Improving life for those with ‘designer disease’

8:10am Thursday 27th October 2011

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most of us know somebody affected by Parkinson’s — the stereotype is of an ageing relative sitting in the corner quietly and shaking.

about one in 500 people has Parkinson’s; that’s about 120,000 people in the UK including increasingly, younger people. People with Parkinson’s (PWPs) don’t have enough of the chemical dopamine, because some of the nerve cells in their brain have died.

There are various ways of managing the condition, and relieving the symptoms but as yet no cure.

it is often called the designer disease, as the symptoms and how quickly they develop differ dramatically between PWPs.

many have tremors, and/or find it hard to move freely. Muscles become stiff, leading to slowness or even freezing when moving. Tiredness, pain, and depression impact on day-to-day lives, and often simple tasks can progressively become more difficult or impossible.

The national charity, Parkinson’s UK, is committed to finding a cure and improving life for everybody affected by Parkinson’s disease.

it has more than 330 local branches providing information and support, including expert staff and nurses, a website and a free confidential helpline.

it is also a major UK funder of research into finding a cure for Parkinson’s and also for new and better ways to help PWPs to carry on more normal lives, and for longer.

This is where you come in.

On November 27, we are holding a sponsored ‘Oxford Walk’ — a guided 90-minute tour with Visit Oxfordshire, followed by self-paced three-, five-, or eight-mile sponsored routes around Oxford.

to join the walkers or offer sponsorship please email uk or telephone Nick Posford on 0844 225 9845.

we also need a local branch chairperson to replace the long-serving Campbell Ferguson, who will retire by March 2012.

The Oxford and District branch is a vibrant one, with around 150 members, and is in a healthy financial situation, having raised over £90,000 over the last six years.

For a full role description and person specification please email or telephone Martin Tims on 01865 872722.

The new chair should preferably have some experience of Parkinson’s and its effects.

For more about Parkinson’s visit the website parkinsons.org.uk or call thehelpline on 0808 800 0303.

Read these Leisure stories

It is a group for men specifically.

And it’s designed to help those with anxiety and depression learn to control their mood.

The Oshawa Community Health Centre is offering a Mind over Mood group, which uses Cognitive Behaviour Therapy (CBT) to teach participants how to gain control over their thoughts in order to change their moods. 

Mind over Mood is offered to men who experience symptoms of anxiety and depression and who have difficulty managing stress. this eight-week group is offered on Wednesday nights starting at 5:30 p.m. The two-hour sessions start on September 21 at the centre which is located 115 Grassmere Ave.

Those interested in the group can call 905-723-0036 ext. 215 for more information and to register, as advanced registration is required.  

For more information regarding the Oshawa Community Health Centre, visit ochc.ca

I suffer from weird mental symptoms of depression and anxiety due to problems i faced and still face since 3 yrs.. some of these symptoms are irrational thoughts and breathing problems.. what i want to know is that when i fix my problems and get out of depression, will these weird symptoms go?? Will i return normal? Please ppl who don't know don't answer thx I prefer answers from ppl who experienced these symptoms before.

You have put your problem in exact words. Thats very important. "Our Breathing Patern" is responsible for all anxiety related problems.

Once you correct the breathing by practice all your problems will vanish & its proven. For God's sake don't be addicted to medicines.

