Depression is quite complicated. It entails a host of symptoms that perplex even the savviest therapist. Depression is even more complicated in children and men because the expression of symptoms is not as clear-cut for them as it is for others. Nonetheless, depression is one of those “diseases” that requires a compassionate, caring, knowledgeable, and understanding individual to identify it. Families, caregivers, and friends who suspect a loved one experiencing depression ought to know that depression can entail lots of symptoms. Sadly, many people believe depression is a sad mood, bad mood, or negative thinking that can be overcome through will power. This is not always the case. Depression often requires treatment.

I was reading an article and came across a blog post that discussed what isn’t necessarily a psychiatric disorder, yet has features similar to delusions. It can get very complicated when psychiatric illnesses clash with medical illnesses. Symptoms coincide so much that both mental health professionals and medical doctors often have to consult before making a diagnosis.

Pseudo-cyesis, or “false pregnancy,” is currently defined as a rare medical condition in which an individual (a woman) has similar symptoms to that of an expectant mother such as:

I was having a conversation with my mother and she said something that resonated with me:

“some people just don’t look like they need help. It’s sad because many of these same people do.”

She is right! Many things prevent society from recognizing emotional and mental health needs. Would you think a business man in a powerful corporation could be suffering from delusions? Would you think a beautiful teen girl is being abused? Would you even think a sweet elderly woman next door quietly thinks you can read her thoughts? For many people, accepting the reality that those who appear “together” may not be so together after all is difficult. We need to become sensitive to potential need(s).

Electro-convulsive Therapy (ECT), termed shock therapy in the 1940s and 1950s, is a type of treatment used in cases of resistant or severe depression. It is often the last resort following a line of treatments (medication, talk therapy, etc.).

ECT is the induction (or encouragement) of a seizure using an electrical stimulus (or electrode) applied to the scalp to create shock-like waves to the brain. Anesthesia or a muscle relaxant is used and a device is placed between the teeth to prevent loss of teeth. 

How would you feel if an individual stated the following to you?

I want to commit suicide using assisted suicide when I turn 56 because I have severe Multiple Sclerosis and major depression, my life is over.

Being the recipient of such a statement changed my perspective of older individuals with severe or untreated mental and medical diagnoses. What is a therapist to do? Even more, how is another human being who understands just how unbearable life can become to respond? I still don’t know.

Severe or untreated illness can push individuals into the most unlikely areas of life. Many end up homeless, incarcerated, dead, or hanging on by a thread often hoping for a way out. For families or caregivers of a loved one with severe illness, it can be difficult to change the mind of one so confident in suicide as a remedy. Due to social and moral constraints on suicide, many incorrectly believe that physician assisted suicide is a better way to accomplish their goal.

Watch these short clips from the Treatment Advocacy Center on Assisted Outpatient Treatment (AOT) and why we need legislation to seriously consider the need for AOT.

Why consumers need assisted outpatient treatment

A family’s journey toward saving their daughter

Refuse to be a victim, become informed!