The following text may have been generated by Optical Character Recognition, with varying degrees of accuracy. Reader beware!

Sunday, November 14, 1999 Oakville Beaver Weekend 13 To Your Health To reach this section call 845-3824 Fax:337-5567 per cent of the population will have a diagnosis of T >120 "depression or a Major Depressive Disorder in their life kepression is a very common disorder. Approximately time. With this disorder, one has a prolonged low mood, which is very different from a person's normal mood. Everyone gets sad at times and this is a normal reaction to certain events. This feeling of sadness can last a number of hours to days and be perfectly normal. Depression, however, occurs as an illness when one experiences a persistent low mood for at least two Mental Health Matters weeks and usually much longer than this. Depression can, however, go into remissions with the use of People experience anhedonia, which means that the person medication and psychotherapy. Those people with recurrent has an inability to experience pleasure. They stop doing things depressions today, should stay on medications for the rest of M M that they normally like to do. They experience social with their lives to maintain their remissions and also to continue drawal and do not want to talk to family or friends, which may their remissions into the future. be very much unlike them, they can experience insomnia, We are understanding more and more about the brain and Women's Health which means they have an inability to sleep. They alternative we know that there is something about the brain, likely a chem Concerns Clinic ly may experience hypersomnia, which means they may sleep ical change, which is different in those people who get St. Joseph's Hospital, Hamilton, Ontario much longer than they normally do. Normally, they lack ener depressed. We know that in those individuals, the brain is pre gy, they have difficulty concentrating and become forgetful disposed or vulnerable to develop chemical changes, particu Is looking for w om en to participate in a m ajor and distractible. They can have difficulty following through larly when one is under the influence of stress. with their normal work or activities that are usually quite easy research study to assess the efficacy o f a drug in the Importantly, people must recognize that if someone is suf for them to complete when they are well. Often people lose fering from depression, they have an illness or a disorder. Once treatm ent o f Premenstrual Syndrome. their appetite and lose weight as a result. Some individuals who this is recognized, the patient and the population at large can become depressed can become suicidal. It is quite common for begin to see that the suffering is part of the illness in which neg W om en w ho are a least 18 years o f age and suffer people who are depressed to think about death and some peo ative thinking, pessimism and poor self esteem are part of the from: ple actually do carry through with suicide. Suicidal thinking is illness, if the patient is willing to see that these are part of the · Irritability, depressed m ood, loss o f interest, very common and, as a result, it is one of the symptoms that illness, they are more likely to take a more compassionate professionals look for. Therefore, it is very important for indi approach to themselves. This can, in turn, encourage them to change o f appetite, difficulty concentrating, viduals to seek help as this disorder can be life-threatening. m ood swings, anxiety, fatigue, sleep make Some changes, which they may not have been keen on What causes depression ? making but which can definitely bring about improvement in disturbance, sense o f being overwhelm ed or We feel that depression is partially biologically based, but their mood, for example, taking medication or seeking coun physical com plaints during the prem enstrual that the experience of depression is highly influenced by stress selling. phase o f their cycle. ful life events. Depression is also molded by coping abilities We would like to discuss depression further and will do so and how one handles these stressful events. We feel there is in our next article. We will focus further on how one can help and otherwise: likely some genetic underlying cause as many people who get themselves when they do experience the debilitating effects of · in good health w ith regular m enstm al cycles depressed have family members who also experience depres depression. sion. It is also important to realize that there are medical con · not currently on m edication for PMS We welcome your questions about the information we pre ditions that can mimic depression. This is why it is so impor sented in this article and you can contact us at the hospital by call tant to actually go to the doctor. For example, one may have a ing 338-4630, by writing to Halton Healthcare Services, 327 are in vited