Hi,
It's hard to answer this, as you do not list all your symptoms, however I can only relate experiences, and breakthroughs.
Firstly, people are unique, and our emotional states are possibly a combination of our genetic make up, chemical make up, and environment growing up.
Behavior gurus debate this genetic/environment subject- Its a case by case thing.Life experiances can affect people in different ways, for many reasons.
As a child I had relatively mild agrophobia, and a lot of hidden anxieties- possibly stemming from abuse in the home. as an adult, overcompromising and avoiding confrontation turn this inner anger into explosive moments at work, and some extremely dark moments. as a parent, post natal depression set in, and it was hard to turn the mind off, and remain rational.
Fortunately, I could hide most of my symptoms, but as you proberbly know, the more you force the control negatively, the harder you are on yourself. and you repeat, and repeat.
Eventually it was Doctor time, something that finally gave relief was to actually talk to someone- even about the "weird" stuff. Immediately I was put on medication, and reccommended to find a proffessional I was comfortable with.
The person I chose helped me retrain my brain with rational processes, and coping mechanisms. Some of my phases were due to being "stuck" in a greiving pattern-Grieving over such things as lost childhood, bad parenting, etc. Also self esteem was at all time low.
The key to future health is to make a point of remaining positive, keeping your inner talk (what you say to youself) positive- For me this was extremely hard- especially if you are not used to hearing it.
using the processes learnt helped with breathing, keeping a positive inner voice makes you more resiliant.
It took a full year for me to become more rational and in short- happy.
Give yourself time to heal, learn new coping mechanisims from those who care, and get out in the sunshine and walk things out.try to excersise. look after youself- sometimes just sit up straight.
For a week, write down all negative and positive thoughts.
If the negative thoughts get to you, use the stop method- quite simply think STOP. take control.
Half the problem was trying not to cling to these symptoms and negative thoughts, because it was all that I knew.
It is your own mindshift that will move them. mine still pop up from time to time, but now I can cope a little better by stopping to sort feelings and symptoms out.you are not weird, you are human.
Ask for help until you find it, you are worthy.

Negative emotions (like sadness, stress, anger, etc.) causes your Serotonin production to be low; when your Serotonin level is low, you are more prone to getting Anxiety, Panic Attacks, Depression, etc.

Medication like Antidepressants (SSRI – Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitor) helps to boost Serotonin level.
But there are natural ways to do it without medication. There's this strange herb called "St John's Wort" – it is said to be more effective than Prozac. No, it is not for mild depression only and ignore those sayings. in fact, it does help anxiety and panic-attacks as St John's Wort works like prozac. other natural ways will be exercise, diet, more exposure to light, etc.

The problem is that, even if your Serotonin is balanced… you have that "learned behavior" in your mind. you need to break that initial cycle to destroy that learned behavior – Cognitive Behavior Therapy (CBT) does this. a technique that you can use without CBT will be Distraction… There are several other techniques to help cope them!
Ok, to use Distraction: Firstly, try to….

Extracted from Source.

Question: You recently wrote about a woman who was angry that her body couldn’t do what it used to do. As the younger wife of an 82-year-old man, I can understand her anger. In my husband’s case there is an accompanying depression that was not relieved by a brief attempt at taking antidepressants, which caused a multitude of side effects. how are older people expected to deal with anger and depression? Are there support groups or counseling for them? how do they reach a level of acceptance? Thank you.

- T.R.

Dear T.R.:

You’ve raised an important issue.

Let’s start with the subject of anger. In our younger years, we may have become angry when someone cut us off on the freeway or got a raise when we didn’t. In later life, reasons for anger may be different. often it’s when our bodies betray us and don’t permit us to do what we want to do – in the same ways we have always done it.

It’s easy to get angry.

The aging process is not always idyllic. Late life events such as an inability to participate in once-cherished activities or suffering from chronic debilitating diseases can take a heavy toll on an older person’s emotional well-being – to say the least.

Failing eyesight, health loss and other physical changes can cause sadness, anxiety, loneliness, withdrawal and apathy.

Yet anger is a normal emotion; excessive anger is not.

A more serious outcome of personal loss is chronic depression that can have alarming physical effects on older adults. we know the mortality rate for older men and women suffering from depression and loneliness is higher than for those reporting satisfaction with their lives.

Note that depression is not part of the normal aging process although, according to the nonprofit group Mental Health America, more than half of older Americans think it is. that is one reason it is ignored.

According to the National Institute on Aging (NIA), signs of depression are more varied among older adults than among the younger population.

Symptoms can appear as increased tiredness and being grumpy or irritable. Depression also can be manifested as confusion or attention problems that resemble symptoms of Alzheimer’s disease or other brain disorders.

The NIA further reports that for most people, depression will get better with treatment: “You do no need to suffer.”

The first step is to get help. In general, men are more reluctant then women to seek professional services.

