BBC Documentary about The Truth about Depression by Stephen Nolan 1. The causes and treatments of the depression of the four people in The truth about depression. The documentary made by BBC entitled The truth about depression 2013 introduced and interview 4 still on treatment and recovering people with depression and discussed the cause and how they were cured through time. The documentary also discussed how depression can be found in the brain, specifically in the hippocampus and the amygdala and how the brains of the depressed people differ from the normal brains. The different treatments such as the ETC (Electroconvulsive therapy) and VNS (Vagus nerve stimulation therapy) are also introduced and discussed further. The first to be interviewed is Cathal Hagan who is a successful businessman. Despite his successful background and lifestyle, for the past 20 years he, battles with chronic depression. His depression started when he was a student, going home from Belfast in a bus. Inside he experienced some panic and anxiety attacks which made him shout Stop! to the bus driver for him to be picked-up by his father, from this struggle, his depression starts. He was said to have an incurable illness, but as time pass by with the help of prescribed tablets and self-acceptance, he was about the cope up with depression. When he thought that his depression is controllable, while expanding his business, he suffered from another mental breakdown which made him jump outside of his two-story building through the window. From there, he always checks himself and makes sure he always has his tablets to anywhere he is going. Today, he plans to build the first center of excellence in mental health which will assist people who are suffering from it knowing that psychological help is greatly needed in Norther Ireland. Heather Keough was a mother and a nurse at a summer camp, happy and satisfied. She has no history or genes of depression, but a traumatic event leads her to have depression. It happened in the summer camp where one young boy suddenly suffers from a severe asthma attack where they need to do CPR but it did not help the boy until he died in Heathers presence. She was pregnant during that incident, and it was traumatic that it lead her to have a twist in her life instantly. It started with panic and anxiety attacks, hard to breath and mind filled with thoughts and hard to sleep, during those times she did not want other to know what she was suffering, she always put a big smile but behind this was a hard suffering mother. She does not want others to look down on her and misunderstand her as a needy one but when she is at her limit that she could not take it, anyone, she asked for help. She was diagnosed to have post-traumatic stress disorder which also leads to her post-natal depression. Her psychiatrists provided a cognitive behavioral therapy which is also called the talking therapy where her church paid for it to help them. The result of her recovery is a living proof that depression can be cured. The next person is Anne Lennon, 61 years old. At the early age of 19, she attempted to have suicide because of her feeling of being a nuisance to others. She is suffering from a serious mental illness for the past 40 years and not to forget her having depression made her lonelier, lazy and tired most of the time. Hearing the phase Pull yourself together, get yourself on makes her feel worst because no matter what other people will tell her, they will not understand what she is suffering from. She received ECT (electroconvulsive therapy) and prescribed medications to help her cope up with her depression and to top that, she is also engaged to boxercise from the Mind-Wise in Belfast Northern Ireland, a non-profit organization that supports to those at risk and affected by severe mental illness and mental health. Denise Welch, the last person that was interviewed was an actress, the star of the Coronation Street and Loose women, a television series and a TV show in Britain. Despite her happy and blooming image in front of the tele viewers, she is identified to be experiencing post-natal depression. She shows the sign of depression such as having no appetite, loss of much weight within 3 weeks, collapsing inside her dressing room and some facial changes. At first, she explained the depression in a ways that it avoids her have feelings and emotions. After her birth to her son Matthew, depression started. This lead her to the diagnosis of post-natal depression. She tried to self-medicated and use any sort of drugs and alcohol just to avoid and let her feel insensitive towards those ugly feelings. Every time she is experiencing panic and anxiety attacks, she uses cocaine to numb herself from it. She believes that her hormone is imbalance that this results from her having post-natal depression, due this she received a hormone treatment and from this she felt better and less of a depressed person. She is not afraid today that other people will know that she is suffering from depression, she wants them to know what is depression and kill the stigma they know about them. To conclude the 4 statements of Cathal, Heather, Anne, and Denise, that depression can hit us at any time and in any stage/event/activity in our lives. To avoid this, it is said that people must practice a proper and well-balanced lifestyle. Exercise, eat healthy food which must be well balanced, have enough sleep and water, make sure to relax and give time to yourself and avoid drugs and alcohol. When one is suffering from a mental illness, one must stop stigmatizing them and give more understanding and patience to them, learn