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 Your Depression and Bipolar Disorder Source Knowledge is Necessity Main articles page. Go here. Rest of the Body Articles
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Rest of the Body - The Link to Depression and BipolarDepression doesn't get anywhere near the credit it deserves. Sure, it's on its way to being the world's number one health problem, but its true toll as an accomplice to heart disease, diabetes, and other conditions goes largely unrecognized. In fact, depression is a better predictor of future heart problems than most current or previous heart problems. Meanwhile, depression and diabetes present a classic case of two plus two equals five, and the last thing you need when fighting cancer is a case of depression. Then there is the deadly tag team of depression and stress. "Brain Damage" looks at how a mood disorder can permanently affect our capacity to think and reason. Because depression and bipolar disorder engage so many functions of the body all at once, it is safe to say these illness are far more than psychological in character. We are talking biological warfare and the perfect mental storm, which serve as bookend articles to this series. According to David Dunner MD of the University of Washington, in an article on HealthScout: "Eighty percent of patients with depression come to the doctor with exclusively physical symptoms." The same article quotes Thomas Schwenk MD, a primary-care physician at the University of Michigan: "In 25 years of medical practice I've never had a patient who said they were depressed, although thousands have met the criteria. I've had patients say, 'I think I may need Paxil. When I say, 'Oh, you think you might be depressed?' they say, 'Oh, no.' They can never bring themselves to say the word." The articles here focus mostly on depression only because that is the focus of most of the research, but it is safe to say that what can be said of depression also applies to bipolar. At the Fourth International Conference on Bipolar Disorder held in June 2001, Robert Post MD of the Stanley Foundation let the Conference know that those who have bipolar lose seven years of life, independent of suicide. The good news is forewarned is forearmed. We do not have to suffer unnecessarily.
Unexplained pain may be the most telling symptom of mental illness. A neurologist's laundry list from hell. |
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