"The most important thing anyone can do for a man who may have depression is to help him get to a doctor for a diagnostic evaluation and treatment."

"Following remission of symptoms, continuation treatment with medication and/or psychotherapy for at least several months may be recommended by the psychiatrist, given the high risk of relapse and recurrence of depression."

Where to Get Help


If unsure where to go for help, talk to people you trust who have experience in mental health, for example, a doctor, nurse, social worker, or religious counselor. Ask their advice on where to seek treatment. If there is a university nearby, its departments of psychiatry or psychology may offer private and/or sliding scale fee clinic treatment options. Otherwise, check the Yellow Pages under mental health, health, social services, suicide prevention, crisis intervention services, hotlines, hospitals, or physicians, for phone numbers and addresses. In times of crisis, the emergency room doctor at a hospital may be able to provide temporary help for a mental health problem, and will be able to tell you where and how to get further help.

Listed below are the types of people and places that will make a referral to, or provide, diagnostic and treatment services.

* Family doctors
* Mental health specialists, such as psychiatrists, psychologists, social workers, or mental health counselors
* Religious leaders/counselors
* Health maintenance organizations
* Community mental health centers
* Hospital psychiatry departments and outpatient clinics
* University or medical school affiliated programs
* State hospital outpatient clinics
* Social service agencies
* Private clinics and facilities
* Employee assistance programs
* Local medical and/or psychiatric societies

Within the Federal government, the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) offers a Services Locator for mental health and substance abuse treatment programs and resources nationwide. Call 1 800 789 2647 (toll free).

"The more sedating antidepressants are generally taken at bedtime to help sleep and minimize daytime drowsiness."

For Children, a Scary World Out There (in There, Too)
Increasingly, parents have seen their children forced to contend with the fear of automatic flush toilets.
You Are Cleared for Takeoff
Nervous airline passengers are increasingly turning to pills to make hours of sealed confinement more bearable; among most popular pills are benzodiazepines, class of anti-anxiety drugs that tend to be relatively safe; doctors caution against borrowing from friends or mixing with alcohol; drawing; photo
For Fear of Flying, Therapy Takes to the Skies
With small steps, participants in Freedom to Fly learn to “out-bluff” their anxiety.
Can't Keep From Shopping? Help Could Be on the Way
In its extreme forms compulsive buying may be a psychiatric illness — an impulse control disorder associated with abnormal levels of depression and anxiety.

"The first step to getting appropriate treatment for depression is a physical examination by a physician."

Physical Therapy Pictures

"It is important to keep taking medication until it has a chance to work, though side effects (see section on Side Effects, pages 19 20) may appear before antidepressant activity does."

High Ph Therapy

"A study supported by the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) found that CBT led to remission in nearly 65 percent of cases, a higher rate than either supportive therapy or family therapy."

Physical Therapy For Cerebral Palsy

"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."

Tables Of Complementary Therapies

"Some people with milder forms of depression may do well with psychotherapy alone and people with moderate to severe depression most often benefit from antidepressants, but most do best with combined treatment: medication to gain relatively quick symptom relief and psychotherapy to learn more effective ways to deal with life's problems, including depression."