

      symptoms of sadness, loss, and hopelessness.  Mentally, 

      those affected may experience constant emotional 

      distress, lack of concentration, loss of interest, and even 

      the complete inability to feel pleasure.  These mental 

      handicaps can lead to more severe symptoms such as self-

      harm, excessive fatigue and weight loss due to lack of 

      appetite, insomnia, and even suicide.  Depression affects 

      different people in different ways, resulting in varying 

      symptoms.

PLEASE NOTE:  Depression can vary from person to person in how intensely the person experiences it.  Intensity can also vary over time.  Many natural treatments are recommended for people with mild to moderate depression because these are the types of cases in which they have been evaluated and shown to be effective.

People with mild to moderate depression have depression symptoms which are more than simply "feeling blue," but they do not experience the same level of disability as those with severe depression, who might need to be hospitalized in order to cope with their symptoms.

Please see or talk to your doctor if you feel you need help.

Clinical Depression & other forms of Depression

We will return on our next Blog Session to discuss the above topics:  Clinical Depression & other forms of Depression.  We will also talk about the chart that we displayed in relation to Bipolar Syndrome Types.

Looking forward to seeing you back here on the Blog.  Don't forget to Bookmark this Blog, and/or Follow our Blog posts by adding your Email address in the upper right-hand side where it says, "Follow by Email".

See you in our next Blog Session!

Peace, Love & Light,

 René

©Copyright - René Allen - MAY 2017 - All Rights Reserved