1. You should have a complete medical examination to rule out other causes of clinical depression. A leading expert tells us about some of these; “Thyroid conditions are extremely common in the adult population in the United States and they can often lead to depression, both an overactive thyroid and an under active thyroid can lead to depression. And a simple blood test can diagnose hypothyroidism or hyperthyroidism and lead to appropriate treatment that may be very helpful for relieving the depression.
2. There are certain diseases that can cause depression. Examples of these include a stroke, brain tumor or multiple sclerosis. Degenerative brain diseases, such as Alzheimer's, dementia, Parkinson's disease or Huntington's disease also frequently cause depression, as does traumatic brain injury. Cardiac conditions often are often associated with depression and treatment for the cardiac condition and the depression should begin aggressively and at the same time. Psychiatrists need to be thinking as medical doctors when they approach their patients who are complaining of depression. And at times they may need to order a variety of blood tests, brain images or EEG to rule out seizure disorders. And in many cases psychiatrists need to collaborate closely with primary care doctors and other medical specialists to clarify the diagnosis and to find and implement the appropriate treatment.
3. You should never settle for having a doctor/psychiatrist tell you, “I don’t know what else to do; you are just going to have to live with the symptoms.” Top researchers tell us that the goal of today’s psychiatrist is to control/arrest all of your depressive symptoms. If you have depressive symptoms you should always be working on a treatment plan to alleviate them. Research suggests that more than half of treatment non-response can be attributed to either poor treatment adherence to a medication regimen and/or to severe side effects. Before making any changes to a medication regimen, the clinician should first ensure that the patient took the prescribed medication consistently and correctly; that the recommended dose was at least a moderate level; and that the patient took the medication for a sufficient duration typically considered to be at least 8 weeks.
If you would like to purchase a copy of our book, Broken Minds Hope for Healing When You Feel Like You're Losing It, please do the following: For a hard copy new, go to our website http://heartfeltmin.org/author-page.html
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|D Martyn Lloyd Jones|
5. The cost is too much – This is one of the most difficult barriers to beating a treatment resistant depression. First, let me say that the evangelical church must concern itself with this blatant need. The Bible tells us, we are to contribute to the needs of the saints (Romans 12:13). We are to love our brothers and sisters in Christ and be compassionate towards their suffering (Colossians 3:12). We are to bear one another burdens, and thereby fulfill the law of Christ (Galatians 6:2). The government funds for effective treatment of mental illness are drying up. People will be looking to religious non profits to take up the slack. Psychiatrists will need to volunteer time in faith based clinics, pastors will need to be trained in the dynamics of mental illness and depression. If you can get a job, look for one with insurance benefits. If you are poor, apply for Medicaid, or for Medicare if you qualify. You should find out who the Gate Keeper of public mental health is in your county or state and tap into the resources they have to offer. It would be advantageous to get a copy of your County services that are available through the United Way. There are sliding scales for low income persons. Either you or someone else needs to contact the drug company that makes your medicine and check their programs to help those who do not have insurance. You can also call 211.
Please go to our web site heartfeltmin.org