Depression

All of us have our ups and downs - days when we feel on top of the world, others when we feel "low."

But depression is another matter. It's a chronic change of mood and a drawn out lowering of the spirits. It can be triggered by a loss - of a loved one, money, or job. Such a depression is called "exogenous," meaning it comes from outside.

But there's another common type of depression. Suddenly a person decides he or she is a failure in life. Self-confidence and self-esteem vanish. Ordinary everyday problems seem too much to cope with. This is "endogenous" depression - coming from within, perhaps as the result of some body chemical upset.

Many authorities believe depressions often are both endogenous and exogenous. Some argue there has to be an endogenous or internal factor, otherwise a death in the family or other loss would lead only to temporary normal sadness.

When depression does occur, it isn't limited to the mind. There is a general lowering of vitality.

In one study Johns Hopkins University investigators' were able to show that depressed people can be harder hit when common illnesses strike. They gave psychological tests to a group of employees at Fort Detrick, Md. The following winter, when flu broke out and many of the employees were affected, those who had been found mildly depressed took three weeks or longer to recover. Others were over their flu in three to 14 days.

Some medical doctors believe depression may open the door for other illnesses. Doctors have noted that many people become sick for the first time, or begin to suffer from some chronic disorder, or decide to undergo surgery when they are depressed.

Actually, even when depression is the result of illness, doctors have discovered that treating the depression may help to treat the illness successfully. Antidepressant drugs, for instance, seem to help in rheumatoid arthritis and chronic ulcerative colitis in cases in which depression is present.

Some doctors have used the drugs on asthma and eczema patients who have failed to benefit adequately from usual treatment and who were found to be depressed. Of 113 persons tested, 89 showed improvement. At the Neuro-psychiatric Institute of the University of California, Los Angeles, physicians tried antidepressant drug treatment on patients with shaking palsy, or Parkinson's disease. These persons hadn't been able to dress, cook or keep themselves clean-and were depressed as well. After three weeks, almost 90 per cent could care for themselves. Some could even do simple jobs.

Depression