Depressive disorders

Introduction: Depressive disorders

Depressive disorders: A depressive disorder is an illness that involves the body, mood, and thoughts. It affects the way a person eats and sleeps, the way one feels ... more about Depressive disorders.

Depressive disorders: Depression or its various related conditions. More detailed information about the symptoms, causes, and treatments of Depressive disorders is available below.

Symptoms of Depressive disorders

• Exact symptoms depend on subtype and severity of depressive disorder
• Depressed mood and other emotional problems
  • Persistent sadness
  • Inappropriate crying
  • Feelings of worthlessness

See full list of 52 symptoms of Depressive disorders

Home Diagnostic Testing

Home medical testing related to Depressive disorders:

• Mental Health: Home Testing:
  • Home Emotional Stress Tests

Medical Textbooks Online about Depressive disorders

Book excerpts: Copyright © 2008 Lippincott Williams & Wilkins. All rights reserved.

Wrongly Diagnosed with Depressive disorders?

• Misdiagnosis of Depressive disorders
• Failure to diagnose Depressive disorders
• Failure to diagnose Depressive disorders

Misdiagnosis and Depressive disorders

Underactive thryoid may be misdiagnosed as depression: Hypothyroidism, or underactive thyroid, is an endocrine gland disorder that is more common in women. It can mimic...read more »

Adrenal gland disorder difficult to correctly diagnose: Addison's disease, a disorder of the adrenal glands, causes a variety of symptoms, and is often misdiagnosed in early stages. Common misdiagnoses include depression...read more »

Calcium disorder a hidden cause of depression-like symptoms: Another uncommon endocrine disorder that can be misdiagnosed as depression is hypocalcemia (low blood calcium), which is usually due to a...read more »

Multiple sclerosis often misdiagnosed as mental disorder: The early stages of multiple sclerosis may cause various general feelings of wellness, happiness, euphoria, or manic-type symptoms in some patients. These symptoms may lead to a...read more »

Lupus is often misdiagnosed as other conditions: Systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), often simply called "lupus", is a difficult disease to diagnose and can manifest with numerous symptoms. Some of the...read more »

Rare copper disease insidious and misdiagnosed: Wilson's disease (a form of copper overload) is a rare disorder that has a slow and insidious onset that can often fail to be diagnosed. Copper builds up in the liver and in the...read more »

Cluster of diseases with difficult diagnosis issues: There is a well-known list of medical conditions that are all somewhat difficult to diagnose, and all can present in a variety of different severities. Diseases in this group include ...read more »

Undiagnosed stroke leads to misdiagnosed aphasia: BBC News UK reported on a man who had been institutionalized and treated for mental illness because he suffered from sudden inability to...read more »

Alzheimer's disease over-diagnosed: The well-known disease of Alzheimer's disease is often over-diagnosed. Patients tend to assume that any memory loss or forgetulness symptom might be Alzheimer's, whereas there are many other less severe...read more »

Dementia may be a drug interaction: A common scenario in aged care is for a patient to show mental decline to dementia. Whereas this can, of course, occur due to various...read more »

ADHD under-diagnosed in adults: Although the over-diagnoses of ADHD in children is a well-known controversy, the reverse side related to adults. Some adults...read more »

Bipolar disorder misdiagosed as various conditions by primary physicians: Bipolar disorder (manic-depressive disorder) often fails to be diagnosed correctly by primary care...read more »

Eating disorders under-diagnosed in men: The typical patient with an eating disorder is female. The result is that men with eating disorders often fail...read more »

Depression undiagnosed in teenagers: Serious bouts of depression can be undiagnosed in teenagers. The "normal" moodiness of teenagers can cause severe medical depression to be overlooked. See ...read more »

Undiagnosed anxiety disorders related to depression: Patients with depression (see symptoms of depression) may also have undiagnosed anxiety disorders (see symptoms of anxiety disorders). Failure to diagnose...read more »

Read more about Misdiagnosis and Depressive disorders

Causes of Depressive disorders

Read more about causes of Depressive disorders.

More information about causes of Depressive disorders:

• Medical news summaries relating to Causes of Depressive disorders

Treatments for Depressive disorders

• Psychotherapy
  • Cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT)
  • Interpersonal therapy (IPT)
• Antidepressant medications
• Selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs)

See full list of 7 treatments for Depressive disorders

Videos for Depressive disorders

Patient Surveys for Depressive disorders

• Patient Profile Survey
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• Survey about the symptoms of your Depressive disorders
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Reseach about Depressive disorders

Visit our research pages for current research about Depressive disorders treatments.

Clinical Trials for Depressive disorders

The US based website ClinicalTrials.gov lists information on both federally and privately supported clinical trials using human volunteers.

Some of the clinical trials listed on ClinicalTrials.gov for Depressive disorders include:

• A Study of the Effectiveness and Safety of Risperidone to Augment SSRI Therapy in Patients With Treatment-Resistant Depression - This study is no longer recruiting patients (Current: 23 Nov 2006) - risperidone
• Study Evaluating Desvenlafaxine Succinate Sustained Release (DVS SR) Vs Placebo in Peri- and Postmenopausal Women - This study is currently recruiting patients (Current: 23 Nov 2006) - Desvenlafaxine succinate sustained-release (DVS SR)
• Clinical Trials of Two Non-Drug Treatments for Chronic Depression - This study has been completed (Current: 23 Nov 2006)
• The Effects of Buproprion on Residual and Cognitive Symptoms in SSRI-Treated Depression - This study is currently recruiting patients (Current: 23 Nov 2006) - buproprion
• Treatment for Adolescents With Depression Study (TADS) - This study has been completed (Current: 23 Nov 2006) - Fluoxetine

See full list of 803 Clinical Trials for Depressive disorders

Statistics for Depressive disorders

• Medical statistics for Depressive disorders
• Prevalence and incidence statistics for Depressive disorders
• Death and Mortality statistics for Depressive disorders
• Society statistics for Depressive disorders

Types of Depressive disorders

• Depression
• Major depressive episode
• Major depressive disorder
• Dysthymia - chronic and mild depression.
• Bipolar disorder

See full list of 8 Types of Depressive disorders

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User Interactive Forums

Read about other experiences, ask a question about Depressive disorders, or answer someone else's question, on our message boards:

• I can not get a diagnosis. Please help.
• Tell us your medical story.
• Share your misdiagnosis story.
• What is the best treatment for this?
• See all the forums.

Article Excerpts about Depressive disorders

A depressive disorder is an illness that involves the body, mood, and thoughts. It affects the way a person eats and sleeps, the way one feels about oneself, and the way one thinks about things. A depressive disorder is not the same as a passing blue mood. It is not a sign of personal weakness or a condition that can be willed or wished away. People with a depressive illness cannot merely "pull themselves together" and get better. Without treatment, symptoms can last for weeks, months, or years. Appropriate treatment, however, can help most people who suffer from depression. (Source: excerpt from Depression: NIMH)