What is chronic depression? how is it different from Manic?

Question

My father was diagonsed with chronic, and went on the pill roller coaster, he's been on so many different ones and none of them ever worked.

they would only work for so long and then he would go back to doing nothing.

Answer 1

Chronic Depression (Dysthmia)
What Is Dysthymia?
Dysthymia, sometimes referred to as chronic depression, is a less severe form of depression but the depression symptoms linger for a long period of time, perhaps years. Those who suffer from dysthymia are usually able to function adequately, but seem consistently unhappy.

It is common for a person with dysthymia to also experience major depression at the same time - swinging into a major depressive episode and then back to a more mild state of dysthymia. This is called double depression.

Symptoms of Dysthymia Are the Same as Those of Major Depression and Include:
Difficulty sleeping
Loss of interest or the ability to enjoy oneself
Excessive feelings of guilt or worthlessness
Loss of energy or fatigue
Difficulty concentrating, thinking or making decisions
Changes in appetite
Observable mental and physical sluggishness
Thoughts of death or suicide

What Treatments Are Available for Dysthymia?
Dysthymia is a serious but treatable illness. Some people with dysthymia may do well with psychotherapy or "talk" therapy alone. But in some cases that is not adequate and your doctor may prescribe antidepressant medication as well.

Manic depression (Bipolar Affective Disorder)
What is Bipolar Affective Disorder?
Bipolar disorder used to be called ‘manic depression’. As the name suggests, it is characterised by mood swings – or episodes - that are far beyond what most people experience in their lives. These are:



Low – feelings of intense depression and despair – ‘depressive’.

High – feelings of elation - 'manic'.

Mixed – for example, depressed mood with the restlessness and

overactivity of a manic episode.



People usually experience both depressive and manic episodes, but some will have only manic episodes.



How common is bipolar disorder?
It affects about 1 in every 100 adults at some point in their life. It can start at any time during or after the teenage years, although it is unusual for it to start after the age of 40. Men and women are affected equally.



What types are there?
Bipolar I
There has been at least one high, or manic episode (see below), which has lasted for longer than one week. Some people will have only manic episodes, although most will also have depressive ones, whilst others will have more depressive episodes than manic ones.

Untreated manic episodes generally last three to six months, depressive episodes rather longer - six to 12 months without treatment.

Bipolar II
There has been more than one episode of major depression, but only mild manic episodes – these are referred to as ‘hypomania’.

Rapid cycling
There are more than 4 mood swings in a 12 month period. This affects around 1 in 10 people with Bipolar Disorder and can happen with both types I and II.

Cyclothymia
The mood swings are not as severe as those in full bipolar disorder, but may continue for longer. This can, sometimes, develop into full bipolar disorder.



What causes bipolar disorder?
We don't have a complete answer to this, but:

research suggests that it runs in families - it seems to have more to do with genes than with upbringing.
there seems to be a physical problem with the brain systems which control our moods - this is why the symptoms of bipolar disorder can often be controlled with medication.
episodes of illness can sometimes be brought on by stressful experiences or physical illness.


What does it feel like?
Depression
The feeling of depression is something we all experience from time to time. It can even help us to recognise and deal with problems in our lives.



But

for someone with clinical depression or bipolar disorder, their depressive feelings will be worse, they will go on for longer and they will make it harder to tackle the daily tasks and problems of living. Someone with this sort of depression is more likely to have the physical symptoms listed below. If you develop a depressive episode, you will have many of these symptoms:



Emotions

feelings of unhappiness that don't go away;
losing interest in things;
being unable to enjoy things;
feeling restless and agitated;
losing self-confidence;
feeling useless, inadequate and hopeless;
feeling more irritable than usual;
thinking of suicide.


Thinking

finding it hard to make even simple decisions;
difficulty in concentrating.


Physical

losing appetite and weight;
difficulty in getting to sleep;
waking earlier than usual;
feeling utterly tired;
constipation;
going off sex.


Behaviour

difficulty in starting or completing tasks;
crying a lot – or feeling like you want to cry, but not being able to;
avoiding contact with other people.