If you have not already done this, begin with your family doctor. The NIA suggests that a physician should check to determine if the depression is caused by a health issue such as hypothyroidism, a vitamin B-12 deficiency or a medication.

Next, consider speaking with a mental health professional. Doctors who are specially trained to treat depression in older adults are called geriatric psychiatrists.

Antidepressant drugs can help, and yes, there are side effects for some drugs for some people. if one drug creates a problem, it may be worthwhile to try another. It can take up to 12 weeks before it feels like an antidepressant is working.

Physical exercise, to the extent possible, and good nutrition, also play a role.

How to reach a level of acceptance is difficult. One approach is to emphasize what is working well and capitalizing on that. In a deep depression, however, it’s hard to even think about that. but as one feels better, that approach has a good chance to work.

The late Natalie Kaufman, who was legally blind due to macular degeneration and had limited mobility, used her ears, voice and soul extremely well. She listened to NPR, the news, classical music and books on tape. Additionally, each Friday morning she telephoned those facing losses and problems to wish them a good Sabbath.

Kaufman welcomed many people of all ages into her home, especially for her birthday parties.

This is just one example of making the best of what you have.

Support groups can be helpful both for you and your husband. Contact Beach Cities Health District at 310-374-3426, Ext. 155.

For a mental health professional, contact Bridges Psychiatric Services of Providence Little Company of Mary Medical Center San Pedro, at 310-514-5359. Bridges has a list of geriatric psychiatrists who evaluate and treat older adults with depression or other emotional difficulties.

T.R., best wishes in finding some relief for your husband.

Remember the message from the National Institute on Aging – one need not suffer. There are resources available in our community to make life better – even good.

Helen Dennis is a specialist in aging, with academic, corporate and nonprofit experience. Send her your questions and concerns in care of the Daily Breeze, 21250 Hawthorne Blvd., Torrance, CA 90503, or e-mail to helendenn@aol.com.

Though it afflicts as many people as the better known learning disability dyslexia, the math disorder, dyscalculia, receives much less attention from researchers and educators. As a result, those with the disorder are more likely to be unemployed, earn less, suffer from depression and run afoul of the law, and a new study out of the U.K. suggests that they are costing governments and society in general billions.

Unable to Learn

Dyscalculia is a learning disability that affects a person’s ability to learn math. Sufferers have difficulty learning and remembering basic facts. Simple things like counting or telling time take longer for them to master, and multiplication and division tables are often not learned before they are pushed on to more difficult math subjects, which compounds the problem. the ability to do mental math is the biggest hurdle for people with dyscalculia, and most will always need to employ the use of calculators, or even finger counting, to solve computation problems, which is discouraged in schools due to the mistaken belief that children who suffer from the disorder just need more practice.

As Common as Dyslexia

Although 5 to 7% of the population are thought to have dyscalculia, which is about the same percentage of people who have dyslexia, more money is spent on those with the reading and writing disorder. As a result, people with the math disabilities are often not diagnosed, and teachers have few strategies to deal with those who are.

Believed to be an inherited disorder, it is not linked to intelligence levels, and some of those who have it are often able to master other math skills like geometry.

A Personal Story

I suffer from dyscalculia and didn’t realize it until I was an adult. a special education teacher I worked with recognized the symptoms and was amazed I had managed to cope my way through high school and university math requirements because many of her students would likely not fare as well. it was a relief to know why I’d always had such a difficult time with math. More than one of my teachers had simply labeled me “lazy” or because I was a girl, a math avoider.

My own daughter struggles with math, and I have had to fight to have her tested and to get services for her. if she couldn’t read or had behavior issues, the school system would provide educational assistants and other resources, but there is little help for those who face math learning disabilities.

Though I know and have told her teachers that she will never fully master the basic facts, there is still a feeling among educators that people like us just need more “drilling.” but at 47 years of age, I still have to think before adding or multiplying, and I use my fingers to count. Knowing my limitations, I employ calculators a lot, and I used a computer program to figure grades when I was still teaching. Eventually, my daughter will have a grasp on what is and isn’t possible for her to do with numbers, and she will have coping strategies of her own, but there are paths in life that will be denied to her because of her disability.

