The Underlying Cause of Nervous Breakdowns

Life can offer us many challenges having to do with loss. When we are faced with relationship loss, financial loss, loss of health, loss of limb, loss of regard, or loss of love, we can feel overwhelmingly anxious, depressed and stressed. When the anxiety, depression and stress get too big, we may have a nervous breakdown  that is, we become incapable of functioning in our everyday life and incapable of coping with our daily challenges.
What causes one person to have a nervous breakdown while another, with equally difficult or even more difficult challenges, is able to stay functioning and even optimistic?
Imagine a seven year old child trying to cope with a big loss in his or her life, like the loss of a parent. What enables the seven year old to handle this loss? A seven year old can handle the loss only when there is a loving adult helping him or her with the loss. When there is no loving adult helping with the loss, the child may handle the loss by shutting down. The shutting down may lead to a loss of functioning, such as doing poorly in school.
However, when the child does not feel alone with the loss when there is love sustaining the child from an adult source this child will be able to cope with the feelings of loss. The same is true for us as adults. We all have a very hard time with loss when we feel alone with it, but we can manage it when we are not alone.
However, we cannot always rely on others to be here for us in times of loss, stress and overwhelm. Those people who have family and friends to always turn to for emotional and financial support during times of loss are fortunate indeed.
But there are many people who are not so fortunate. Without others to turn to, we need to be able to turn to a reliable inner source of love to make it through and not feel alone. This reliable source needs to be our own inner spiritually connected loving Adult self. Those people who are able to manage loss without losing functioning are those people who do not feel alone inside because they have developed a strong loving Adult self.
I define the loving Adult as the part of us that is open to learning from and connected with a spiritual source of love, wisdom and guidance. It is the part of us that takes loving action in our own behalf, nurtures us when we feel fear and grief, and operates from the truth from Spirit rather than from the lies of our wounded self our ego. Just as children can manage loss when there is a loving adult to help them, the child in us can manage loss when we have a strong, spiritually connected loving Adult self to help us. As a loving Adult we know we are never alone. We know we are always being loved, sustained and guided by a spiritual Source.
It is often not enough to have a strong religious or spiritual connection. If you have not been using that connection to develop your loving Adult self, then there is no part of you to bring love and comfort to yourself when you most need it, and no part of you that can take loving action for yourself, especially when things are overwhelming.
People who have nervous breakdowns are people who are not operating from a loving Adult in their everyday lives. They are able to function as long as things go well, but when things fall apart, as they often do in life, these people may also fall apart. Without a loving Adult to bring the love and truth of Spirit to them, they end up feeling too alone to manage loss.
The Inner Bonding process we teach is a very powerful process for developing a strong loving Adult self. When Inner Bonding is practiced consistently, the loving Adult naturally develops. We all can develop enough personal power and a deep enough spiritual connection to sustain us during the difficult times. We dont have to be at the mercy of lifes challenges. Practicing the 6 Steps of Inner Bonding is like putting money in the bank for when it might be needed. The more you practice the process and develop the loving Adult, the easier it is to handle lifes big challenges as they arise.