and read more about mental illness to help them. 2. Vagus Nerve Stimulation Therapy and ECT Vagus Nerve Stimulation Therapy The vagus nerve, also known as cranial nerve X, is one of the 12 cranial nerves in the body. Being the longest cranial nerve which extends from the brainstem to the abdomen. Vagus nerve is also a part the involuntary nervous system and commands unconscious body movements such as controlling food digestion and keeping the heart rate constant. It is also involved. Vagus nerve stimulation therapy or the VNS therapy is a treatment used to those with treatment-resistant depression. It is a surgical procedure just like a pacemaker-like device that will be implanted in the body with a stimulating wire which is attached to the vagus nerve. The device is a battery-operated, computer-controlled device called a pulse generatorabout the size of a pocket watchis surgically implanted in the upper chest, just below the collarbone. The electrical impulse will travel up to the neck to the brain which is connected to areas believed to be involved in regulating mood. The VNS therapy is used to stimulate centers in the brain that regulate mood, sleep, appetite and motivation. It has been approved by the FDA for treating chronic or reoccurring depression and bipolar disorder (July 2005) and given to refractory epileptic patients since July 1997. The impulses may affect the way nerve cell circuits transmit signals in areas of the brain that affect mood. However, it usually takes several months before you feel the effects. Sources: http://www.healthline.com/human-body-maps/vagus-nerve http://www.webmd.com/depression/vagus-nerve-stimulation#1 http://www.psych.med.umich.edu/vns/ http://www.mayoclinic.org/tests-procedures/vagus-nerve-stimulation/home/ovc- 20167755 Electroconvulsive therapy Also known as ECT is a procedure given to major depression patients that medication seems to fail or not work for them. It may be the least treatment given to them but this is the strongest treatment that can be given to them. It is a procedure, done under general anesthesia, in which a small electric current is passed through the brain to trigger a brief of a seizure it causes to change brain chemistry that can quickly revere symptoms of certain mental illnesses. The procedure starts with the general anesthesia, then a device that will be placed on the patients left and right side scalp and electrodes will be released with a finely controlled electric current. ECT is one of the fastest ways to relieve symptoms severely depressed or suicidal patients, and for patients who suffer from mania and other mental illnesses. It also works as a form of therapy which means it is one of the treatments that may or may not work for everyone because it is generally used for severe depression if they are unresponsive to other forms of therapy such as the talk therapy. Sources: http://www.mayoclinic.org/tests-procedures/electroconvulsive- therapy/basics/definition/prc-20014161 http://www.webmd.com/depression/guide/electroconvulsive-therapy#1 3. Answer the EQ test and compare with your depression and anxiety test. Discuss if having a good EQ decreased your risk of depression and anxiety. My Depression results: 5 out of 27 while my anxiety results: 5 out of 21. My results signify that I may indicate some depression symptoms but the test told me that it is pretty normal at the same time my anxiety results describes me having some mild signs of anxiety. Both requires me to keep an eye to myself so that I can avoid having a breakdown as to having this level of depression and anxiety is normal during my age (19 years old) and college level (3rd year college). While my EQ results: 78/100 shows that I have a good level of Emotional intelligence. Emotional Intelligence or what we call Emotional quotient (EQ) is the ability to understand, use and manage our emotions in the most effective, efficient and positive ways. Our EQ affects our lives due it influences how we behave and react to our relationships. This also allow ourselves to make decisions based on our circumstances as well as to recognize and understand what others are experiences emotionally. Having a good or high EQ will help individual to positively relieve stress and anxiety, communicate better and effectively, feel better and understand other people. EQ differs to what we think intellectually but EQ can be learned and not genetically acquired, it takes time in everyones life through their emotional and social skills. It was said that Emotionally intelligent people possess great levels in these attributes: Self-awareness (recognition of own emotions and how it affects you), Self-management (how you control impulsive feelings and behaviors and how to take initiative and follow commitments), Social awareness (how you understand the emotions, needs and concern of other people) and Relationship management how you develop and maintain good relationship, communicate clearly and influence your workmates). Depression on the other side is common to college students, it is also known as to be a serious mood disorder. It affects how one feel, think and do daily activities such as eating, bathing, working and sleeping. Being physically and emotionally tired can affect how one understand his/her emotions. The feeling empty inside and suffering from anxiety and panic attacks affects the persons communication and relationships. Having a good EQ does decrease your risk of experiencing depression because as a person having a good EQ gives you the ability to control, understand and use your emotions positively which will help you avoid of having panic and anxiety attacks.