Life Limiting Affliction

Learning disabilities in general limit people’s opportunities in life but for those with dyscalculia, the narrowing scope of educational and career choices is less obvious than for those with other disabilities. most health, science and computer-related careers have math requirements as part of their training, whether or not the math is relevant to the job, and those who have other learning disabilities on top of the dsycalculia, have ever more limited prospects.

Tell us Your Story

Do you have trouble with math? It’s almost fashionable for people to claim they were never very good at math when they were in school, but only a small portion of us actually had real issues. however, the way in which math instruction has evolved has left many students confused and pushed too quickly from one level to the next. what can you remember about your math courses as a child or teenager? And if you suffered from a learning disability, what resources were available? how did you learn to cope and were your career aspirations affected as a result?

Related Stories:

Four Reasons Finland’s Schools are better than Ours

Do We really Need Math?

Are too Many Children being Diagnosed with Special Needs?

Read more: education, dyscalculia, math disability costs society money

HONOLULU — the media frenzy surrounding reports of bedbug infestations in new York may increase acute anxiety and mood disorders. Although the numbers of cases are few — just 10 in the study reported here — Evan Rieder, MD, of Langone Medical Center, and colleagues are urging colleagues to be aware of the risk associated with the current bedbug outbreak. “They’ve occurred in patients with a history of psychiatric illness and without,” Rieder told MedPage Today during an interview at his poster at the American Psychiatric Association meeting here. among the 10 patients diagnoses included anxiety, depression, and relapse of controlled bipolar disorder. Others were diagnosed with monosymptomatic delusional disorder — imagining that one is crawling with pests, even though no infestation exists. Action Points  

• Note that this study was published as an abstract and presented at a conference. These data and conclusions should be considered to be preliminary until published in a peer-reviewed journal.
• Explain that the media frenzy surrounding reports of bedbug infestations in new York may increase acute anxiety and mood disorders.

“If you’re always struggling with seeing the world as an unsafe place, its easy [for something like this] to bolster your delusions,” said Kenneth Silk, MD, of the University of Michigan, chair of APA’s scientific program committee, who was not involved with the study.

Silk relayed the example of working in an emergency department in Michigan the morning after September 11 and seeing a series of bipolar disorder patients — a greater number than usual, he said — with exacerbations of mania: “We felt the event definitely had something to do with the exacerbations of illness.”

As the prevalence of bedbug infestation has risen considerably in new York City and globally in recent years, so has worry about the insects, Rieder said.

Some savvy pest control companies have coined the term “bedbug psychosis” to describe the paranoid feelings that often accompanying a confirmed infestation.

Rieder and colleagues presented detailed review of six of the 10 cases, who ranged in age from 21 to 75. Two of the patients — 21- and 23-year-old women — who relapsed after their bedbug ordeal had controlled bipolar disorder, while a 75-year-old woman had a schizophrenia.

“Any doctor seeing patients [with bedbug infestation and preexisting psychoses] should be on alert,” Rieder told MedPage Today. “These people can decompensate even if they’ve been medically stable for a significant period of time.”

Two others who developed some form of psychiatric illness only had a history of depression or anxiety — including a 39-year-old male patient who developed delusional disorder — and one, a 22-year-old woman, had no prior medical or psychiatric history.

Most of the conditions resulted from increasing anxiety and depression, tied to various factors including greater social isolation and financial distress due to the expense of fumigation, the researchers said.

Rieder and colleagues also conducted a review of the literature and found that bedbug-related psychiatric issues have not been addressed. Thus, more research is needed into the mechanisms underpinning the association, they said.

Rieder speculated that bedbugs create a unique problem compared with other pests such as cockroaches and mice because their effects are felt a bit more personally, as the latter don’t have such a close, physical effect on humans.

Bedbugs are also much harder to detect and exterminate, which could reduce a patient’s ability to feel confident about being secure in their space, Rieder said.

Similarly, he said, the bed is associated with comfort and protection, and not knowing whether the pests are there can undermine that.