PRISTIQ Significantly Reduced Symptoms Of Major Depressive Disorder

Major Depressive Disorder
Wyeth Pharmaceuticals announces that data from two Phase 3 clinical studies of PRISTIQ (desvenlafaxine), an investigational serotonin-norepinephrine reuptake inhibitor (SNRI), showed that adult patients who received a 50 mg/day dose of PRISTIQ for the treatment of major depressive disorder (MDD) experienced a statistically significant reduction in the symptoms of major depression compared to placebo. The two studies, which evaluated efficacy and safety of PRISTIQ for the treatment of MDD at fixed doses of 50 mg/day and 100 mg/day, will be presented today at a major medical meeting. This will be the first time an analysis of the 50 mg/day dose for PRISTIQ for the treatment of MDD is presented.
In both studies, discontinuation rates due to adverse events (AEs) for PRISTIQ 50 mg/day were similar to placebo. In the two studies, the rates of discontinuation due to AEs for placebo and PRISTIQ 100 mg/day were three percent and seven percent, respectively.
"These findings show that PRISTIQ has the potential to reduce symptoms of MDD at doses as low as 50 mg once daily," says Philip Ninan, M.D., Vice President, Neuroscience, Global Medical Affairs. "The response rates of patients in the 50 mg/day dose groups are similar to the rates seen at higher doses. We are also encouraged by the tolerability profile shown in the two studies presented at this meeting. Notably, subjects in the 50 mg/day dose groups were not titrated from a lower dose when initiating therapy."
Wyeth submitted in August 2007 the results of the two studies to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) as part of its complete response to the FDA approvable letter it received in January 2007 for PRISTIQ for the treatment of MDD. FDA action on the application is expected during the first quarter of 2008. The clinical data for PRISTIQ presented at the meeting represent only a portion of the data from the ongoing clinical development of PRISTIQ and are not necessarily representative of the totality of data and other information that may affect further development, regulatory review and/or commercialization of PRISTIQ.
More About the Studies
Poster 145: Liebowitz M., et al. Evaluation of the Efficacy and Safety of Fixed Doses of Desvenlafaxine Succinate at 50 mg and 100 mg in Outpatients with Major Depressive Disorder in 2 Placebo-Controlled Trials
Data presented are from two identically designed multicenter, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, eight-week studies, one conducted outside of the United States involving 483 adult patients, and one in the U.S. with 447 adult patients. Primary efficacy in both trials was determined based on change from baseline score on the 17-item Hamilton Depression Rating Scale (HAM-D17). Patients in both desvenlafaxine groups started treatment at 50 mg/day. For the 100 mg/day group, the dose was increased to 100 mg/day on the eighth day of the study.
Efficacy Analysis
The results of both trials showed that at the 50 mg/day dose, desvenlafaxine was associated with a significant reduction in the symptoms of MDD as measured by HAM-D17 scores over eight weeks compared with placebo (ex-US: p=0.002, 50 mg = -13.2, placebo = -10.7; U.S.: p=0.018, 50 mg = -11.5, placebo = -9.5). While the 100 mg/day dose showed a statistically significant improvement in the international study versus placebo (p<0.001, 100 mg = -13.7), this dose did not statistically separate from placebo in the U.S. study (p=0.065, 100 mg = -11.0).
Safety Analysis
In the U.S. study, rates of discontinuation due to AEs for the placebo, desvenlafaxine 50 mg/day and desvenlafaxine 100 mg/day groups were 3 percent, 3 percent and 7 percent, respectively. In the international study, these rates for the placebo, desvenlafaxine 50 mg/day and desvenlafaxine 100 mg/day groups were 3 percent, 5 percent and 7 percent, respectively.
Adverse events in both of these studies that were reported by at least five percent of the subjects and twice the rate of placebo included asthenia, anorexia, anxiety, dizziness and insomnia. Events also reported by at least five percent of the subjects and twice the rate of placebo in the international study were nausea, somnolence and abnormal ejaculation; and in the U.S. study they were constipation, dry mouth, myalgia, impotence and sweating. In the U.S. study, nausea was not among the adverse events reported by at least five percent of the subjects and twice the rate of placebo.

Optimism software helps you fight depression

Depression is no joke. It’s the best that you can identify it and tackle it at the earliest stage. Or else it’ll most probably develop into more serious illness.
The depression software is called Optimism Mac OS X.
If you have a geeky one in your life, who might be suffering from depression, you could get the Optimism software to help him or her out to fight the depression with all sort of beautiful and graphical charts.
The Optimism software works both for the PC and the Mac environments.
It helps the user to plot various graphical charts for pinpointing the causes for your bouts of depression, so you can then reduce or eventually eliminate those causes. It’s simply a health and mood diary that helps you identify those culprits of your depression in your daily life. And through it, you can learn what the symptoms are, and take early prevention before it hits you.
Your depressive episodes will be pretty precisely predictable by the use of the Optimism software. And using the software over a period of time, with the helps of those reports and charts, you’ll be able to find all sort of preventions and eliminate all the causes.
The software costs you as little as $20, and some more it ain’t hurt for a try. If you can’t stand the wide mood swings of your newly married bride, then you’ll need this software today to start fighting for a better future for the two of you.

