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Symptoms could include:
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Trembling
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Feeling Hopeless
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Behavioral Problems at School
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Difficulty Managing Behavior
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Fighting
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Forgetful
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Vandalism
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Loss of Interest In Previously Enjoyable Activity
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For a diagnosis of adjustment disorder, a person's symptoms must be severe enough to affect his or her work or social life. Some of the symptoms include:.Agitation Conduct disturbances Depression Palpitations Physical complaints Trembling or twitc...
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An adjustment disorder occurs when a person can't cope with a stressful event and develops emotional or behavioral symptoms. The stressful event can be anything: it might be just one isolated incident, or a string of problems that wears the person...
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DSM-IV-TR states that the symptoms of an adjustment disorder must appear within three months of a stressor; and that they must meet at least one of the following criteria: 1) the distress is greater than what would be expected in response to that ...
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An explicit incident or incidents causing stress for the child is always the precipitant. The cause of the stress seen in adjustment disorders can be events that for many children would be within the parameters of normal experience.
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Depression, also known as depressive disorders or unipolar depression, is a mental illness characterized by a profound and persistent feeling of sadness or despair and/or a loss of interest in things that once were pleasurable. Disturbance in slee...
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This report offers in-depth information on the causes of depression and the treatments and medications that can lift your mood.
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People who are depressed have a cluster of symptoms characterized by sadness and a profound lack of energy and well-being.
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It's important not to underestimate the dangers associated with depression, especially if you've had multiple episodes or lingering symptoms. For example, people who don't get treated for their depression have a higher risk for suicide.
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Depression is a complicated and common mental health condition that affects about 10 to 15 percent of Americans. The following questions and answers can help you recognize and get effective treatment for depression.
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The analysis of more than 15,000 young people in the United States found about a third of the cases of depression and obesity among those teens could be attributed to being from families with low incomes.
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Men suffer from depression in smaller numbers than women do, but their treatment needs differ due to responses to medication, especially in older men. Additional medication may be necessary to treat the sexual side effects.
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In general, only about three percent of the elderly living independently in the community will experience depression. That figure increases to around 20 to 30 percent of persons in nursing homes or with chronic illnesses like emphysema, heart disease or diabetes.
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Many people with depression do not receive adequate medical treatment, and even if they are treated, doctors may not be paying enough attention to their patients' needs.
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Too often, parents miss the signs of depression. Or, they believe their teen will "snap out of it” eventually.
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A woman's unique biological, social, and cultural factors may increase her risk for depression.
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In elderly patients, symptoms of depression can be mistaken for symptoms of another medical problem, so it is important for clinicians to consider all physical problems and medications of elderly patients before making a diagnosis.
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Learning more about this illness will allow you to understand what your symptoms may mean and make it easier for you to seek help.
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Depression is not "all in your head." It is a real illness that saps your energy. It can leave you feeling sad, hopeless, lonely and guilty. It is related to a chemical imbalance in the brain and to certain traits such as low self-esteem and pessimism. Some kinds of depression may be inherited.
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Everyone feels down at times, but diabetics are especially prone to depression. An unhappy period that's intense or lasts for more than a couple of weeks can be a sign of depression. Depression is a serious illness.
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The mind and the body are intimately connected, and our overall health depends on both working well. This is most evident in depression: Research shows that people who suffer from clinical depression face a higher risk of contracting one of the stress-linked illnesses than the rest of the population.
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Depression can often develop as a result of a heart attack or cardiac surgery, and has more serious effects on heart health and overall health than depression that was present before a heart attack.
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Studies of a link between depression and osteoporosis suggest the bone deterioration could be a result of the depression, or may be caused by taking antidepressant medications for a long period of time.
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Studies suggest mental health care following a heart attack can improve patient health and mortality.
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Seasonal affective disorder is thought to be caused by decreased exposure to sunlight during the winter months. Light therapy helps some people, and the FDA has approved the antidepressant bupropion for treatment as well.
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Depressed patients are more likely to respond to medical treatment if their doctors practice empathy and effective communication skills.
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Exposure to the right kind of light may go a long way toward reducing seasonal affective disorder symptoms.
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Two studies examine the correlation between depression in adults and its prevalence in their children, and the effect of adults' treatment on the children's mental health.
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A roundup of studies exploring the beneficial effects of exercise on depression, anxiety, and insomnia. Is it a case of the chicken and the egg?
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Discussing the definition and treatment of a contested psychological diagnosis???atypical depression.
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Teen depression is a serious illness. The benefits of getting help, including taking medications if needed, far outweigh the potential risks.
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A study claims that obese people are more likely to suffer from anxiety and depression, but the findings do not prove that the conditions are causally related to each other.