“There’s something about the sanctity of the bedroom and the fact that bedbugs are attracted to warmth and blood that violates something that’s really personal,” Rieder said. “Mice and rats aren’t taking a blood meal from human beings.”

Silk agreed, noting that does seem to be a personal intrusion compared with other pests — “especially if it involves a place that you retreat to for comfort.”

It’s also unclear why certain patients develop psychotic symptoms in response to real or threatened infestations, while others do not — an area that also needs further review, the researchers said.

They concluded that physicians who diagnose bedbug infestation or those who treat patients already dealing with an infestation should screen those patients for new psychiatric symptoms.

The researchers reported no conflicts of interest.

My emotions tend to run from I Want a Nap -> Where’s my People Magazine? -> I Want a Cheeseburger, so it’s safe to assume that I’m as deep as a mud puddle. When I have these things that normal people call “feelings,” I’m at a loss. I can barely identify them, let alone fix them.

I got pregnant with my middle son after months and months of trying and I finally had it all. a baby on the way. a house in the suburbs. a loving husband. I even had a dog.

I was Living La Vida Aunt Becky. it was all that I’d ever wanted and more.

So why was I so miserable that I could barely slog out of bed every day? Prepartum Depression.

I’d always suffered from a touch of situational depression, but my life kinda read like a bad country song, it wasn’t that surprising. Months of being unable to conceive, a threatened miscarriage, and a job that I hated had taken a toll on me.

Finally pregnant, I’d expected to glow and radiate and maybe sit in a field of sunflowers wearing a big floppy hat.

When I found that I could barely leave the house, I was vexed. When I could no longer talk to my friends — or anyone — on the phone without bursting into tears or having an anxiety attack, I was perplexed. I’d never so much as had a single panic attack. While I’d often listed “napping” and “eating” as two things I excelled at, I could no longer do either. I was as confused as I was nauseated.

These were the months before I had a blog to confess this to, so I kept my trap shut. No one knew how utterly miserable I was.

I mean, I was creating a new life inside of me! What’s more magical than that? And how could I possibly be a good mother if my only “glow” I radiated was from barfing?

Thanks to Andrea Yates, the world knows about postpartum mood disorders. I got a slew of packets about the signs, symptoms, and what to expect if I ever felt like killing my offspring after my first son was born. We studied postpartum depression in nursing school, too. But depression while pregnant? Antenatal depression? well, that wasn’t covered.

After my son was born healthy and pissed off at the world, it was like a veil lifted and the clouds gave way to the sun. I felt like myself again. I could take on the world.

It was then that I finally got a name for what had happened to me (and it didn’t involve the words “bad mother”): antepartum depression.

It clicked into place: I wasn’t a bad mother. I wasn’t a bad wife. I wasn’t a bad friend. I was simply suffering from depression. While pregnant. 

When I got pregnant with my daughter, I fully expected the depression to come back, and it did, but this time I knew what it was. I knew that it would pass. I knew that it wasn’t my fault. Turns out, knowledge IS power.

And that’s why I speak out about it. It’s important to give these dark things a name. To bring them to light and tell the world about it in the hopes that someone, somewhere will read this and know that they are not alone. that being depressed and pregnant happens to some of us.

There is a light at the end of the tunnel and it is beautiful.

Have any of you suffered from prepartum or postpartum mood disorders? how did you manage it?

Dementia is a mental illness which affects the function of brain including reasoning, thinking and memory. The symptoms of dementia vary from different persons, since there are various symptoms a person has to suffer when diagnosed. The most common symptom is memory loss; in this case the person gets difficulty in recalling things. Dementia is a group of various different kind of disease which triggers to an individual, it is not a disease. there are dementia symptoms which are noticeable and they include depression. changes in behavior, mood, aggressiveness, emotional and lot more symptoms. in memory loss they cannot recognize familiar persons or places, difficulty in recalling any event or occasion which they have attended in past, lack of recollecting things, find trouble in expressing right words, thoughts or feelings.

