A SERIOUS WORLD-WIDE PROBLEM

"DEPRESSION", A CONDITION

USUALLY IGNORED TILL IT'S TOO LATE

www.nation.co.ke - An estimated four million people in Kenya suffer depression, according to the Africa Mental Health Foundation (AMHF). This means that one out of every 10 Kenyans is depressed. Over the past few years, cases of suicide and family murders have been common in Kenya. “Just eight out of 100 older people suffer depression, which is a mental disorder,” the research led by professor David Ndetei from the University of Nairobi, found.
“Suicidal symptoms have previously not been clinically recognised, and little attention has been paid to suicide reports, as suicide is still considered a taboo in the Kenyan society. There is a need for clinical practice that routinely enquires about suicidal symptoms in medical wards,” the research report recommends. The World Health Organisation (WHO), indicates that globally, more than 350 million people suffer from depression and that it is responsible for 850,000 deaths every year.

WHO stated in 2012 that it is hard for those suffering from the condition to seek medical attention because of the stigma that is still attached to depression and mental disorders. Depression is different from usual mood fluctuations. It induces a sustained feeling of sadness for more than two weeks and interferes with the ability to function at work, school, and home. 
According to WHO, depression results from a complex interaction of social, psychological, and biological factors. The condition has a relationship with deteriorated physical health. 
“Cardiovascular disease, for example, can cause depression and vice versa,” Prof Ndetei indicated. Circumstances such as economic pressure, unemployment, disaster, and conflicts also increase the risk of the disorder, which is the leading cause of suicide.

Lord Ganapati or Ganesha is known to help human beings in their difficulties and He enables man to achieve the success by providing strength and courage. The author of the article, Apoorva Srivastav, explains the reason why Ganesha is called 'ek danta'. The story says, once his mother Parvati went to take a bath. She told Ganesha to stand on the entrance and not allow anyone to enter inside. Then, Lord Parashuram arrived there and he tried to enter the place where Parvati was taking a bath. But when Ganesha objected to this, Parashuram got angry and attacked Ganesha with his weapon. Ganesha then lost one of his teeth and was named "Ek Danta". Ganesha is considered as the Lord who overcomes all obstacles. 

WHAT DO THE VEDIC TEACHINGS TELL US? 

While spiritual practices are the ultimate cure for all depression, the very nature of depression sometimes prevents spiritual seekers from doing the very things that could help them out of the quagmire. For a jaundiced person, candy, the cure for the disease, tastes bitter. But if the patient keeps eating the candy, the jaundice is cured and the candy tastes sweet again. In our diseased material consciousness, chanting Hare Krishna - the cure - may often seem difficult, but as we advance in our spiritual consciousness, the chanting becomes sweeter and more and more enjoyable. … So while we should encourage others to take to the spiritual remedy of chanting, we may need to encourage them to get medical help as well. We should never ignore the symptoms of clinical depression in ourselves or in our family or friends.

Śrīmati Arcana-siddhi devi dasi :
“Dealing with Depression”
Vaisnava Family Resources
http://www.vaisnavafamilyresources.org/articles
http://www.vaisnavafamilyresources.org/content/dealing-depression

Published by dasavatara das - "Vedic Views on World News"
http://www.vedicviews-worldnews.blogspot.com.ar/

ANTIDEPRESSANTS BEING PRESCRIBED NEEDLESSLY

ANTIDEPRESSANTS ARE OFTEN GIVEN
WITH NO PSYCHIATRIC DIAGNOSES

http://www.medscape.com - Antidepressant prescribing by nonpsychiatrist providers in the United States has increased substantially in recent years.  What’s particularly “worrisome,” say the report’s authors, is that a “large and growing” proportion of antidepressant prescribing by nonpsychiatrists happens without an accompanying psychiatric diagnosis.  “Many of the patients who are receiving these medications are dealing with the stresses of life or physical illness, and there is no evidence that antidepressants are effective in these groups of patients,” lead author Ramin Mojtabai, MD, PhD, MPH, from Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, Maryland, said in a statement.  Dr. Mojtabai and coauthor Mark Olfson, MD, MPH, from the New York State Psychiatric Institute and Columbia University in New York City, examined national trends over 12 years (1996-2007) in antidepressant prescribing by office-based nonpsychiatrists. 

According to the results, the proportion of antidepressants prescribed for patients WITHOUT a psychiatric diagnosis increased from 2.5% of all visits to nonpsychiatrist providers to 6.4% between 1996 and 2007.  In contrast, antidepressants prescribed WITH a psychiatric diagnosis increased only slightly over the study period, from 1.7% 2.4%.   “In patients with very mild symptoms of mental disorders,” Dr. Narrow explained, “usually the best mode of action is to provide psychotherapy, behavior changes, exercise, and other lifestyle changes, which are often very effective, whereas antidepressants, for example, in very mild cases of depression, tend not to work very well.”  The study is published in the August issue of Health Affairs.

More Americans are being prescribed antidepressant medications by their doctors even though they were not given a psychiatric diagnosis, according to a new study.  Antidepressants are increasingly prescribed for people who have not been diagnosed with an actual psychiatric disorder.  Inappropriate prescribing of antidepressants can expose patients to withdrawal symptoms when they go off the drugs.  In addition, antidepressants are under increasing scrutiny for their side effects, which include weight gain, sexual problems, and diabetes.  

WHAT DO THE VEDIC TEACHINGS TELL US?

So with all this progress why the greatest medical problem is mental health, mental disease, depression. This is a serious problem today, depression and it’s not the problem is not amongst just the poor people. It’s the upper class, the aristocrats as well as the middle class. So much depression. Insanity, frustration, suicide, just people minds just burst with craziness, they just go on rape people, shoot people. ... So yes, so much tremendous progress but Prabhupada our Guru Maharaj said there is a pinprick in society. There is frustration, there is depression, and there is loneliness. The mind is simply not satisfied. The mind will never be satisfied no matter how much you money you make, no matter how much sex you have, no matter how much power you have, no matter how much position you have, no matter how much land you own. The mind will never be satisfied.

Śrīla Radhanath Swami Mahārāja :
“Conquering The Greatest Enemy”
http://www.radhanathmaharaj.net/content/conquering-greatest-enemy-radhanath-swami
http://www.radhanath-swami.net/  -  http://radhanathswami.info/