If you become depressed you will find that you aren't able to do your job or your normal daily tasks properly. It will become harder and harder to think positively about things, and to see a hopeful future for yourself.



You may feel like bursting into tears for no reason. You may find it harder and harder to be with other people. In fact, they may notice that you are not yourself well before you have realised there is something wrong.



Mania
Mania is an exaggeration of feelings that we all experience from time to time. It is the opposite of depression - a feeling of well-being, energy and optimism. Surely this can't be a problem? Well, actually it can.



These feelings can be so intense that you can lose contact with reality. When this happens, you may find yourself believing strange things about yourself, making bad judgements, and behaving in embarrassing, harmful - and sometimes even dangerous ways.



Like depression, it can make it difficult or impossible to deal with life in an effective way. A period of mania can, if untreated, destroy your relationships and work. When it isn't so extreme, the word 'hypomania' is used to describe it. In an episode of mania, you may notice the following changes:



Emotional

very happy and excited;
irritated with other people who don't share your optimistic outlook;
you feel more important than usual.


Thinking

full of new and exciting ideas;
moving quickly from one idea to another;
that you are hearing voices that other people can't hear.


Physical

full of energy;
unable or unwilling to sleep;
increased interest in sex.


Behaviour

making plans that are grandiose and unrealistic;
very active and moving very quickly;
behaving in a bizarre way;
speaking very quickly - if your mood is very high, it can be difficult for other people to understand what you are talking about;
making odd decisions on the spur of the moment, sometimes with disastrous consequences;
recklessly spending your money;
becoming over-familiar or recklessly critical with other people;
less inhibited in your general behaviour.


If you are in the middle of a manic episode for the first time you may not realise that there is anything wrong – it will be your friends, family or colleagues. You may feel quite insulted if someone tries to point this out - you may well feel better than you ever have done before. The problem with feeling like this is that it increasingly detaches you from day-to-day reality. And when you have recovered from one of these episodes, you will often regret the things that you said and did while you were high.



Psychotic Symptoms
If an episode of mania or depression becomes very severe, your experiences may become so intense that you – in effect - lose contact with reality. These are called psychotic symptoms. If you are in a manic episode, these will tend to be grandiose beliefs about yourself - that you are on an important mission or that you have special powers. If you are depressed - that you are uniquely guilty, that you are worse than anybody else or even that you don't exist. As well as these unusual beliefs, you might experience hallucinations - when you hear, smell, feel or see something, but there isn't anything (or anybody) there to account for it.



Between episodes
It used to be thought that, between episodes of depression and mania, people with bipolar disorder go back to normal. While this may be true for some, we now know that this is not the case for many people with bipolar disorder. They continue to experience low levels of depressive symptoms and mild problems in thinking even when they appear, to other people, to be ‘back to normal’.



Treatments
There are things you can do yourself to control mood swings so that they stop short of becoming full-blown episodes of mania or depression. These are mentioned below, but medication is still often needed to:



keep your mood stable (prophylaxis);
treat a manic or depressive episode.


Medication - Mood Stabilisers
There are several mood stabilisers, most of which are also effective in treating epilepsy. However, Lithium (a naturally occurring salt) was the first medication that was found to be helpful in stabilising moods.



Lithium
Lithium has been used as a mood stabiliser for 50 years – but how it works is still not clear. It can be used to treat both manic and depressive episodes. The main issue is getting the level of lithium in the body right – too low and it will not work, too high and it will become toxic.



Treatment with Lithium should be started by a psychiatrist. He or she will arrange for you to have blood tests in the weeks after you start Lithium, to make sure that you are getting an appropriate dose. Once the dose is stabilised, the prescribing and monitoring of lithium treatment can be taken over by your GP.



The amount of lithium in your blood is very sensitive to how much, or how little, water there is in your body. If you become dehydrated, the level of lithium in your blood will rise and you will be more likely to get side-effects, or even toxic effects. So, it’s very important to drink plenty of water – more in hot weather or if you are more active – and to use coffee and tea in moderation because they increase the amount of water you pass in your urine.