Other symptoms of dementia is when a person is affected to it he or she find difficulty in performing any task or easy calculations, they avoid going to social environment because of psychological problems. Some times the people affected to dementia cause harm to others and self due to their aggressiveness and depression. The control of mood is one of the dementia symptoms, in this there are changes in behavior and the also thoughts. They become more careless to their physic and hygiene so they don’t even bath regularly. a person with lewy bodies in dementia faces the problem of vision and hallucination due to which they fall frequently. The most noticeable symptoms of dementia are personality changes, in this situation the person behaves unusual and they get aggressive which is harmful to others.

In depression they can take the step of suicide, so if you see such types of symptoms then an immediate check up to doctor is must. in majority you can find a person who is diagnosed to dementia symptoms gets rude, expose and get into sexually comments. To treat this symptoms one should go for a check up in which blood test are conducted which detects the any kind of infection affected to a person or other symptoms. most of the doctors recommend that if an individual is triggered to symptoms of dementia it is a responsibility of family members to understand the situation. The best treatment for dementia is to cure it in psychological way which not it does not cure but lower the symptoms of a person. To get further details on dementia symptoms on it then log on to Perfecthealthhub.com, it will provide you all sort of information which you needed.

what are the signs and symptoms of having depression,

please let me know any information that you have….??

mine.. and most commonly are

tiredness,withdraw of people,suicidal thoughts,lack of eating, no energy,feeling sad for no reason,crying, feeling hopeless, sleeping a lot, quiet. more.

Shingles can be a painful ailment on the body from the occurrence on the body rash.Shingles symptoms originate from the herpes simplex virus called “vermicelli zoster”. this unique virus causes chicken pox too.the vermicelli virus then may cause shingles symptoms and chicken pox belongs to the herpes family. Also, once you’ve been contracted with chicken pox, the deadly virus remains in the nerve fibres. thus, your body is not yet clear of this virus that is definitely the cause of you might have shingles symptoms.

Medical science numerous studies have shown found out those people, who are usually stressed or emotionally disturbed, may very well develop shingles symptoms. furthermore, those who will be undergoing sessions of chemotherapy are certainly not exempted from possessing condition of the skin. meanwhile, AIDS patients must also take special care, because deadly ailment on the skin can hit them anytime.

How can Shingles Symptoms Affect that they?

Shingles Symptoms can severely affect those with AIDS, folks that are experiencing bouts of depression and others with chicken pox not until the virus reactivates itself.

Shingles Symptoms: the Sign and Symptoms

Shingle Symptoms start when a person feels an excessive amount skin sensitivity. likewise, if you have an occurrence on the burning sensation or pain. others might experience a tingling effect and numbness of certain body areas while doing so. Detail symptoms of the shingles symptoms continue for an extended stretch of time, you will find there’s tendency which it could be challenging diagnose where the severe pain is originating from.

On top of that, people who find themselves encountering shingles symptoms can experience stomachache, diarrhea, fever, tenderness from the lymph nodes section in the beginning of shingles symptoms. Conversely, these kinds of rare skin complaint has additionally symptoms like tiny skin blisters lasting from 3-5 days. the swelling or blisters display on your already reddish skin. then, after a couple of days and up, these blisters will create a path towards your nerves. Therefore, the blisters will have a belt-like formation onto the skin.

The blisters from shingles symptoms contain fluids that appear to be superior in the beginning. Shortly after, this fluid-like substance turns cloudy from 3 to 4 days. When the fluid starts to embark, the affected area with the shingles symptoms set out to flow. Along with worry, these blisters will swiftly fall off.

Are Shingles Symptoms Contagious?

Shingles Symptoms are contagious. that way, these diseases is often transmitted one person completely to another.

Treatments for Shingles Symptoms

There are lots of strategies to treat shingles symptoms. take anti-viral drugs like acyclovir. this sort of ant-viral medication decreases the degree of rashers, when it appeared over the beginning of shingles symptoms. furthermore, pain medications are needed to overpower the symptoms. however, it is advisable to employ a non-steroidal anti-inflammatory medication.

For easy treatment approaches for shingles symptoms. Bathing is a must. Also, maintain affected area clean and the utilization of calamine lotions. As much as possible, apply cold compresses too. Lastly, you may also try the Domeboro solution.

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