to call our clinic at: condition where their thyroid gland is under functioning Reynolds Ave. Oakville, L 6J 3 L 7 or by e-mailing us at haltonpsv(905) 522-1155 e xt. 4174 (hypothyroidism) and experience many of the symptoms such chiatry© hotma.il,com as those experienced with depression. The treatment, however, is very different R egion o f H alton so this is another reason why one should seek medical treatment. W ater and W astew ater P ip elin es How is depression treated? Depression is treated with psy O P EN H O U S E chotherapy and pharmacotherapy or medication. We normally use the antide pressant medications which are widely The Region of Halton and our "partner" the D 'ORAZIO-WALTER Joint Venture discussed today. Examples would be are ready to begin construction of the water and wastewater pipelines along Prozac, Luvox, Effexor, Serzone and ____ ,,tt.___________ 1 -- iF flP _ _ Regional Road 25 and Derry Road and the associated pumping station. These Wellbutrin. There are many other types U n d e ra c h ie v e m e n t? pipelines will provide lake-based servicing for the new growth areas in the Town of antidepressants, all of which are rela » A t t e n t i o n s p a n is s h o r t of Milton as part of the Halton Urban Structure Plan. Existing residences and » D iff ic u lty o r g a n iz in g & c o m p le tin g w o r k tively similar in their efficacy. The businesses in Milton will remain on a well-based supply. N e u r o fe e d b a c k a n d le a r n in g s tr a te g ie s c a n newer medications are very safe to take p r o v id e a la s tin g im p r o v e m e n t. compare to medications that were pre This project got its start in the Halton Urban Structure Plan (HUSP) which was Director: Lynda M. Thompson, Ph.D., scribed for depression many years ago. Co-author with Pediatrician William Sears approved by Regional Council in 1994. Council gave the go ahead for the Another form of treatment is ECT or of The A.D.D. Book: New Understandings, pipeline project in the summer of 1998. The D'ORAZIO-W ALTER Joint electroconvulsive therapy, which seems New Approaches to Parenting Your Child. Venture was selected in April 1999 to design and build the pipelines and pumping very scary to many people but, in actual ( 9 0 5 ) 8 0 3 - 8 0 6 6 w w w .a d d c e n tr e .c o m station. Construction is expected to begin in December 1999 and be completed in fact, it is the most effective treatment September of 2000. that we have for depression. We use ECT nowadays mainly when medica C le a n in g P r o d u c ts M a y B e HAVE YOUR QUESTIONS OR CONCERNS ANSWERED AT OUR tions fail to treat depression or when OPEN HOUSE: someone has a medical reason why it P o is o n in g Y o u r F a m ily ! would be unsafe to take pills. Date: Tuesday, November 23,1999 You & your family are exposed to an endless Psychotherapy is essential and is a very Time: 6:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. number of toxic chemicals everyday. The risk to effective treatment, which should be Location: Region of Halton - Auditorium, used in conjunction with the use of med you & your kids is huge! Take control of your 1151 Bronte Rd., Oakville R c g i M o f H a llo a ication. health NOW! Learn to protect yourself & family. Will people get well again? Open House display panels will provide information on the project and staff from Generally, the more episodes of Take Action Against Chemicals Seminar both the Region and the design build team will be available to discuss the project depression that one experiences, the and address your questions and concerns. Expert Guest Speaker Nancy McHugh From Boston, Mass. more likely that individual is to experi ence another episode without the use of Thursday, November 18,1999 at 7:30 pm COMMENTS: medication, currently, after a first For further information or to discuss comments or questions, please contact: Appleby College, Dining Hall episode of depression, 50 per cent of 540 Lakeshore Road West, Oakville those individuals will become depressed K arla K o lli D avid Ohashi (just east of 4th Line) again without medication. After a sec D illo n Consulting Ltd. Region o f H alton 100 Sheppard A ve. East. Suite 30 0 1151 Bronte Rd. ond episode, 70 per cent of those indi First 50 Callers to Register Will Get 2 FREE Toronto, Ontario O ak ville, O ntario viduals will become depressed and after M 2N 6 N 5 L 6 M 3L I Tickets ($40.00 value) Call Catherine @ a third episode, 90 per cent will experi ence another episode of depression. This Phone ( 4 1 6 ) 2 2 9 -4 6 4 6 Phone: ( 9 0 5 ) 8 2 5 -6 0 3 0 ($20.00/person @ door) ( 9 0 5 ) 8 4 9 - 1 7 4 1 F a x :( 4 1 6 ) 2 2 9 -4 6 9 2 F a x :( 9 0 5 ) 8 4 7 -2 1 9 2 indicates quite clearly that depression is em ail: kk olli@ dillon.ca em ail: ohashid@ region.halton.on ca along-term or chronic illness. Refreshments & Prizes DEPRESSION: questions answered Dr. Jane Gilbert RMS f? (p ADD * c ' 4 Centre