Tag Archives: major depression

Nov 13

“Almost Depressed”? Short of a Full-Blown Clinical Diagnosis

Posted on by

Almost Depressed, by psychiatrist Jefferson Prince and psychologist Shelley Carson, is one of the newest additions to the Almost Effect series from Harvard.

As the publisher states, “We all experience unhappiness—but for some, sadness, stress, and negative thoughts can become a regular part of our lives, no matter how good things may be going. There is a place between basic sadness and diagnosed clinical depression called almost depression.”

In a recent CNN.com article Carson states that being “almost depressed” isn’t considered a mental disorder: “It is a state of low mood that can leave you exhausted and de-energized, keeping you from savoring life and working at your peak performance level. It is a gray area of mood problems that lies on a continuum between the ups and downs of normal mood, and full-blown major depression…”

Some of the issues involved include “lower job satisfaction, lower satisfaction with their marriage and other personal relationships, more anxiety issues, less control over their lives and lower overall well-being than people who do not fall into the almost depressed range.”

Interestingly, those with almost depression can actually feel worse regarding some of these life problems than those with full-blown clinical depression. Furthermore, about 75 percent of cases of this lower-grade depression will become a more severe condition if not recognized and treated. And once it becomes clinical depression, or major depression, it’s typically harder to treat and can include such features as serious physical problems, more challenging life issues, and suicidal ideation and attempts.

Steps that are recommended by Carson include the following (presented here verbatim):

Make sure you are getting enough exercise. The minimum amount for treating depression is 30 minutes of continuous aerobic exercise (70% to 85% of maximum heart rate) plus a 10-minute warm-up and cool-down period three times a week.

Integrate activities you have found pleasurable in the past into your weekly calendar. Even if you feel that you no longer enjoy them, such activities will increase the activation of the pleasure centers in your brain. As your symptoms resolve, you will regain pleasurable feelings.

Use creative outlets to express your negative feelings. You don’t need experience or talent to express yourself creatively, so paint, write or play music. Expressive creative work reduces depressive symptoms.

Manage your stress level. Stress has negative effects on both the brain and the body and can be a major source of depressive symptoms.

Challenge the way you think. Our moods are dependent not upon what happens to us in our lives, but in how we interpret what happens. Changing your interpretation has been shown to reduce depressive symptoms.

Increase your level of mindfulness. Mindfulness training and practice is an effective way to keep depression at bay.

Reduce the power you give to your ‘inner critic.’ Often the negative and critical things we say to ourselves lead to feelings of depression and powerlessness.

Increase your social support circle. Having a strong social support system is a known protective factor against depression.

Improve your self-care. Poor nutrition and poor sleep habits can augment feelings of depression. In some cases, specific nutritional supplements can work wonders.

Jun 08

Bud Clayman: His Mental Health Challenges Depicted in “OC87”

Posted on by

Bud Clayman: focus of a new film

OC87: The Obsessive Compulsive, Major Depression, Bipolar, Asperger’s Movie 

(A New Film)

OC: obsessive-compulsive disorder

87: the year the obsessive-compulsive disorder of Bud Clayman led to a total retreat from others

The Rest: his other diagnoses

“OC87” became the nickname for the “altered state of mind” Bud Clayman experienced during that particularly challenging year—Clayman and his therapist came up with that. The specific disorder in question is known as “harm OCD“—when the intrusive thoughts have to do with causing harm. 

A definition of harm OCD by The Gateway Institute: “Harm OCD is a type of OCD that causes a person to have doubts and fears about whether they are in control of themselves and if they could become violent towards themselves or others.”

Clayman explains some of his issues to Robert Siegel, NPR: “OC87 stands for the year 1987, when I decided to literally control the whole universe – or at least, attempt to try and control the whole universe. I wouldn’t allow any spontaneity with people. I wouldn’t small-talk with people. Basically, it was just something that totally existed inside of my head, that I created.”

States psychiatrist Larry Real, M.D, about the film: “An engaging strength of this entertaining documentary is that we see how a person with severe mental illness needn’t be a genius or a virtuoso to be worthy of our respect, admiration, and love. Instead, the person can be a teacher, a waiter, a student, or Bud Clayman – a late-blooming filmmaker with a great sense of humor who’s doing his best to get by.”

Kalvin Henely, writing for Slant:

As Clayman lets us in on the obtrusive and uncontrollable thoughts that stifle his efforts toward functioning normally, we witness the degree to which the quality of his life—his job, the film’s financing, his emotional support—is owed to others, especially his father. Because of this, it’s obvious that, while Clayman’s life has been stymied, he’s luckier than most people, a fact of privilege that’s never acknowledged in the film, but would probably be healthy to realize.

At one point, Clayman’s psychologist mentions to him that if he actually looked as anxious as he felt on the inside, everyone would be freaked out. That seems obvious to us, but to Clayman it’s news he needs to be reminded of…(I)t’s in this rather dry and ordinary portrait of Clayman that it’s possible to realize how internalized real mental illness is; it can seem almost unnoticeable to others, silently isolating the sufferer from those who might be able to help.

Joe Neumaier, New York Daily News: “Clayman, who co-directed with filmmaker friends, is fascinating company. The camera allows a necessary distance for him, as evidenced by the ladies who sit with him at a speed-dating session. They don’t get him, but he’s not the one missing out.”