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Behavioral activation therapy is a variation of cognitive therapy that encourages patients to fight depression by examining their feelings and experiences and focusing on their positive accomplishments.
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Folate, a B vitamin, breaks down homocysteine, which may be associated with depression. Because of this it has been tested as a possible treatment, but the results have been mixed and more research is needed.
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Researchers in China found that Chinese citizens were more likely to express symptoms of depression as having a physical component as well as an emotional one, due to the way their culture interprets such feelings.
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Concern about antidepressants increasing the risk of suicide in children could have the unintended effect that children suffering from depression may not receive needed treatment.
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Hypotheses explaining how depression manifests itself. The American Psychiatric Association requires any five of nine symptoms for a diagnosis of major depression. As the definition implies, these symptoms do not all appear in everyone who is depressed. Two studies explore the consequences for the understanding of depression and come to contrasting conclusions. One study suggests that an individual patient's symptoms are not consistent, but change more or less unpredictably from one episode of depression to the next. The other study suggests that there are several sets of depressive symptoms that are distinguishable genetically and therefore likely to persist in a given individual.
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An explanation of the two-way relationship between depression and stroke. Depressed people are at higher risk for a stroke, but depression often precedes as well as follows a stroke.
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A Harvard Medical School physician answers your question about whether Accutane, a powerful acne medication, has been linked to depression or suicide.
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People who suffer from depression are more likely to have a sleep-related breathing problem such as apnea. Treating the sleep problem may help alleviate the depression in some people.
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Discusses options for treatment of seasonal affective disorder.The treatment of seasonal affective disorder throws light on dark moods.
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Are children with ADD more likely to be depressed?
Claire McCarthy, M.D., is a senior medical editor for Harvard Health Publications. She is an instructor in pediatrics at Harvard Medical School, an attending physician at Children's Hospital of Boston, and co-director of the pediatrics department at Martha Eliot Health Center, a neighborhood health service of Children's Hospital. The author of two books, "Learning How the Heart Beats" and "Everyone's Children", Dr. McCarthy was a regular columnist for "Sesame Street Parents Magazine" from 1995 to 1998 and is currently a contributing editor for "Parenting Magazine".
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My mother has advanced lung cancer and is receiving chemo. I live with her and am also her caregiver. We have been very close all of our lives, and I am having a hard time adjusting well. Sometimes I even get angry with her and then I feel guilty. The next step is I get depressed and have thought about a way out, but have not attempted anything. Can you suggest anything to help me cope?
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During the dark days of winter, many people develop signs of depression that are tied to the changing amount of daylight.
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A combination of factors causes depression. Some cases are triggered by a stressful experience, such as the death of a spouse or loss of a job. Some illnesses, such as cancer, also can cause depression, as can alcohol and drug abuse.
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Chances are you know the difference between occasional sadness and depression. But here's a fact you may not know: Hypothyroidism, a common thyroid disorder, can cause depression.
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When recommending treatment for clinical depression, physicians typically prescribe a tried-and-true regimen: anti-depressant medication and "talk" therapy. In the future, however, health professionals may be advocating a healthy dose of exercise.
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Take action if you suspect a friend and/or family member suffers from depression. It's a condition that can cloud thinking and make people believe they aren't worth helping, so they often can't help themselves.
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The unrealistic expectations of the season, time and financial pressures, missing loved ones and reflecting on past events as the year comes to an end all contribute to the blues.
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The medical community once thought depression affected only adults. The risk for the condition begins in the early teens, however, and increases steadily through the mid-20s.
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Although anyone can suffer from depression, it is particularly common among older adults. Depression affects 15 out of every 100 adults older than 65.
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Because depression isn't a normal part of growing older, it's important to learn the signs of this condition and seek help if you or a loved one could be suffering from it.
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Everyone gets down in the dumps from time to time. But you may have clinical depression if a feeling of sadness or loss of interest in life and friends lingers for two weeks or more.
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Instead of asking for help, men who are depressed are likely to drink alcohol to excess, take drugs, or become frustrated, discouraged, and irritable.
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Although sadness touches all our lives, true depression is different in its intensity and persistence.
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What's the difference between a bad case of the blues and the painful mental disorder known as depression? According to the experts, impaired functioning is usually a clear-cut indication of clinical depression.
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Primary care physicians should be asking their patients questions about five "warning flag" symptoms to determine whether they should be screened for depression or other mood disorders, researchers say.
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Having a chronic condition such as COPD can lead to depression. You can get help. Talk with your doctor about your symptoms.
