Depression is a mental illness that very often has physical effects. There are several potential ways in which depression affects movement, and this post will explore low energy, psychomotor retardation, and leaden paralysis. These symptoms can occur in both bipolar and unipolar depression. Low Energy Fatigue is one of the most common symptoms of depression. […]
How Depression Affects Movement Read More »
I was recently reading an article that argued that to fully treat depression, one must do the inner work to get to the root cause. That didn’t sit particularly well with me, so I thought I’d write about whether there’s even such a thing as a root cause for depression. The problem with reductionism I’m
Is There a Root Cause for Depression? Read More »
Chances are the first thing that comes to most people’s minds when they think about depression is depressed mood, right? But while depressed mood is often a major part of depressive illnesses, sometimes it plays a minor role and other times it’s not present at all. Major depressive episode symptoms Major depressive episodes can occur
Depression Without the Depressed Part? Read More »
I’ve taken birth control pills for much of my adult life. Sometimes the contraceptive benefit was useful, but much of the time, it was more about keeping estrogen fluctuations associated with PMS at bay. I’ve recently decided to stop taking the pill because there is some indication that oral contraceptives may promote inflammation. The connection
Estrogen & Depression: An Unhappy Dance Read More »
In this series, I dig a little deeper into the meaning of psychological terms. This week’s term is psychomotor retardation (PMR). Psychomotor retardation, one of the less common but more outwardly observable symptoms of depression, involves a slowing of movement and thoughts. It’s been described as far back as Ancient Greek times. PMR is one
What Is… Psychomotor Retardation Read More »
Fluctuating motivation in mental illness means that sometimes, things are happening, while other times, the wheels just fall right off. Motivation follows activation? A basic element of cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) for depression is behavioural activation. The idea is that motivation follows activation, meaning if you force yourself to do stuff, you’ll start to feel
Fluctuating Motivation in Depression Read More »
I became a nurse in 2004, which was before I became mentally ill. Even then, I wasn’t a fan of using a 1-10 mood rating scale with my patients. It struck me as a bit of a cop-out, and a poor substitute for actually exploring with the person how they were feeling. Adventures in hospital
Why I Hate the 1 – 10 Mood Rating Scale for Depression Read More »
While this may seem like a bit of an odd topic, it’s something I’ve vaguely wondered about for a while. If orgasms get the feel-good chemicals flowing, might that have any sort of benefit for depression? And especially for single folks like myself – could masturbation have any positive effect when it comes to depression?
Master of My Domain? A Look at Depression and Masturbation Read More »
Yes, that’s right, I’m guilty—I’m a ghoster. Ghosting is socially frowned upon, although it happens quite a bit. A LiveScience article cites research in which about 25% of participants had been ghosted, and 20% had ghosted someone else. It’s often talked about with regards to romantic relationships, but it may be even more common in
I Admit It – Depression Has Made Me a Ghoster Read More »
Wouldn’t it be nice if the treatment of depression was simple? Unfortunately, there’s nothing simple about depression treatment in the real world. Treatment-resistant depression (TRD) refers to depression that hasn’t responded to trials of adequate duration and dosage of at least two antidepressants. When determining whether the illness is treatment-resistant, it’s important to consider whether
Options for Managing Treatment-Resistant Depression Read More »
