 |
Primary Care
Associates, P.C. AnMed Health Campus 2000 East Greenville Street Suite 1600 Anderson, South Carolina 29621 Telephone: 864.226.9193 |
Home | About Us | Our
Providers | Articles | Your Health | News | Related Links
Home | About Us | Our
Providers | Articles | Your Health | News | Related Links |
|
DEPRESSION WEARS MANY MASKS You haven’t been feeling well lately. Maybe your head aches, or your stomach is always upset, or you can’t sleep. Or maybe you want to sleep all the time. There may be something physically wrong with you. Or your physical complaints may be symptoms of depression or anxiety. “Up to 60 to 70 percent of visits to a primary care physician’s office are due to complaints that have an underlying mental health component,” says Dr. Marshall Meadors of Primary Care Associates in Anderson. Headaches, intestinal disorders, fatigue, restlessness, insomnia and chest pain can be manifestations of depression. When a patient sees a doctor about physical complaints, they should be taken very seriously, Dr. Meadors said, and evaluated with tests when appropriate. But if no physical cause can be uncovered, the doctor may broach the subject of a mental illness. Dr. Meadors said he will ask the patient about any personal or family history of depression and if anything in the patient’s personal life or work could be causing problems. Sometimes a connection can be found, and once the patient is assured there’s no physical cause of a problem may be more open to dealing with an emotional or mental health problem. In most cases, depression has a physical root. The depressed person’s brain has a neurochemical depletion that can’t be restored except with medication. Dr. Meadors said there are excellent medications available for treating depression, but it’s best to use them in conjunction with other therapy. Some of the things he recommends: · Avoid isolation. Find someone you can talk to about your problems, someone who won’t urge you to “Snap out of it.” You can’t snap out of a clinical depression. · Exercise is very therapeutic. Walking, jogging or some other daily aerobic activity will make you feel better. · If you are spiritually inclined, get involved at your church. · If your depression seems to be associated with winter, you may have something called Seasonal Affective Disorder or SAD. More exposure to real or artificial sunlight will help. (There’s information about SAD on page 321 of your Partners Healthwise® Handbook.) · Psychotherapy with a good, effective counselor helps many people. · Medication for several months up to several years may be needed to treat a depression. It usually takes about four weeks for an anti-depressant to start having an effect. These medications are not addictive, but may be needed for a long time. Depression tends to be come in cycles. Dr. Meadors said family physicians are well trained to diagnose and treat depressions, but it’s good if your doctor has a working relationship with a psychiatrist for patients who don’t respond to standard treatment or who are suicidal. He cautions that everyone has some fluctuations in moods and feeling blue for a day or two is not usually something to worry about. “When routine fluctuations in mood affect your quality of life, that’s when intervention is warranted,” he said. For more information on depression, see page 319 of your Partners Healthwise® Handbook. Partners Nursewise Line nurses can help with your health questions. Call 261-2001 in Anderson County or 1-888-525-1333 in Oconee, Pickens or Hart counties. Access to credible health information on the Internet is available through the Partners for a Healthy Community website, www.healthy-community.org. Click “Health questions?” on the home page. |
|
All products mentioned are registered trademarks or
trademarks of their respective companies. |