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Living with diabetes may increase the likelihood of depression. The connection may be go both ways: information from a diabetes trial suggests the possibility of a link between antidepressant use and diabetes.
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A recent study offers evidence that selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors may help those who develop depression after a heart attack.
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Most people, most of the time, overestimate themselves. It is pervasive and powerful, but is not the same in all people or in all circumstances.
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A discussion of the social impact of depression in the elderly and the benefits of treatment.
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According to two studies, women going through menopause are much more likely to develop symptoms of depression, due in part to changes in hormone production. Hormone replacement may provide temporary relief from severe depression.
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Reports of risky side effects may have dampened enthusiasm for selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors, which are among the world's most widely prescribed medications. A review of concerns and benefits associated with SSRIs.
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Mental health among Americans may have declined during the 1990s.
Revealing information on the mental health of Americans appears in data from three random telephone surveys of the adult population by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System.
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While there is a very small risk of suicide in adolescents who take antidepressants, they are also beneficial to many teenagers with depression. All factors should be weighed in treatment decisions, and patients should be monitored carefully.
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Discussion of whether the new antidepressant Cymbalta (duloxetine) has any advantage over other antidepressants on the market.
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DHEA may not be an anti-aging panacea, as some suggest, but a new study suggests that it may be able to temporarily lift mood.
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Older people with macular degeneration are more likely to experience depression, but those who received problem-solving therapy to help them adapt to and cope with their condition were less likely to develop depression.
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A study shows that interaction with animals can be a path to recovery from depression.
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Age-related macular degeneration is the most common cause of severe vision loss in people over 55. A recent trial shows that education may help relieve disability and depression in those with the condition.
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Is there a link between depression and migraines?
Michael Craig Miller, M.D., is editor-in-chief of the Harvard Mental Health Letter and an assistant professor of psychiatry at Harvard Medical School. Dr. Miller has an active clinical practice and has been on staff at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center for more than 25 years.
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Systematic desensitization is a technique used to treat phobias and other extreme or erroneous fears based on principles of behavior modification.Systematic desensitization is used to help the client cope with phobias and other fears, and to induc...
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Anxiety is a bodily response to a perceived threat or danger. It is triggered by a combination of biochemical changes in the body, the patient''s personal history and memory, and the social situation.It is important to distinguish between anxiety a...
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Anxiety is familiar to everyone due to the many stresses and complexities of modern life.
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This report features up-to-date information on the signs, causes, and treatments of many common phobias and anxiety disorders.
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Anxiety is a multisystem response to a perceived threat or danger. It reflects a combination of biochemical changes in the body, the patient''s personal history and memory, and the social situation.
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Unlike the relatively mild, brief anxiety caused by a stressful event such as a business presentation or a first date, anxiety disorders are chronic, relentless, and can grow progressively worse if not treated.
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Everybody experiences fear at some time or another. Fear is a powerful emotion that arises in situations that are interpreted as dangerous. The purpose of fear is to alert you to take protective action—usually to fight, flee, or seek assistance. For example, if you were hiking in the woods and encountered a snake, you would naturally interpret this situation as dangerous which would produce the emotion of fear, which, in turn, would motivate some self-preserving behavior—probably an attempt to escape. If, however, you recognize that the snake is harmless, your interpretation of the situation as dangerous and the ensuing emotion of fear would have been erroneous. Notice how important the cognitive act of interpretation is in experiencing fear.
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Anxiety is a multisystem response to a perceived threat or danger. It reflects a combination of biochemical changes in the body, the patient''s personal history and memory, and the social situation at hand.
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Anxiety disorders are a group of disorders that can affect adults, adolescents and children. They overwhelm people with chronic feelings of anxiety and fear.
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This guide is designed to help you learn about anxiety disorders. Knowing more, you may feel more comfortable talking with a health professional about your experience and your symptoms.
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You may suffer from generalized anxiety disorder if you go through the day worried, tense or anxious about your family, health or work, even when you know there are no signs of trouble.
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Anxiety—feeling frightened, tense, uneasy—is a normal response to a threat. Anxiety can disrupt your life, but it's nothing to be ashamed of. Don't suffer in silence. Anxiety disorders are covered by most health plans. Check what's covered under your plan. Then ask your doctor or another mental health professional for help.
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Discussion of the effect of anxiety disorders on children and how they can be treated.
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Despite their age, benzodiazepines still provide unique benefits and are unlikely to be entirely superseded by newer medications. Includes a comparison chart of newer and older drugs for insomnia, anxiety, and depression.
