depression - Page 2 of 2 - Dr Antoinette Miric

29 Dec 2014

How does my Doctor choose my Antidepressant ?

I can only really comment on what I think about when deciding to start a patient on these medications, based on my experience and studies. This is not medical advice, more my opinion on the thought process behind the science. I have made it quite simple so if you have specific questions you can comment below/email me or ask your treating doctor. I try and match up my patients with the medication I’m prescribing. This helps them stay on the medication if they experience minimal side effects and benefit from the meds. This is not always an easy thing to […]

08 Feb 2015

Exercise helps decrease depressive symptoms

When I ask my depressed patients if they exercise, I get groans and sighs of guilt since they have ‘given up’ with their exercise programs. I realize that exercising may be the absolute last thing you feel like doing when you are depressed. However, research shows that exercise is a natural ‘anti-depressant’ and is useful as an alternate or add on to therapy and medication. Many patients don’t want to take medication, or want to keep their medication doses as low as possible. If exercising regularly helps to do this, why not give it a try? At this point, I […]

09 Feb 2015

What are antidepressants?

The term ‘antidepressants’ can get confusing because although antidepressants were originally marketed as treatments for depression, they have been found to work in other conditions. They are used in anxiety disorders, obsessive compulsive disorder, post-traumatic stress disorder, social phobia, premenstrual syndrome, insomnia, pain relief, headaches/migraine prevention. The three main neurotransmitters (brain chemicals) they target are serotonin, dopamine and norepinephrine. Different medications affect different neurotransmitters in the brain. Molecules of the antidepressants bind to nerve cells in the brain and affect their basic functioning. Here is a picture of a nerve cell in the brain. Put very simply, it is a […]

28 Feb 2015

Doc, can I have a drink?

The research is out there – if you suffer from a mood disorder (depression or bipolar disorder) and you drink alcohol – it can affect your mood stability. Alcohol been shown to Increase episodes of mood disturbances Worsen the intensity of mood disturbances Cause a relapse of symptoms What does alcohol do to the brain? Alcohol enters the body via the stomach and is absorbed and transported in the blood to the brain (amongst other organs). In the brain, it affects various neurochemicals – particularly in a way that causes euphoria (happiness), slowed thinking, sleepiness and disinhibition. This is a […]

12 Mar 2015

Self-stigma: what you tell yourself about your mental illness

“Self-stigma is an issue for many, if not all, people with experience of mental illness. When you are struggling to fight the discrimination in your community, how do you deal with the discriminatory voice inside your head?” One area that I don’t think is spoken about enough is the internal distress and shame that someone feels when diagnosed with mental illness. I’ve seen quite a few patients lately who are depressed and anxious due to many reasons. Frequently, one of their big areas of concern is the fact that they have a mental illness and what that implies about themselves. […]

12 Apr 2015

Women and Depression – 6th World Congress on Women’s Mental Health

This blog post is a brief review of the ‘Depression’ topics at the 6th World Congress on Womens Mental Health, which recently held in Tokyo, Japan. Women are twice as likely to develop depression compared to their male counterparts. Depression in women was covered in detail at the Congress. Some of the topics covered were working women and the problems that they have – with the dual responsibility of work and family. One of the Japanese professors Prof. Toshiko Kamo presented a fascinating talk on Women’s Mental Health in Japan, showing how women move through different psychological stages in their […]