Positive Experiences Decreases Depression Symptoms

Depression is prevalent among people living with chronic diseases, such as multiple sclerosis (MS). Although most people with MS live normal lives, they must manage symptoms and treatments that cause increased emotional and psychological stress on a daily basis. Now, researchers from two universities have found that people with MS who increase positive experiences decrease their symptoms of depression and improve the overall quality of their lives.
As part of an ongoing NIH-funded study of people with MS, Alexa Stuifbergen, professor of nursing and associate dean of research at The University of Texas at Austin, and Lorraine Phillips, assistant professor in the University of Missouri Sinclair School of Nursing, determined the extent to which positive experiences influenced the health of people with MS. The researchers found that a higher number of positive experiences was associated with fewer symptoms of depression, fewer functional limitations, and better quality of life in people with MS.
“Positive experiences significantly affected the participants’ perceptions of the quality of their lives and symptoms of depression, even when taking into account age, education and disease-related factors, such as mobility, vision and cognition,” Phillips said. “People with MS typically rate the quality of their lives lower than that of the general population, so it is important for people with MS and clinicians involved in their care to understand what factors may improve the quality of their lives.”
Study participants recorded the frequency of positive experiences in their lives, such as “I said ‘thank you’ and meant it,” “I said something pleasant to someone who didn’t expect it,” and “I exercised and felt good about doing it.” Phillips found that study participants who reported a higher number of positive experiences also reported having lower levels of symptoms of depression.
“By incorporating positive experiences or behaviors into their lives, people with MS may be able to limit the additional risks and costs of medical treatments for depression. Most of these positive activities are extremely simple to perform and readily available.” Phillips said. “Health care providers should encourage people with MS to participate in positive activities every day. Previous research found that people with MS benefit more from frequent smaller activities like smelling fresh flowers, talking with neighbors or writing letters, than they do from larger activities like taking a week-long vacation or buying an expensive outfit that they can only do once in awhile.”
The study, “The Influence of Positive Experiences on Depression and Quality of Life in Persons with Multiple Sclerosis,” was published in the March 2008 issue of The Journal of Holistic Nursing.
“The current study was prompted by a suggestion from one of the participants in the NIH-funded study. She helped us to develop the survey, which has 35 items that describe activities that could improve mental or physical health,” Phillips said. “That’s the beauty of this tool. These activities can be adopted by people with other chronic illnesses.”

Relapse Happens in Half of Teens Treated for Depression

Treatment for teenage depression can be effective for most teens however, in nearly half of all cases the condition comes back, especially among female patients, researchers from Duke University report in an article published in Archives of General Psychiatry.
About 20 percent of teens will experience teen depression before they reach adulthood. Teen depression can affect a teen regardless of gender, social background, income level, race, or school or other achievements, though teenage girls report suffering from depression more often than teenage boys, males are less likely to seek help or recognize that they suffer from depression.
The researchers carried out a follow-up of 86 boys and 110 girls average age around 14 years, who participated in a previous randomized trial of four different treatments for major depression i. e. anti-depressant fluoxetine, (Prozac); cognitive behavioral therapy; a combination of Prozac plus cognitive behavioral therapy; or a placebo.
The study found that 47% of the teenagers in the original study treated for 12 weeks suffered a relapse, That was regardless of the treatment group they were in, including how well they had been two years after the study.
Girls at 58% were more likely to suffer from depression and anxiety disorders than boys at 33%. John Curry, a Professor of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at Duke University and the lead author of the study said the findings point to the "need to develop treatments that will prevent recurrence of second depression". Curry says girls are more at risk, as they have more anxiety and generally suffer from more anxiety disorders than boys.
"We've known for a long time that people are going to revert back to depression -- that 50 percent would relapse even though they had recovered. I don't think that surprised many people," said Keith Young, vice chair for research in the department of psychiatry and behavioral science at Texas A&M Health Science Center College of Medicine. Young was not involved with the study.
"Evidently, we don’t have treatments that totally prevent reoccurrence. They may reduce it, but they don’t totally prevent it, by any means," Curry said. "It would probably be helpful for teenagers and parents to learn how to monitor when symptoms are starting to come up again, so they can resume treatment at that point."
Despite the high reoccurrence rate, Curry noted that nearly all the participants recovered after two years, which is "very good news," he said. "I think clinicians can convey that kind of hopeful message to teenagers and their parents," he said.