The
hopelessness, the helplessness of man; the "blues", the "blahs",
the "slows" are some of the philosophical and colloquial terms for
clinical depression. It brings a mental and physical inertia or immobilization
of future outlook, self-esteem, concentration, memory processes, work place
energy, even play energy and the immune system.
Oftentimes it brings about sleep disturbances. When depression is accompanied by anxiety (fear), it is referred to as agitated depression. Fear, more closely defined, can be anything from being afraid of success or failure, being inside or outside, even fear of self or others.
Depression has many causes and many faces, or it may be personality related or situational. An example includes losing a loved one through death or divorce, a chronic illness, either one's own or someone else's. This type of depression is basically not treatable by "medicine" and healing comes through recovery, restoration or closure.
Physical or physiologic depression comes through genetics, disease or a drug cause. A common cause of depression is from the overuse of antibiotics and steroids leading to a suppressed immune system. This often results in a condition called Systemic Candidiasis, an overgrowth of yeast. More often Candidiasis occurs in young women of childbearing age or beyond, and less often in males. There are more than 47 symptoms of Candidiasis, including depression. Women who have signs of PMS (monthly mood swings, fatigue, irritability and personality changes) can also suffer from this yeast overgrowth and possible hormone imbalance.
Candidiasis can be diagnosed most easily through a history of related and unrelated symptoms and signs. Of the 47 symptoms, if a patient has 10 or more, Systemic Candidiasis is the diagnosis until proven otherwise. It is not unusual for patients to have more than 30 symptoms. The other more common ones are:
- Bloating after eating
- Constipation and/or diarrhea
- Cravings for sugar, chocolate, breads, beer, wine
- Fluid retention
- Headaches
- Itching ears
- Lost or decreased sexual desire
- Chronic fatigue
- Muscle or joint aches
- Allergies, rashes or itching
- Poor memory and concentration
- Sinusitis
- Prostatitis and Vaginitis
- Insomnia
Depression, acute or chronic, can have devastating effects on the life of
the people plagued with it and on their families. It need not be "endurable"
when it may be curable.