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You have to give a presentation next week. Just thinking about it makes your heart race. Your throat gets tight, and you can hardly breathe. Sometimes, you even feel faint. Speaking in front of a group makes most people nervous, but your fear is beyond reason. This is nothing to be ashamed of. You may have an anxiety disorder known as social phobia. Talk to your doctor or mental health professional. They can offer treatment and support.
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It is common to feel stress or anxiety when you have cancer. Anxiety can be a vague or uneasy feeling of distress. There are many things that can bring on these feelings, such as trips to your doctor's office, treatments for your cancer, or fears about your cancer.
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Research suggests that for patients who are starting treatment for depression, their type of attachment anxiety should be taken into consideration as a factor in determining the best course of treatment.
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There is evidence that certain herbs and supplements may be effective in treating certain types of anxiety disorders.
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When I get nervous, I get a tic that affects the left side of my face, including my eye. What can I do about this? Is there anything I can take for it?
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Separation anxiety is a developmental stage during which the child experiences anxiety when separated from the primary caregiver(usually the mother).As infants develop, they experience various emotions, usually in a predictable order. Before 8 mon...
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This is normal. However, separation anxiety that occurs at later ages is considered a disorder because it is outside of normal developmental expectations, and because of the intensity of the child''s emotional response.
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Detailed information on separation anxiety disorder, including causes, symptoms, diagnosis, treatment, and prevention
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Distress reaction to the absence of the parent or caregiver.Separation anxiety emerges according to a developmental timetable during the second half year in human infants. This development reflects advancing cognitive maturation, rather than the o...
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The prospect of new experiences away from parents or other loved ones can be quite frightening, especially for younger children. These worries are a normal part of development for all children.
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Separation anxiety is distress or agitation resulting from separation or fear of separation from a parent or caregiver to whom a child is attached.Separation anxiety is a normal part of development. It emerges during the second half year in infants.
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Detailed information on separation anxiety disorder, including causes, symptoms, diagnosis, treatment, and prevention
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Separation anxiety is common in children, but most grow out of it. However, in a small percentage of children (and more rarely, in adults) it becomes a disorder. Typical treatment methods include cognitive and behavioral therapy.
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Depression may be described as feeling sad, blue, unhappy, miserable, or down in the dumps. Most of us feel this way at one time or another for short periods.True clinical depression is a mood disorder in which feelings of sadness, loss, anger, or...
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Detailed information on depression and depression in women, including types, symptoms, diagnosis, and treatment
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Everybody feels sad sometimes, but to be clinically depressed is not just a matter of feeling sad. A patient with cancer is diagnosed as having major depression only if certain symptoms, such as loss of pleasure or thoughts of death, are present f...
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A depressive disorder is defined by the National Institute of Mental Health(NIMH) as an illness that involves the body, mood and thoughts. It encompasses feelings of overwhelming sadness and despair that persist or intensify over time.Occasional f...
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Depression is sometimes referred to as the common cold of mental illness. It is a debilitating disease with significant societal costs.
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Depression or depressive disorders(unipolar depression) are mental illnesses characterized by a profound and persistent feeling of sadness or despair and/or a loss of interest in things that were once pleasurable. Disturbance in sleep, appetite, a...
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Depression is the general name for a family of illnesses known as depressive disorders. Depression is an illness that affects not only the mood and thoughts, but also the physical functions of affected individuals.
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Depression and depressive disorders(unipolar depression) are mental illnesses characterized by a profound and persistent feeling of sadness or despair and/or a loss of interest in things that once were pleasurable. Disturbance in sleep, appetite, ...
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Depression is the general name for a family of illnesses known as depressive disorders. Depression is an illness that affects not only the mood and thoughts, but also the physical functions of affected individuals.
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An emotional state or mood characterized by one or more of these symptoms: sad mood, low energy, poor concentration,.sleep or appetite changes, feelings of worthlessness or hopelessness, and thoughts of suicide.Until recently, it was thought that ...
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Depression or depressive disorders(unipolar depression) are mental illnesses characterized by a profound and persistent feeling of sadness or despair and/or a loss of interest in things that were once pleasurable. Disturbance in sleep, appetite, a...
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If you keep thinking about the problem and don't take action, you worry. If you take appropriate action, that's concern.
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Worrying becomes a problem when you get fixated on the worry, dwell on the imagined danger and allow this fearfulness to escalate into paralyzing anxiety.
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A Harvard Medical School physician answers your question about pulsing at the temples.
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At 86, I'm still competitively racing frostbite dinghies. I've noticed that my heartbeat becomes irregular during the races and for hours afterward. It feels like a weak beat after every two normal heartbeats. Is this a normal exercise reaction?
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Excessive worrying can have negative effects on both physical and mental health. Sometimes medications can help, but in some cases behavioral therapy is more effective.
