There are seven patterns of depression; treating all depression the same, invites disaster

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Thursday, January 01, 2009 6:50 pm Email this article
Depression is more common in people who are overweight.

On the PBS television show Magnificent Mind at Any Age, psychiatrist Daniel Amen, M.D. notes that...

"With our brain imaging work we have seen that depression has at least seven different patterns...

"Depression is not one thing...

"And giving everyone the same treatment for it, invites disaster.

"Yet that is exactly what is happening across our country every day.

"Many patients tell their doctors they are depressed, and leave the office after a five-minute appointment with samples of the latest drug without any sense of the type of depression they are treating.

"Knowing the type of depression... you have, is critical to getting the right help.

"In our clinics, we use SPECT [ brain ] imaging to help us understand and treat the brains of our patients.

"But a long time ago, I realized that not everyone can get a [ brain ] scan.

"So based on thousands of scans, we developed a questionnaire to help people predict what their scan might look like if they can get one.

"Then based on their answers, we suggest ways of helping the brain with certain natural supplements, medications, and exercises."

Articles on the same subject can be found here:

• Anxiety

• Daniel Amen, MD

• Depression

• Natural Treatments

• YouTube videos