If this doesn't work, or you find the side-effects unpleasant, there are other possibilities that you can discuss with your psychiatrist.



It can take three months or longer for Lithium to work properly so you may have to carry on taking the tablets, even if you continue to experience mood swings during this time.



Side-effects:

These can happen in the first few weeks after starting Lithium treatment. They can be irritating and unpleasant, but often disappear or get better with time.



Most common side-effects include:

feeling thirsty;
passing more urine than usual;
weight gain.


Less common side effects (these can usually be improved by lowering the dose) are:

blurred vision;
slight muscle weakness;
occasional diarrhoea;
fine trembling of the hands;
a feeling of being mildly ill.


If the level of Lithium in your blood is too high, you may experience:

vomiting;
staggering;
slurred speech.
If this happens, contact your doctor urgently.



Blood Tests

At first you will need blood tests every few weeks to make sure that you have the right level of Lithium in your blood. You will need these tests for as long as you take Lithium, but less often after the first few months.



In some cases, long-term use of lithium can affect the kidneys or the thyroid gland. It’s wise to have blood tests every few months to make sure that they are working properly. If there is a problem, it may be necessary to stop Lithium and consider an alternative.



Taking care of yourself

Eat a well-balanced diet.
Drink regular amounts of unsweetened fluids. By doing this you can make sure you have a proper balance of salts in your body.
Try to eat regularly - this will help maintain your fluid balance.
Avoid taking in too much caffeine – in tea, coffee or cola. This makes you urinate more, and so can upset your Lithium levels.


Other Mood Stabilisers
Lithium is probably the most effective. It reduces relapse by 30–40%.
It is possible that Sodium Valproate, an anti-convulsant, is just as effective, but there is not yet enough evidence to be sure. It should not be prescribed to women of child bearing age.
Carbamazepine is slightly less effective. It is not generally recommended but, if it has worked for you there is no reason to change it.
There is now good evidence that atypical antipsychotic medications (such as Olanzapine) can act as mood stabilisers.


What is the best treatment for me?
This will need to be a joint decision between yourself and your psychiatrist.

Lithium will usually be recommended for long-term treatment.
Carbamazepine may be suggested if you have rapid and frequent mood swings.
A combination of drugs is sometimes needed.
Much depends on how well you get on with a particular medication. What suits one person may not suit another, but it makes sense to first try the medications for which there is best evidence.

Answer 2

Chronic depression is just a steady feeling of depression, melancholy for no reason all the time. Manic is one day, or maybe even for weeks you're on top of the world, and then the next thing you know, you crash and burn for days, and sometimes even weeks. I mean crashing to the point that getting out of bed is a chore, and even the word chore is putting it lightly. It repeats it's self, and it's hell. Whatever the depression, It may take a while to get your dad on the right medication, but don't give up. There is a medication out there for him. God bless, and I hope the doctor finds the right medication soon. I know from experience that depression can be debilitating.

Answer 3

Chronic means long-term. It means that he's had it for quite a while. Think in the multi-year range.

Manic depression, often refered to as bipolar disorder, is a condition where the patient experience occasional highs as well as lows in their mood.

As far as treatment is concerned, it normally takes between two and eight weeks to see if a pill is taking. Research has shown that it often takes endurance and patience to see if a pill will work, and trying new pills once it's evident others don't work will eventually find something that does the job.

Or he can just smoke weed.

Answer 4

Over the last five years I had begun to have increasingly withdraw into a downward spiral of depression..

But now with the method I can fully focus my energy and thoughts into a decisive line on how to make my life better constantly. And it works like magic! I'm beginning to attract people to me once again and things have just been looking up since then.

Helping you eliminate depression?

Answer 5

manic comes and goes.... its not so bad, and then it gets really bad! It's like a pendalum swinging back and forth. You feel good and then you suddenly feel terrible...

Chronic depression is a more regular feeling.

Answer 6

there are so many diffrent pills for depression and they all work diffrent on diffrent people. It can be hard to find the right one. For real answers you should go to depressionhurts.com