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Detailed information on the crying patterns of newborns The first cries of a newborn baby are often music to the ears of parents. However, over the next weeks and months this "music" can become grating and painful. This is especially true when all attempts fail to stop the crying.
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All babies cry. They may cry for as long as a few hours each day. Crying is how babies communicate their feelings or needs. Your baby may cry because he has a wet diaper or is hungry. Or it may be that he just wants you to hold him.
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Some babies cry for long stretches at 3 and 12 weeks of age during steps in development when their sleep is less settled.
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Agitation is an unpleasant state of extreme arousal, increased tension, and irritability.
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The source of this uneasiness is not always known or recognized, which can add to the distress you feel.Anxiety; Feeling uptight; Stress; Tension; Jitters; Apprehension.Stress is a normal part of life. In small quantities, stress is good-- it can ...
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Some researchers believe anxiety is synonymous with fear, occurring in varying degrees and in situations in which people feel threatened by some danger. Others describe anxiety as an unpleasant emotion caused by unidentifiable dangers or dangers t...
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Experts say that effective relaxation requires more than simply vegging out in front of the TV set. It means learning a few relaxation techniques to combat stress -- a condition recently linked to a host of physical and emotional problems like heart disease, headaches, asthma and insomnia.
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Anxiety is a condition of persistent and uncontrollable nervousness, stress, and worry that is triggered by anticipation of future events, memories of past events, or ruminations over day-to-day events, both trivial and major, with disproportionat...
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Problem behavior is often associated with adolescence but may manifest in the very young or in adults. Delinquency, drug use, academic failure, risky sexual behavior, violence, property damage, vandalism and disregard of the rights of others are all problem behaviors.
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The ability to concentrate is a function of mental status and cognition. Impairment of the ability to concentrate can be a problem of neurologic or psychiatric origin or a combination of behavior and mentation.
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With today's world filled with flashing images of MTV, quick news reports, and fast-food restaurants on every corner, are we capable of concentrating as well as we used to?
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Problems at work are carelessness, excessive absenteeism, being accident prone, being unable to follow through on assigned tasks, frequent anger or other problems that may be attributable to a medical or psychiatric problem. People with stormy or unpredictable ways of relating to others in social situations may have problems in a work environment..
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Here are suggestions for becoming more efficient and effective at your job.Most people would like to be more productive on the job. But, according to one workplace performance coach, becoming more efficient is a better goal.
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The thought of talking to your boss about your work expectations probably sends shivers down your spine.
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If you procrastinate a lot, it can cost your company thousands of dollars in lost productivity and unhappy customers. It also can cost you your job.
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The more you learn about the pressure times and triggers at your workplace, the better you'll be able to plan for them.
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Electrical impulses causes the heart to pump. Normally the impulse originates in the right upper chamber of the heart, called the right atrium. The electrical
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Electrical system problems of the heart may make the atria beat faster than normal. If the atria beat quickly, but still evenly, it is called atrial flutter. If the atria beat very quickly and unevenly, it is called atrial fibrillation.
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An emotional state produced by thoughts that we have not lived up to our ideal self and could have done otherwise.Guilt is both a cognitive and an emotional experience that occurs when the child realizes that he or she has violated a moral standar...
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The so-called self-conscious emotions, such as guilt, pride, shame, and hubris, require a fairly sophisticated level of intellectual development. To feel them, individuals must have a sense of self as well as a set of standards.
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Palpitations are heartbeat sensations that feel like your heart is pounding or racing. You may simply have an unpleasant awareness of your own heartbeat, or may feel skipped or stopped beats.
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Although palpitations are very common and often harmless, they can be frightening to the person, who is usually unaware of his or her heartbeat.Palpitations can also be a sign of serious heart trouble. Palpitations that are caused by certain types...
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There are many possible causes of heart palpitations, including smoking, stress, and some medications. Though they are typically not serious or life-threatening, it can be difficult to determine the underlying cause.
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Crooks from computer experts to purse snatchers can steal personal information and run up bills in victims' names. Clearing up the mess can be costly and stressful.
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Stealing is taking another person''s property without permission.Stealing is taking someone''s property without permission. Very young children do not understand the concept of personal property.
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Vehicle thefts, carjackings and thefts of vehicle contents are common crimes. Here are suggestions that can help you prevent them.
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Children, however, may report boredom more frequently because they have not yet learned to alleviate it for themselves. The following essay describes children''s sense of boredom at the major developmental stages.Infants and toddlers rarely experie...
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Fidgeting is usually used to describe someone who is seen as not being able to sit still. Fidgety people move in their seats constantly, move their hands and feet and appear to be in perpetual motion.
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