"Some medications must be stopped gradually to give the body time to adjust, and many can produce withdrawal symptoms if discontinued abruptly."

"If a physical cause for the depression is ruled out, a psychological evaluation should be done, by the physician or by referral to a psychiatrist or psychologist."

Co Occurrence of Depression with Other Illnesses


Depression can coexist with other illnesses. In such cases, it is important that the depression and each co occurring illness be appropriately diagnosed and treated.

Research has shown that anxiety disorderswhich include post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), obsessive compulsive disorder, panic disorder, social phobia, and generalized anxiety disordercommonly accompany depression. Depression is especially prevalent among people with PTSD, a debilitating condition that can develop after exposure to a terrifying event or ordeal in which grave physical harm occurred or was threatened. Traumatic events that can trigger PTSD include violent personal assaults such as rape or mugging, natural disasters, accidents, terrorism, and military combat. PTSD symptoms include: re experiencing the traumatic event in the form of flashback episodes, memories, or nightmares; emotional numbness; sleep disturbances; irritability; outbursts of anger; intense guilt; and avoidance of any reminders or thoughts of the ordeal. In one NIMH supported study, more than 40 percent of people with PTSD also had depression when evaluated at one month and four months following the traumatic event.

Substance use disorders (abuse or dependence) also frequently co occur with depressive disorders.5,6 Research has revealed that people with alcoholism are almost twice as likely as those without alcoholism to also suffer from major depression.6 In addition, more than half of people with bipolar disorder type I (with severe mania) have a co occurring substance use disorder.

Depression has been found to occur at a higher rate among people who have other serious illnesses such as heart disease, stroke, cancer, HIV, diabetes, and Parkinsons. Symptoms of depression are sometimes mistaken for inevitable accompaniments to these other illnesses. However, research has shown that the co occurring depression can and should be treated, and that in many cases treating the depression can also improve the outcome of the other illness.

"A recent study showed no adverse cognitive effects of M ECT after one year."

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"Although changing from one SSRI to another has generally not been shown to be beneficial, one study showed that citalopram (Celexa) did not seem to cause sexual impairment in patients who had experienced such events with another SSRI."

Symptoms Of Anxiety

"Therapy can help the child deal with his past in a healthy manner, and to learn ways to cope with the very difficult process of growing up."

Anxiety Symptoms Of

"Once the individual is feeling better, it is important to continue the medication for at least 4 to 9 months to prevent a recurrence of the depression."

Multiple Sclerosis Anxiety Depression Medications

"Traumatic events that can trigger PTSD include violent personal assaults such as rape or mugging, natural disasters, accidents, terrorism, and military combat."

Anxiety Research

"If unsure where to go for help, check the Yellow Pages under "mental health," "health," "social services," "suicide prevention," "crisis intervention services," "hotlines," "hospitals," or "physicians" for phone numbers and addresses."